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Saturday, August 30, 2008

Portland, OR (actually Tualatin, OR)


Last night was a pleasant campground with a number of amenities that we didn't use. The downside was that it abutted I-182, and there was continual traffic. We had gotten spoiled by some very quiet, rustic campgrounds. We spent the bulk of the day on I-84 following the south shore of the Columbia River and the route of Lewis and Clark. Even though it is an interstate, the scenery is wonderful. The picture is looking upstream at the lower end of the gorge. It's a major river. The difficulty was that the winds were right in our teeth at 30 to 40 knots, and since they were being funneled up river through the Columbia River Gorge, they were turbulent. The river was full of wind-surfers who were gleefully flitting from white-cap to white-cap, while I was gripping the steering wheel with great attention. While I normally get over 8 mpg, today was 7.1. This is in spite of a reduced speed and a generally descending trip. Those headwinds are tough on a motorhome.
It is really fascinating to make the drive from eastern to western Oregon (or Washington). The transition from high plains prairie to verdant coastal forest is dramatic.
Tomorrow we'll pick up our forwarded mail at Andy Rux's house and pay a visit to Andy in the hospital. We'll have lunch with Dale.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Too bad you didn't get to enjoy the scenery as much as you'd have liked. Sounds gorgeous. What lake is this picture of?