Tuesday, May 22, 2012

The Sights of Oregon

Calgon Oregon Take Us Away


How about some enthusiasm Oregon-- could the welcoming sign be any smaller? I honestly never saw it, but the co-pilot was quick to wake from her nap grab the camera.


Our RV park in Sutherlin, Oregon was a converted drive-in theater. This was our view from our rig. Movies only play on the weekends and occasionally on a weekday if they have enough "over-nighters" paying a visit. I was so looking forward to fogging up our windows and taking a trip down memory lane watching "RV" with Robin Williams, but no luck. Life story continues.


Once having over 450 of them, Oregon's all wood, covered bridges now total a mere 56. Folklore has it they were covered so cattle and horses crossing would be less spooked with the wooden floor covering up the water below and the roof casting darkness thus calming them. Others believe it was due to the abundance of wood and the roof protected the floorboards from the elements. I personally think the trend began to simply increase post card sales.



The Beaches restaurant on the Washington side of the Columbia River across from Portland, a cheap way to get another state map crossed off of our list as traveled. And no my wife is not having a cougar moment, that is our oldest son who flew in from Denver, CO. for a 4 day weekend to experience life sharing 300 square feet of living space. And at 6 ft 4" in height, he probably wanted more than his 100 foot share.


Uhhh, nice try, but that motto belongs to our home town of Austin, Tx...


On second thought, with Pee Wee Herman standing in the corner of a Coca Cola box as your bike's basket, I concede you might be in the running with us for your weirdness.

When in Portland, do as the locals Voodoo. With their doughy goodness, Voodoo Donuts was fabulous and worth our 20 minute wait. Speaking of weight...

I had their Voodoo Doodoo...well, actually, they had another name for it, but I couldn't recall it. Chocolate cake doughnut, chocolate frosting and cocoa puffs---a choco-trifecta!

Proclaimed as the world's largest book store, Powell's takes up an entire city block and has the equivalent of 1.6 acres of shelf space and over 4 million books. My two readers were in literary heaven. As for me if you recall a previous post about reading, I was about as thrilled as Rosie O'Donnell at the Ramen noodle factory.


With the back drop of the splendid Columbia River Gorge, we said Au Revoir to our oldest. See ya in 4 weeks!


Bridal Veil Falls east of Portland. Speaking of, our oldest is unattached-- brides may apply. Oh, and he cooks. He cleans. He saves money. Come to think of it, he would make a good wife.


After a hard day traversing the wilderness, I would guess northwest explorers Lewis and Clark looked up to the stars every night and said "Thank you Lord for guiding us here and not El Paso".


We were blessed with a rare Portland 4 day streak of sun, followed by a more seasonal presentation of subtle moisture and pillowy clouds. In Portland, you are always amidst the mist---where sprinkler companies are bankrupt and car wash owners are millionaires.

The Grand Canyon, San Francisco Bay, Wine Country, CA., Lake Shasta and now Mount Hood and the Columbia River Gorge ---yes, we have been blessed with a memory bank full of this country's prettiest images, and the journey is only 11% complete. Oh wait, the budget is 15% depleted. California and Oregon are beautiful, but they bill you for it.

We will climb out of the North Cascade Mountains tomorrow morning and, for the first time since this journey began 46 days ago, we head in an easterly direction---toward tater country, and prayerfully, the sun. Frankly, after 3 days of rain, I wouldn't mind being a baked potato by Friday.

And another first, our initial battle for campground spots as the Memorial Day weekend unleashes America's vacation campers on us. Argghhh, might have to start scoping out Wal Mart lots and truck stops. They are free--well, until you buy $75 worth of groceries and $95 worth of fuel.

Thanks for joining us, the adventure continues....











2 comments:

  1. At first glance, I thought you were showing us elk scat, but no. A donut. I like pictures of elk scat. I may take some pictures of elk scat.

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    1. As once a big game hunter, I am well aware of elk scat...and its similarities to the Voodoo Doodoo...:)...but it was always attached to the ground :)

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