1 June 2009
Florence-Columbia River-Mt Hood, Oregon-Toppenish-Mt Rainer-Mossyrock-Mount St Helens, Washington
Out of Florence with a coyote crossing my path, turning north for new roads, people and sleepless nights. Followed the coast line (Rt 101) and looking for that first cuppa to really start the day off right. Off Depoe Bay, stopping to take a picture of the coast line when I spotted a green 4x4 moving along the beach. The vehicle stopped right below me (200 ft up), individual got out of the truck and walked over to a seal, clearly out weighting the man by 100lbs. It was obvious that the seal was dead as there was no reaction from the seal at all. In most probability, someone had spotted the seal earlier and called it in.
Made numerous stops at National Wildlife Refuge's as I traveled North, some were open to the public others not.
Reached the township of Seaside and found a RV site for the night. As it was raining, the Goatmobile was the sanctuary for the night. A bit cramped and again realizing that I bought too much gear. Give myself another month or so and the popcorn machine with the TV screen will just have to go.
The Lewis and Clark Trail and the Columbia River was the quest for the day. For those that are not in the know, Lewis and Clark were a couple of hippies out of St Louis, Missouri that were into heavy metal and hip-hop music. To make a long story short, they bought a Cadillac Escalade, the biggest SUV around, and another fine product from General Motors. Off they went north following the Missouri River north-west, selling flowers and that funny weed that everyone smokes, when they met Bin Lama, who in turn sold them the Columbia River for a stake in the Chrysler Corp. Of course with a great return on a sub-prime loan. Any questions see my accountant.
After taking the by-pass through Portland, Oregon, which was a bloody nightmare, continued east along the Columbia. If you can do it follow route 30 vice the Interstate 84, it’s a big slow but all of the water falls, gorges, camp sites and dams are accessible through Rt 30. There is nowhere to stop on Rt 84 and you lose a lot of the beauty of the Columbia River Gorge. I got off the Hood River exit and traveled north to Mount Hood then east to Dufur (pop 650) for a night stay at the city park
Stopping for that morning cuppa at the local store then it was back down from Dufur to The Dalles along the Columbia River east. Again running the interstate but if I could find a county road then so be it. Once you get beyond Rufus, it is a very long ride until the next bridge to Washington State as the Oregon side of the river gets pretty humbug. Crossed over at Umatilla into Washington State and headed west again along the Washington side of the river. Actually enjoyed the ride more as it was a 2-lane road with the ability to get off when I wanted to. At Maryhill decided that Rt 97 was the way to go and having decided at staying at a RV site in Toppenish.
Stopped briefly at the Toppenish NWR but it was closed up so it was to the Yakama Nation RV site for the night. Had the tent area to myself until a bus load, do you even have to guess, of 4th graders on a field trip parked themselves right next to me. The kids were well behaved and one lad decided that he was going to bring me up to speed on global warming.
Global warning has not, and I can verify this with pictures of my windscreen that there has been a decrease in the influx of bugs.
Toppenish to Mossyrock was on for the agenda via Mt Rainer. Unfortunately the rangers and Rainer had plans other wise. Rainer had only one campsite open and that didn’t happen until this past Memorial Day holiday. All of the other campsites are still covered with snow and debris. A major road through Mt Rainer got completely washed out and will not be open until August time frame. Since I was on my third cuppa, decide to circumvent Rainer and add another 100 miles to the odometer. Got loss a few times but what is new……..
Now the only place to find lodging in Mossyrock was the state park. If you have never experienced a state park before, do it once and you will never go back. The state park might be a bit cheaper but believe me when it comes to peace and quite a RV site is more better believe me. If I had my way that night there would have been body bags lining the entrance to the state park. Parents just seem to walk in the other direction when their precious little ………….start causing problems, matter of fact the parents would be in the same body bag with their kid.
Mount St Helens was the quest for the day and the next. You drive up, take pictures and drive down and that’s it. Not to be missed if you are in the area though and the roads and information centers are excellent. Now the south side of St Helens is a different animal altogether. Snow is still in abundance and just about all of the access roads are closed. Made numerous attempts going up roads that were closed but it all came back to snow. Did meet one individual who had a flat tire, no tire iron, no truck jack and last of all no cell phone coverage. Stopped and offered assistance but the tools I have just does not fit a ¾ ton truck. Luckily someone was along within minutes; this guy had everything but the kitchen sink. With the 3 of us working together, we had the tyre changed and away within 30 minutes.
Next port of call is Westport, just about a 1/3 of the way up the Washington State coastline.
Go to Facebook for the latest pictures.
I’ve decided to do my part for global warming and minimize my carbon footprint. Resorting to my motorcycle days, we do the sniff test on a bi-weekly event. This way I can wear the same clothes for a minimum of 2 weeks, showers included and save all of the wasted water resources. I need a list of volunteers that will start this movement; a family in the southeast corner of Oregon have already applauded this concept especially the husband of this household.
Norm
The Greynomad
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