Champ III: Going Places

The adventure starts here.

Logan Road RV Park Lincoln City OR to Pilot Truck Stop Hermiston OR

Busy Day today. Donna and I struck out in trying to get into Salishan. I visited the Salishan Lodge and asked and was told no and I went to a Real Estate Company in the Salishan Marketplace and was told that to gain entry they must call a client who lives there and say they have someone to look at their house and the resident then issues a short term pass code for the gate. We could have walked in but I think that the hills and distance would be too much for Donna. We knew it was not a given from the start..

We left Lincoln City a little after 10:00 am for Tigard Oregon (Portland suburb) where Donna & Jim Caggiano live in assisted living. Donna is Lenore’s sister. The drive was great and Donna took some great photos. I remember when I went thru the mountain pass to get back to Portland one time, I had to get tire chains or they would not let me onto the roads (it was December). The day was great with sun and temps in the 70’s once we left the coast. Traffic was medium to light so no problems, We were really able to enjoy the scenery along the way. The drive thru the mountains is about 40 miles and then you are in rolling hills that give way to scattered development. The mountains, trees and river were the best part of the drive.

We met with Lenore’s sister and her husband Jim and spent about 3 ½ hours with them. It was a delightful visit and they did not want us to leave, but Donna had a flight home and I was moving on to Glacier National Park next week. Donna and Jim have been Oregon resident since the late 70’s but to many they are still considered outsiders. They use to have a saying in Oregon that it is a nice place to visit but don’t plan on staying. Donna and I had not seen Donna and Jim in about 40 to 45 years, so we had a lot of catching up to do. They are a delightful couple and I wish the distance was not so great between our houses.

Donna had a late flight but she was determined to get to the airport early so I could travel in daylight to Hermiston. Traffic on the expressways was fairly heavy near the airport but very few exiting to the airport. It was simple to find the departures area and Donna was already electronically checked-in.

Kelso and I got on the road and the traffic was not bad and in about 20 minutes we had left the city headed east on I-84 in the Columbia River Gorge. Hermiston is about 170 miles from the airport so it was not a terrible drive. Once we passed thru the Cascades the rolling hills were like sand piles with no trees or landscaping. I think it is more of a desert type environment because the weather front move in and meet the mountains and as they cross the mountains most, if not all, of the moisture is left on the mountain side and does not make it over. At least that is and explanation I have been told. We stopped at a rest area to give Kelso so time out and the leash and so I could call for a campsite somewhere near Hermiston. That did not work out because the RV Parks offices close early and I had missed them. Even though it was warm outside it was not uncomfortable so we ended up at a Pilot Truck Stop and we stayed in the front lot near the McDonalds. Not a lot of good walking area for Kelso but he is adaptable.

Going thru the pass to get back to the Portland area. I have always liked the drive with the tree canopy hanging over the road.

Another good picture showing how tight the road is to the landscape.

You do get to see the mountains you are approaching occasionally.

There was traffic , just not like we might define it in Michigan or Florida.

Another great picture of the road in the mountain pass.

This is the area East of Portland in the Columbia River Gorge and I am headed East. The sun is behind me and already behind some of the hills.

Another good picture with the Columbia River on the left. Not a lot of traffic in this area. The further I was from Portland, the less traffic.