Back Into The Lower
48 States:
September 5-15, 2013
Today sees the travelers moving south and reentering the
lower 48 states. The boarder crossing was uneventful, thank goodness. Driving along Highway 97: we enjoyed more
high-desert, rolling hills and some incredible
agricultural areas. APPLES, APPLES and more APPLES, miles and miles of amazing
orchards. There were also many acres of hay and the winter storage barns. We called it a day and stopped in Ellensburg
Washington. This is an interesting area;
we spent 2 days touring around this part of Washington State. One morning we took a tour of the Wild Horse
Wind Facility, a renewable energy resource center with149 wind turbines. The
town of Ellensburg was fun to explore. There were a number of “barn quilts” on
buildings in the local area, interesting shops, old and well maintained
buildings and a very good pasta restaurant that used to be a corner gas
station.
Saturday, September 7th was our first day back in
Oregon in 6 months. More spectacular agriculture was evident along the highway.
Getting to the Columbia River and heading west felt especially good. We stopped
just out of Hood River and took 3 days to visit this area. We spent an
afternoon walking around the grounds of the annual vintage plane fly-in – so
many beautifully restored old planes and old cars too. Full Sail Brewery did
not disappoint for happy hour. The next day we enjoyed gorgeous late summer
weather and drove the 35-mile Fruit Loop Trail. There were many fruit stands,
orchards, farms, vineyards, and cute shops along the way. The view of Mt. Adams
and Mt. Hood was spectacular. The afternoon was spent cruising on the Columbia
Gorge – perfect day for a boat ride. Our last day here we toured downtown Hood
River a nice little town with many shops to wander in and out of.
Tuesday, September 10th we drove to Keizer, Oregon. We were
able to navigate around the city of Portland and avoid the congestion and
traffic. The day was not without excitement however; we had a little “tangle”
with a bridge crossing back over the Columbia. Yikes the narrow metal bridge
gave us some concern crossing over to our campground, but it was the return
trip that gave us a bit of a SCRAPE. No
serious damage, thank goodness. The MoHo faired amazingly well for all of the tight spots we have found ourselves in
on this trip. We stayed at the Elks Lodge in Keizer; the location was good for
Mike’s Sauerkraut German Band Gigs in Mt. Angel. The band played concerts on Thursday 9/12 and
Friday 9/13. They were well received by
the audiences that gathered around to listen. Many other “UMP PAH Groups that were also performing.
Karen enjoyed some shopping time with her friend Char. The goal was to find
some wedding togs for son Marq’s upcoming nuptials. There were some good
results from the efforts made to try and dress-up the old gal. We enjoyed an evening sharing some of Mike’s
caught Alaskan Halibut with Charlotte.
Saturday, September14, 2013 – our last night on the road. We
stopped at the 7 Feathers Casino for a “end of the road celebration” The place
was jumping with activity: RV rally, rodeo and performance by Winona Judd made
MoHo parking a bit limited, but we made do. Dinner was excellent – we treated
ourselves to a wonderful steak dinner.
The evening was spent revisiting the adventures of the last 6 months of
travel and reminding ourselves of how lucky we are to have been able to take
our North American Safari – 2013.
Sunday, September 15th – a short drive home. Wow
how good it felt to park the Safari and get into our comfy home on Clay Street.
The dogs seemed to be happy to be back
too.
Days on the road: 178
Miles driven: motorhome 16,000 + Prius (towed) 3000+
Memories: enough to fill many, many pages of blog and a
lifetime of great experiences
