October 7, 2022 Travel in Oregon

We woke to fog – real murky fog..  So we packed up and headed south:

The fog lifted as the day went on:

We went past trains:

And lumber mills:

Farms:

Pastures:

And into the smoky mountains:

Yes, that is the smoke from the forest fires:

The distant mountains looked bluish:

That is I-5 below – we went up and down the mountains:

Going south and inland, the skies started to clear:

Goats! :

Check out that house on the hill:

We arrived at our good friends’ house. We met Larry and Peggy in Alaska in 2009 and have stayed in touch ever since.  We would always try to get together in the Yuma area each winter.  It has been six years since I have seen them both and we are really looking forward to spending their birthday weekend with them.  Peg’s birthday is tomorrow and Andy and Larry’s is Sunday. Yep, they have the same birth day in the same year.  We always tease that they are “brothers from a different mother”.  LOL!

So stay tuned and enjoy today.

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 234 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Oregon: Cherry Avenue; I-5; OR-234; OR-62

 

(Note and FYI:  Many of the travel pictures that I take are done at 55-70 mph out the front windshield or the side window in a very bouncy truck.  Some/many may not have clarity, however, I post them for me and for you so I can record what that part of the country looks like and for my memory.)

October 5 – 6. 2022 Travel to Oregon

We pulled out after much hugs and headed south.  I have to say this area of the country is one traffic jam after another and one city after another – oh my!

Further south on I-5.. this is where the mud flow came thru when Mt. St. Helen’s erupted:

Crossing the Columbia River – FYI – This was the end of Lewis and Clark’s journey:

 

Into Oregon:

Check this out..  THREE trailers – Oh My!:

We arrived at the Keiser Elks, set up, and had dinner and drinks at the Lodge.  I did not remember until we pulled in but we were here in 2014 with our friends Sue and Bruce.

It is a great lodge with 41 FHU sites!  Nice!

Miles Traveled: 260 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Washington:  WA-9; WA-522; I-405; I-5; I-205

Oregon: I-205; I-5; OR 99E; Cherry Avenue NE

October 6th was a paperwork, phone calls, laundry, etc. kind of day.  You know, the things you need to take care of every now and then.  We finished the day with a great supper at the lodge.

Tomorrow we head south so stay tuned and enjoy today..

 

October 10 - 13, 2014 Our time in Sutherlin Oregon

Saturday, October 10th

We packed up this morning and were on our way south – it was quite foggy for the first part of our trip:

It is clearing up and I saw sheep in the distance:

Beautiful farmlands:

This part of Oregon reminds me a lot of Pennsylvania.  We arrived at the Escape Park in Sutherlin, set up, had lunch and took a walk around the park. 

The sites are much larger than Casa Grande and nicely done.  As we were walking around, I heard this voice say “Casa Grande….Diane” and lo and behold, it was Cheryl from our park in Casa Grande – .  They just got a place here this year so we walked there and spent time talking with her and Kevin – what a nice visit.

This park does not have a social hour but every Friday, there is a friendship hour at 3 PM.  So we left Cheryl and Kevin and headed to the club house.  We had a nice time and met a few people. 

Afterwards Andy and I continued our walk and found this little guy in the storage area:

Cute, isn’t he.

We ended our day by enjoying the nice weather outside.

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 129 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Oregon: Manbrin Drive, River Road; Lockhaven Drive; I-5; Central Avenue; State Street

The next three days were spent exploring the park, a trip to Roseburg for groceries, getting caught up on phone calls, emails, etc.   

As you may all know, we have been scouting out areas to spend our summers if we decide to really slow down.  This park was one of those places.  We have decided not to put our name on the list here for a few reasons.  We were new here and although people were friendly enough, we still felt like outsiders.  That has not ever happened to us in any Escapee Park…   All of the parks have people who come and give Escapees hugs – there was not anyone (except Kevin and Cheryl) who even offered a hug.  (And it became uncomfortable when we offered a hug – very sad.)  There are also more rules here and less activities than we are use to.     So, we will probably give this park another try some other year just to make sure it just wasn’t a bad week – does that make sense????

Tomorrow we continue our travels south so stay tuned and enjoy today.

October 4–9, 2014 Keiser-Salem Oregon

Saturday, October 4th, we packed up, made a stop at the dump station, then at the gas station, and then headed south.  Our travels were on the I-5 and the heavy traffic continued.  OH MY! – This is Saturday, I cannot even imagine what it is like during the week.

We decided to go straight thru on the 5 instead of the 205.  The traffic continued on:

Passing an inlet of the Columbia River:

And then over it into Oregon:

We arrived at the Keizer Oregon Elks Lodge (near Salem) shortly before Bruce and Sue.  It is a nice RV Park with full hook ups for only $17.00/night.  After setting up and doing a few things, we headed to the Lodge for Happy Hour and Dinner.  Saturday nights they have prime rib as well as baked salmon.  Andy and Bruce had the prime rib and Sue and I had the salmon – YUMMY!

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 193 miles

Routes Traveled:

Washington: Main Street, Meridian Avenue; SR-512; I-5

Oregon: I-5; Lockhaven Drive; River Road; Manbrin Drive

On Sunday, 5th, we just hung out.  I was exhausted – didn’t know if I was getting sick or ? so just took it easy.

On Monday, 6th, Andy and I went shopping.  First stop was Best Buy for another GPS.  This will be our third Garmin – the other two were stolen – …   Since Oregon is a no sales tax state, we figured this was the place to buy it.  From there, we did a few more stops for a few more items.

This evening we went to Happy Hour and Taco Night at the Lodge.  YUM!!!

On Tuesday, 7th, we said our “See you laters” to Bruce and Sue.   It was wonderful traveling and spending time with them and we will see each other later on this year.  Travel safe, my friends.

The rest of the day found us just doing little things around the motorhome.  We decided to hang here for a few more days before continuing south to Yuma (a little too hot there yet).

As you probably noticed, we have been slowing down the last few weeks.  We have had an INCREDIBLE spring and summer – seeing some AWESOME sights and we feel very blessed to be able to live this lifestyle.  But now, we are ready to sit for a while and regroup so we don’t get burned out.  I think we have found that we do really well for about 3-4 months seeing lots of things and exploring and then we want to just nest for a few months to get refreshed to do it all over again.  So later this week, we will start to make the slow trek down to Yuma Arizona for a month and then Casa Grande for a month or two and then ?????

On Wednesday, 8th, found us doing more little things around the MH.  For those who have Verizon data plan, check out their new specials.  We had a 12 G data plan which is now a 15 G plan for the same price.  However, they will not switch you to the 15 G until you tell them (online or phone).  And for $20.00 per month more, you can get 30 G total.  WOW!!!  So we went for it!  I also did some research on a new health plan.  I am losing my healthcare at the end of this year so we will see what happens.

Thursday, 9th, was my Andy’s birthday – Happy Birthday to you – .  We continued just puttering and had a great steak dinner at Elks.  Our rib eye's were WONDERFUL!

Tomorrow we continue our journey south so stay tuned and enjoy today.