Mid-May to Mid-June 2022

We crossed into Oregon, and found ourselves in familiar territory, both weather and location-wise.

We stayed at several parks that we enjoyed last year. The chilly rains travelled with us.

Locals are so used to being damp, that they don’t notice a drizzle – or even acknowledge that it’s raining. They just call it heavy mist or fog and go on about their day.

Our first stop was Humbug Mountain State Park, where we had stayed last year. This is a lush, green park tucked at the foot of Humbug Mountain. At the end of the camping loop, a short walk through a grassy meadow brings you to the ocean. It rained two out of our three days here.

One rainy day, we went into Port Orford and treated ourselves to an elegant lunch at Redfish restaurant. The rain pelted the windows while we enjoyed being inside, warm, and well-fed.

On another day, we drove down to Gold Beach. We found a terrific two-story bookstore with new and used books. Great browsing! I easily replenished my supply of murder mysteries for evening reading.

We continued up the Oregon Coastal Highway, Route 101, and stayed at South Beach State Park, just south of Newport. We rode our bikes to the marina area and paid a visit to Rogue Brewery.

Always a good stop. Casual atmosphere and great beer.

The state park is also along the ocean, and we managed to have several sunny day walks on the beach.

Just steps from the beach, seaside trees in the Pacific Northwest are covered in moss. Sometimes it feels like walking through a forest of young antlers.

We paid a return visit to Blue Heron French Cheese Company in Tillamook.

They have a nice selection of wines, freshly made deli items and a gift shop full of tempting gourmet goodies.

As Harvest Host members, we were able to spend the night in their lot. Since our last visit, they’ve added some farm animals, including a few goats, peacocks, chickens, and sheep.

The handsome rooster pictured below was our 5am alarm clock. He was quite persistent and very vocal; we finally gave in and got an early start to our day.

The Pacific Northwest, especially along the coast, is a grower’s paradise. A lot of plants offered at East coast garden centers come from this area. Rhododendrons reach giant size and come in an amazing variety of colors. The beach towns have lots of pretty gardens. Our timing was perfect to see rhododendrons in bloom alongside spring flowers. Delightful.

To take a break from the cool weather, we decided to travel inland along the Columbia River. We drove the historic waterfall corridor from Troutdale to Ainsworth, and then camped at Ainsworth State Park. We hiked over the hill from the campground and made our way to Ponytail Falls and Horsetail Falls.

With so much rain, this has been a banner year for waterfalls.

Multnomah Falls is the grandaddy of them all on this route, and it’s also the most visited. A new timed-entry system went into effect for this road a few days after our visit. After seeing the crowds and navigating the narrow road, I appreciate the need to manage the flow of traffic.

We crossed to the north side of the river, the Washington state side, and camped at Horsethief Lake in Columbia Hills Historic Park. Heading east, the lush mountains give way to almost desert-like terrain. Forested cliffs give way to rocky cliffs that drop to the river.

The further we went, the warmer and drier it became. Anything green has been watered; anything not watered is buff-colored. The state park at Columbia Hills is a lovely green (watered) oasis.

From the narratives in their journals, we know that Lewis and Clark camped on this site in 1806, which adds an interesting piece of history to the park. The park also has more than 40 petroglyphs on display.

When The Dalles Dam was created, the petroglyphs carved in rocks along the river would have been inundated by the rising waters. The Army Corps of Engineers and the National Park Service cleaned and removed many of the rocks, and put them in storage. Eventually, in 2003, the petroglyphs were moved to this display area for public viewing.

The age of the rock carvings hasn’t been established, nor do we know exactly what they depict.

People lived in the Columbia River Gorge before there was writing. This narrow part of the Columbia has been dubbed the Salmon Highway. When the salmon were running, thousands of people came to fish, trade, and socialize.

Petroglyphs were the only permanent marks these people made on the earth. Local tribes consider this area to be sacred, and they still come to connect to their ancestors and celebrate their culture.

We did some sight seeing on both sides of the river. Wherever you camp along the Columbia, trains will be closeby. You get used to the rumbling in the background and the occasional train horn at night.

We went as far east as Fishhook Park in Page, WA, where we turned around and headed back toward the coast.

Our last stop along the Columbia was Skamokawa Park. Drizzly days didn’t stop our enjoyment of being close to the river and having amazing views. Ships passed by, including a huge Holland America cruise ship, reminding us of the size and importance of this mighty river.

In McMinnville, Oregon, we stayed at another Harvest Host. This time, it was a museum: The Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum.

This is a fascinating museum, full of planes and rockets and stories of the history of flight. Fighter jets, early aircraft, covert surveillance planes, Titan rockets, models of parts of the international space station…the more you looked, the more there was to see.

The museum’s massive centerpiece is Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose, which is enormous in both size and story.

Six times larger than any aircraft of its time, the Spruce Goose is made entirely of wood. You really should visit to hear the whole story, which is made even more mind-boggling by the ingenuity, determination, and eccentricities of Howard Hughes.

The history of Evergreen Aviation is also interesting. This fall, the museum will host a 1940s style gala to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Spruce Goose’s one and only short flight in 1947. I bet that will be quite a bash.

We spent a quiet night parked in the back parking lot of the museum.

No rooster to be our alarm clock here, but we were still up and out early in the morning.

Somewhere along the way, we decided to point the nose of the van northward and go to Canada. For the past two years, Covid has kept the border closed. Even after reopening, restrictions were still tight. This year looks better. In between days on the road and exploring, we started researching the ins and outs of traveling to Canada, making reservations for camping and ferries, and jumping through hoops like ArriveCan registration, vehicle and health insurance.

We also continued northward, staying in Saltwater State Park, near Des Moines, WA, in order to visit Seattle. And, of course, it rained on our Seattle day, but the city was still buzzing with people. We spent most of the day at Pike Place Market.

More than 500 touristy shops, food and flower markets, and oddities.

The fresh flower stalls were glorious.

Fresh cut peonies, irises, and roses, all fashioned into pretty bouquets. Talk about eye candy!

We also got a big kick out of the fishmongers. The fish displayed on ice were huge. Whole fish, octopus, oysters, crab. The prices were also remarkable. Lots of hollering and fish being tossed by the fishmongers. It was quite a show.

We hopscotched our way up the eastern side of the Olympic Peninsula, ending up in Sequim (pronounced Skwim). We took a day trip to Port Townsend, which we had heard so much about. We browsed the Water Street shops, and then walked a seaside trail.

We really enjoyed Quimper’s Mercantile Store. They had everything. Really. Everything. Like an old fashioned general store, but with modern merchandise. Our overall impression: Port Townsend is a charming place, and we’d like to visit again – perhaps stay nearby next time so we can explore more.

Sequim was our last stop stateside, where we spent our final day getting ready to go into Canada.

A big trip to the laundromat, and then to the car wash to clean the van. Finished up all the fresh fruits and veggies, and felt we were ready to sail. The next morning we headed to Port Angeles to take the Coho Ferry to Victoria on Vancouver Island. Ready for a new adventure!

Next up: Canada

Note: Credit where credit is due…John also contributes photos to this blog. He has a good eye and captures things that escape me. Thanks, John!