Portland, OR

We found out some neat things about the history of this area, that we had chosen at random, just for the inexpensive campground. This is the end of the Oregon Trail, that we all learned about as children. It is also an area of industrial activity that made the first long distance electricity possible. Oregon City became the first incorporated city west of the Rocky Mountains. I’m glad we happened to stop here.

Dave’s cousin Renee and her husband Jim live about 6 miles from our campground, in Milwaukie. They invited us over for a delicious supper on Thursday. It was great to meet some of Dave’s relatives for the first time.

We need to spend a few more days than originally planned, in this area, so we have been planning how to spend the days. Today we went to the “End of the Oregon Trail” interpretive center. It is a well layed out museum.

On Saturday, we rode the train into Portland. We checked out Pioneer Courthouse Square and Powell’s Books. It is a good thing we don’t have a lot of room for storage or I could have spent a ton of money at the bookstore. It is the first bookstore I’ve been that is so large they have a map!

Later, we walked around the market on the banks of the Willamette. I talked with a seemstress about her vintage hat recreations. This was another place I could have spent money! We wandered through the food area and got whiffs of Thai, Indian, Greek and Uraguayan foods. We ended by checking out the Lan Su Garden.

Monday was going to be a touring day. We started by looking for Dave’s cousin Erik’s final resting place. We had always planned to meet up with Eric when we got to this area, but he passed away last spring.

Eric’s remains are interred at the Willamette National Cemetery. This is a huge grounds with several walls for urns.

WE continued on, along the Columbia Gorge Byway. First stop was near the Multnomah Falls for a picnic lunch. A brave mouse tried to join us and was clearly not afraid of people. It got within a couple of inches of my foot. Dave finally put the fear of God into it and it scampered off down the hillside.

The following was already carved into the table. Dave’s nickname has always been “Pete”. I do not call him that because my other friend Dave Peterson has always been “Pete” to me.

We continued on and had to cross this toll bridge, the Bridge of the Gods, over the Columbia River between Cascade Locks, Oregon and near the town of North Bonneville,Washington. We were headed on the Mt. Hood Scenic Byway.

We passed through the Fruit Loop and were awed by all of the fruit orchards.

We decided to stop in a Pot Shop. We could have done so in Seattle with Nate, but had not done so at the time. Neither Dave or I have ever used Marijuana but were a little curious what a shop would look like. Also, I was tempted to purchase and try some of the edibles. I guess I was a bit naive about the cost so passed!

The second toll bridge we went over was the Hood River Bridge, between Hood, Oregon and White Salmon, Washington.

We continued on the byway watching for Mt Hood. We found it but clouds obscured the peak.

Bend, Oregon

Tuesday found us heading to Bend, Oregon. We have been in need of some trailer repairs but had conflicting information in Seattle. We are finally going to have the work done tomorrow in Bend.