PORTLAND, OREGON
May 16, 2001, Wednesday- off and running 440 miles to Evanston, WY. Cool at night with our 6100 foot elevation. Easy drive with almost no traffic. 1/3 the way to Portland. Only concern were hugh winds coming from the west. As we traveled up 287 from Ft. Collins, CO to Laramie, WY, a two lane highway, each semi that passed in the opposite direction reminded us how fortunate we are to have a heavy vehicle with a long wheel base. We still felt the "suck" as they passed, but nowhere near the level of entry level RVs. In Rawlins, WY, at the Flying J service center, I asked the fellow behind the counter if the winds were going to get stronger or weaker as the day progressed. His response….it always blows here. It was blowing so hard that I couldn't stand by the gas pumps without seeking protection on the side of the coach.
Good market today with the DOW up 368 points. Don't know why but who am I to argue.
May 17, 2001, Thursday- although we didn't plan to go so far, 506 miles, it was easy interstate mileage and we stopped at Baker City, OR, about 70 miles in from the Idaho line. What a cute little place. With a 10 million dollar visitors center for the Oregon trail, this place is loaded with history. One could easily spend a week here with history, golf, biking, etc. We'll have to add this to our return places. Elevation at 3400 feet, a little warmer then last night.
Surprisingly the fuel prices in Wyoming and Idaho were both lower then Denver. Regular fuel was $1.50 in each state, while $1.75 in Denver. Same for diesel fuel. Can't say the same for Oregon and Washington. Correction....Washington and Oregon, at the J's, were also $1.45 to $150 for both fuels. Colorado used to be a low state. Go figure!
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May 18, 2001, Friday- couldn't believe that our 300 miles to Portland were all in sunshine. In addition, it was like deja vu from mid March in Georgia, with the rhododendron, honey locust, and spring flowers just in bloom, 60 days later.
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Arrived at the Jentzen Beach RV park and were greeted with a spotlessly clean and green park. Nice. Only drawback is that we're in the flight path of the Portland Airport…but it could be worse.
Met Jerry and Lois for dinner at their place….a great condo in a high rise, just off the University campus. Their friend Susan whom we had met in Naples joined us, and after dinner we took the campus and downtown walking tour. Everything from Saks to Starbucks to REI and Nordstrom's were a few blocks away.
May 19, 2001, Saturday- at 8:30 we all regrouped and did the farmers market on the university campus, three blocks away. Offered were great assortments of organic local produce, baked goods, and a wide variety of local folks with four legged friends.
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About 30 miles to the south we attended an iris festival where hundreds of varieties were in full bloom, along with all of the shrubbery of the northwest. From there we headed to the peony festival where a portion of the varieties were in full bloom. Each of these places wanted you to buy the various varieties of plants and bulbs. Good thing we are traveling in the motor home. Easy to keep the hands in the pockets.
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Next we piled into the car and headed south to the Willamette State Park where we hiked along the river to an electric powered cable guided four car ferry. The last cable ferry we saw was in Cape Britton Provincial Park in Nova Scotia Canada. These are relics of the past. Continuing along the park we passed by the largest cottonwood tree in the US….260 feet tall in1994. It is a big tree….especially for a cottonwood.
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Back into the car, and we toured downtown Aurora, a town with a historic downtown filled with antique stores.
Next, dinner at a new type of restaurant, an African restaurant, Ethiopian, to be more specific. Downtown Portland, in a little storefront, Queen of Sheba International. Spicy, or really "tasty" food serviced family style in a large low profile dish. The serving platter is lined with a soft spongy bread, and we dined family style….with everyone breaking off a piece of the bread and scooping a portion of the array of food on the platter. Eight vegetarian selections and three meat selections provided an array of taste, texture and color. No silverware is used in Ethiopia, so it was a lot of "hand to mouth". Washed it all down with one of the thirty beer selections, and a fun dinner enjoyed by all.
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Not done yet….over to 23rd street, a type of local Cherry Creek (in Denver), with bistros and boutiques. Desert enjoyed at a sidewalk café with hundreds of curious folks inquiring about Hobbes. One little girl wanted to know if we were walking our rug.
May 20, 2001, Sunday- spoke to Mom this morning and found out that she's been hit by so called credit card scam artists. When she got her Merrill Lynch statement, there were some AT&T charges. This week she got her Burdines statement and it too had charges made by someone else. Where will the mystery end?
At 9:30 we picked up Jerry, Lois and Susan and headed 115 miles to the coast and then south to the Cascade Head Preserve Trail. Our trail head started in dense trees and shrubs for the first quarter of the trail. Tremendous sized Sitka Spruce trees covered this area, and the old growth trees were unbelievable in size. Breaking out above tree line, we were greeted with views to the south of a magnificent wide white beach only accessible by private boat. To the east was the wetland and outflow of the Salmon River into the sea. Our meadow/hillside continued up, as did we, until we summated at an elevation of 1800'. Not bad in an hour of travel. With our backpacked lunches we found a grass area and sat with a cool breeze at our side, warm sun on our face, and views beyond description for our eyes.
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A well-deserved ice cream break at the Tillamook Dairy and Cheese Factory provided a welcome breather in the days' travel. This is the only dairy in the US that produces a line of kosher cheese.
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Susan and I always wanted to visit Cannon Beach…so back up the coast we all traveled. An hour walk along the beach at low tide let us and Hobbes stretch our legs out. Dinner followed at a local brew pub and it turned out that an old friend of ours from Vail had his business right next door to our restaurant. It was too bad that David wasn't around. Next time!
May 21, 2001, Monday- we stopped at the Rhododendron Gardens and found a wonderful, peaceful place where the plants, water fowl, and lakes all came together.
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Then, stops at Trader Joes, Costco, Safeway, REI and Home Depot filled the day before we entertained Jerry, Lois and Susan for dinner. Fresh halibut on the grill hit the spot.
Steve had the pleasure of attending the Avalanche game tonight where they clinched the Western Division Title, one step closer to their Stanley Cup playoff spot.
May 22, 2001, Tuesday- the temperatures continued today for another record. Reached 100 today. Did we ask for too much of a good thing?
We drove an hour eastward to the Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood. This wonderful structure of 60 guest rooms and a public restaurant was built as a WPA project in 1937. At the 6000 foot level, Mt. Hood receives a ton of snow. The staff was just removing the steel tunnels that go from the entry doors to the parking lot. Above this level people were still skiing. Apparently they ski here about 300 days per year. After spending 20 plus years in Vail, which is at the 8000 level, we wondered how they could ski Mt. Hood with so long a season. The reason is that they have, on average, 21 feet of snow on the ground. Now that's a snow pack that takes forever to melt. In fact, some of the snow is really glacial in that it never melts.
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Our lunch was wonderful with views to Mt. Jefferson, 50 miles to the south.
Next we drove to a trailhead outside the town of Rhododendron. Fortunately the trail was in the heavy woods, which kept us out of the sun and some of the heat, but it was straight up. Hobbes enjoyed the climb and especially the views of Mt. Hood.
Dinner with Jerry, Lois and Susan, and then a round of Euchre with J&L. Fortunately the guys were lucky, and for the ladies, unfortunately they weren't. Next time!
May 23, 2001, Wednesday-dangerous start to the day. While I was working outside the coach, Susan opened the coach door and Hobbes did the I'm out of here dash. He hasn't done that in four years. Down the street he ran, oblivious to our calls, pleas and commands. Susan headed around with the car and I ran down the street….actually, about four blocks before Hobbes stopped, looked around, and finally came back at his own sweet pace. What can you do….you can't holler at him when he comes back. Talking doesn't help either.
A trip over to REI got us started with some wonderful birthday gifts for Rob, Steve and Deb. A visit to Nordstrom's later in the day finished Debi's present.
Jacks up and took the coach over to Westland Sales, about 15 miles south, to get the washer dryer fixed. Excellent service personnel. Having both knowledge and parts is a winning combination. They believe that it was the wire harness on the pressure switch that wasn't properly connected, but they also added a bracket to hold the switch and changed the washer timer and the pressure switch. After three hours we were headed back to Portland. Hopefully this will now work.
Dinner was downtown at a trendy Chinese Restaurant with Jerry, Lois and Susan. Good food. Temperatures were down to the high 80's today. There are still no clouds to be seen. Why do people need umbrellas in Portland?
May 24, 2001, Thursday- our last day in Portland was packed…as it seems everyday here has been. First we thought we saw a little haze this morning, but soon it was gone and another sunny day here. Does it ever rain?
We headed out to the Multnomah Falls via the scenic byway. This byway, rated one of the most scenic in the US, proved up to its reputation. As we stopped by a viewing area near the Columbia River, we happened upon a group photo shoot of Oregon State Troopers…. Motorcycle Division. They go through a 5 day annual training session, and this was a day for riding. Of course they loved Hobbes. One of the troopers took photos of Hobbes sitting on his motorcycle. Who would of thunk it!
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Continuing on to the falls we were treated with view of the lower and upper falls, and a hike up to the top. The photos tell it all.
Afterwards we found some inexpensive boots for me at Wal-Mart…then some doggie clothes for Hobbes….boots and a vest….hopefully to keep him dry in the rainy northland. Continuing to REI I joined the rest of the family with the convertible pants and shirt that have removable lower legs and shirtsleeves. Don't forget stops at GI Joe for rain hats, West Marine to check their goodies, and the post office to mail off the kids birthday presents. Wow….too many stops.
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Each state seems to have a different bend on how to do things. In Oregon, when they have two lanes of traffic merging onto an interstate, and they a sequencing the flow via traffic lights, the two lane lights are staggered. Thus you don't have two cars trying to get onto the highway "first", as the lanes feed down to a single width. Very civilized.
The best part of the day was meeting Jerry and Lois and attending a local grade school's "play". 55 kids of the second and third grade did an absolutely wonderful performance written by their teacher….a friend of Jerry and Lois. Singing and dancing with professionally airbrushed makeup….was a treat beyond belief. Great end to a great day. Unfortunately it will be November before we get to see them again, in Naples.
May 25, 2001, Friday- getting closer to leaving the country. Stopped at Fidalgo Bay Resort in Anacortes, where we spent a few weeks last summer. It was a slow ride up from Portland, especially around the Seattle area, today being the start of a three-day weekend. Even at midday, the traffic was slow with a capital S.
Trying to finish this part of the web page….since we're not sure when we will have a land line for a local call. If you see this up in May, obviously we were successful.
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