 |
| No Oregon Coast |
 |
| Baja Peninsula |
Our
first stop from Bend was in Lebanon, to visit with our “new” friends, Don and
Linda Gerig. We met them last September while
on a Lake Chelan boat trip in the Washington Cascades and discovered our mutual
interests of motorhomes and Baja, Mexico.
They and their Mexican relatives own an RV park and houses near LaPaz Baja,
and they drive their motorhome to the Baja from Oregon every year for a few
months stay. During our Christmas trip last
year to the Baja peninsula, we stopped at their RV Campground and met their
niece; we missed Don & Linda by a few days – they were “camping” and
enjoying life on a Baja Sea of Cortez beach.
 |
| Linda G, Bob, Linda M, Don wine tasting |
Since
we missed them in La Paz, when Don & Linda invited us to stop by their
Lebanon Oregon home, we took them up on their kind offer. We parked our coach in one of the RV parking
spots they have created on their beautiful 13 acre “wedding venue” property, which
they rent for weekend weddings. A great business concept successfully managed
by Don’s daughter in law. We had a fun filled few days with them tasting wine
at the Willamette Valley as well as consuming Don’s own “estate” (home grown
and bottled) fruit wine on their backyard deck overlooking the beautiful
“backyard”. Before leaving, we helped Don
bottle some of his quite good fruit wine – we particularly liked the
blackberry. We had a great time and it
is interesting how you sometimes can quickly make friends in the darndest
places!
 |
| Linda hiking BEHIND Silver Falls |
While
there, we took a day trip to Silver Falls State Park and hiked part of the
“Trail of 10 Waterfalls”. Differential
erosion of the very hard basalt rock layers over softer rock has formed
waterfalls with large “caves” under the waterfall’s edge. It was fun to hike behind the waterfalls at
several of the falls and actually watch the water fall from “behind” the water;
we have seen so many from the front, this was different and the mist was nice
and cooling.
 |
| International Rose Test Garden, Portland |
To
our surprise, the City of Portland was smaller than we anticipated, and with a
huge traffic problem. It is sandwiched
between hills and the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. Much of the waterfront is industrial and we
could not find a great place to just sit and watch people and boats go by. The traffic was horrible; we quickly learned
to plan our excursions either before or after rush hour traffic, or travel
outside the city. Similar to Seattle, the
hills, water, and early development have caused constrains on upgrading the
road system. One bridge we had to use to
drive into the City or to go south was on Interstate 5; a 2-lane bottleneck on a 4 and 5 lane highway!
Not sure why they don’t find a way to build another bridge.
 |
| Unique Color Rose in Test Garden, Portland |
 |
| Serenity in Japanese Garden, Portland |
We
enjoyed the downtown venues we visited.
Most beautiful were the extensive gardens; we especially enjoyed the awesome
rose collection at the International Test Rose Garden and the very serene Japanese
Gardens. Skyline Drive at the top of the
hills to the west of downtown provided only an occasional view of downtown in
between overgrown tall and thick trees.
We enjoyed sampling a few of the many distilleries, wineries and coffee
houses in and around Portland. It seems to
us that there is more drive up coffee/espresso stands than there are gas
stations! The pure number of
“body-warming” liquids available at these locations is probably an indication
of the usual cold, damp, weather.
However, we enjoyed great warm summer weather which included a lot of
sunshine and no rain (foggy one morning, but gone by noon).
 |
| Spruce Goose, Evergreen Air and Space Museum |
We
made quite a few day excursions outside the city. A visit to the Evergreen Air and Space Museum
was fun. It houses an excellent
collection of planes, but the BIG draw is to see the Spruce Goose, the huge wooden
airship designed and built by Howard Hughes.
There is also a space museum building.
We would recommend a visit.
 |
| Mt Hood over Mirror Lake |
We
took a day drive around the south end of Mt Hood which was enjoyable and
beautiful. Mt Hood towers over the
Portland skyline (you can also see Mt. St. Helen from town). The Mt. Hood Scenic Byway is beautiful, with
several glacial lakes at the base of Mt. Hood.
Timberline Lodge, situated at the tree line of Mt Hood, is another
example of a beautiful historic (depression-era) lodge. The lodge is the base for climbers ascending
the mountain, and there is year round skiing available. It is funny to see people in ski clothes
carrying skis when we are in shorts and tee shirts!
 |
| Larry, Bob and Linda |
While
in Portland, we spent quality time with Larry Munkres, a very long-time friend
(we don’t call them “old” friends anymore); fellow geologist and naval
intelligence officer. Bob has known
Larry since 1967 in Navy Officer Candidate School and Pensacola flight school. We were able to share some great meals and
fabulous memories. Larry and his friend Judy even joined us for an extended
lunch at our RV. It was great to see
Larry again since he visited us at Four Vistas in Shingle Springs, CA. Interestingly, we unexpectedly met Larry on
the street in Hilo Hawaii many years ago. We always have a grand time whenever
we get together.
 |
| Vista House Overlooking Columbia River Gorge |
The
Columbia River Gorge was our next stop.
Directly east of Portland, the gorge extends for 75 miles along the
Columbia River. The topography on the
north (Washington) side is very different from the southern Oregon cliffs. On the Oregon side, the cliffs extend
straight up from the river, often with minimal room for a road and railroad
(which preceded any roads by many years).
The high cliffs have an incredible number of beautiful, tall waterfalls
right along the road; the melting snow and glaciers on Mt Hood provide a
year-round supply of water. The north
side is gently sloped, with many farms and ranches along the way.
 |
| Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler, Cascades Locks |
The
drive along the Oregon shore of the Columbia River is beautiful and has been a
tourist destination for decades, even before the roads were built. Prior to the roads, carriages and boats
(sternwheelers and sidewheelers) were the main means of travel. We
enjoyed a day trip on a sternwheeler out of Cascades Locks, similar to those
used in the late 1800s. The river used
to be very difficult to navigate with a lot of rapids and even some falls -
described eloquently by Lewis and Clark in many interesting historical exhibits
and museums along their 3 year route.
However, with construction of the Bonneville Dam (which we toured) and
14 other dams throughout the river and tributaries (including the Snake), the Columbia
is now a series of long stretches of flat, but rapidly flowing water. The dams provide much needed flood control
and provide most of the electrical power needs of the northwest. With the
constant strong winds coming up river, it is now a wind surfing and kite
boarding meca.
 |
| Multnomah Falls, Columbia River Gorge |
We
camped right in the heart of the waterfall section at a state park on the
Oregon side and managed to see and hike almost all of the numerous waterfalls
and beautiful vistas as far east as The Dalles.
The waterfalls were all quite beautiful and with the huge snow this past
winter, all were fully flowing.
 |
| Close up, Waterfall, Columbia River Gorge |
 |
| Astoria Column |
We
went back to the coast for our final stop in Oregon. We camped in Fort Stevens State Park, just
west of Astoria, on the huge sand spit formed by the Columbia River at the Pacific
Ocean. Astoria, a fun but funky former
lumber, shipping, and fishing community of 8,000 residents, bills itself as the
oldest western city in the US; who knew? While there are no wineries nearby,
there are many craft beer breweries. This is good for a fishing and lumber village
transitioning to a tourism-based town. We
visited the Lewis and Clark National Monument to see the site where Lewis and
Clark spent their last winter before heading back east (last year we toured the
sites where Lewis and Clark initially arrived at the Pacific Ocean). The Maritime Museum in Astoria is a must-see
if you are there!
 |
| 35 Foot Tall Cape Meares Light |
We
spent one day driving south along the coast, and stopped at numerous overlooks
and bays. South of the Columbia River
delta, the northwestern coast is dominated by erosion resistant volcanic (Columbia
River Basalt Group) headlands interspaced by small bays made by creeks and
rivers (much like the southern Oregon coast).
We stopped at the “shortest” lighthouse, only 38 feet high above the
ground! Of course, it was on top of a very
high cliff, so it still could be seen 20 miles out to sea. This light is no
longer in operation; only two lighthouses are operational in Oregon. With sightseeing on this last section of
coast completed, we have now, at one time or another, driven the entire Pacific coast of the lower
48, and have visited every lighthouse along the way!
 |
| Northern Oregon Coast |
Because
we had no internet or TV connections in the state park, we took advantage of
the excellent facilities and hospitality at the Astoria and Seaside Elks Lodges
and American Legion Posts. There is
always a welcoming group of people and a great watering hole when traveling.
One
of the interesting and unusual things we found in Oregon, we laughingly call
the “No Unemployment Law”. All gas
stations require that attendants pump the gas.
Considering the number of gas stations in the state, this probably noticeably
reduces the unemployment rate. What is
funnier, is that you still have to get out of the car to clean the windshield….they
only pump the gas as required by law.
 |
| USCG Rescue Ship Crossing Columbia Bar (USCG photo) |
Bob
had always wanted to cross the Columbia River entrance channel bar; the bar is
3 miles long and considered one of the most dangerous bar crossings in the
world. Because of the huge volume of
water coming down the Columbia River, the conditions of the river water meeting
the sea swell and waves in such a wide inlet routinely causes huge, steep waves
that even the largest ships have trouble navigating. The US Coast Guard trains their Search and
Rescue crews to use their self-righting rescue boats on this bar.
 |
| Bob's Limit of 2 Salmon |
Bob
wanted more of a challenge, but the ocean was behaving itself while we were
there, so there were no huge waves to be seen (only a very normal 6 foot swell). The only way Bob could “cross the bar” was to
go on a deep sea fishing trip. He went
fishing on a 50 foot boat, unspectacularly crossed the bar, fished around Buoy
#2, and had fun catching his limit of two salmon – one Coho (silver) and one
Chinook. As with commercial fishing, the
catch limit allowed has decreased significantly over the past few years, and
you can only keep hatchery raised fish; he had to release all the “wild”
salmon he caught. Bottom line, it appears the salmon are being
fished out (we were told that regulations and economics are making it difficult
for private hatcheries to make any money, therefore fewer and fewer). We are
glad we now have a freezer of salmon to enjoy – Thanks Bob!
This
finishes up our visit to the west coast and we are now headed east, with a few
stops along the way. Next destination:
drive across Washington, Idaho and
Montana to the Dakotas and the plains.
Again
and with each blog we write, we remind ourselves how blessed and fortunate we
are to be healthy and able to make this wonderful trip. We continue to be very grateful!
Feel free to pass the blog link on
to anyone who might be interested.
Best to all,
Linda and Bob
No comments:
Post a Comment