We left Port Angeles at 8:30am and drove down alongside the Olympic National Park road on the east side of the park all the way down to Olympia, Washington where we picked up I-5 to Oregon and our destination, Portland. There are small towns of only a few hundred people along this road. These people have water to their east and the park to their west. The towns occupy the small strip of land between the water and the park property. Is a beautiful place though remote. The road is narrow and winding and has speed limits of 25mph in several places.
We've noticed some things these westerners do that would help traffic in the south. I think I already mentioned that trucks have different speed limits; 60 mph on the Interstates. This makes traveling much less hectic and probably a lot safer. The second thing they do, in Washington at least, is they have pullouts on two lane roads. They also have signs that say "Illegal to have 5 or more vehicles trailing you without pulling out." So, for slow vehicles, you must use one of the pullouts when traffic stacks up behind you. This keeps the 20 year olds from trying to pass everyone when they can't see ahead. Reduce passing=more safety.
We got to Portland about 3pm and pulled in our RV Park. We contacted Louise and she and Jeff had planned dinner for us. We had a very relaxing evening. We got to know Jeff who is retired from a career in radio and TV. And, we had a most excellent meal of Salmon. Tomorrow they are taking us on a tour of the Portland area. More to come about Salmon!
Jeff and Louise
September 23, 2014Jeff and Louise picked us up at 9:30am and we took off on a day long tour they had planned for us. We stopped at Willamette Falls. These are falls just south of Portland near Oregon City. The fur traders who were the first to settle this area could not get their boats up past these falls so this area was one of the early settlements. A lock was installed later, 1873, and the river is now navigable.
Willamette Falls
We went through Boring, OR on the way to Mount Hood up Highway 26. There is a lodge at Mount Hood that was built in the 1930's, again a project of the WPA. FDR came to dedicate the lodge as well as the Bonneville Dam which comes up later in this blog.
Now here is an interesting sign on the back of a truck. We wondered, what are we supposed to do? Turn around and go back? Maybe they should have added the word "closely." We followed the truck!
The Lodge is a beautiful building that offers a place for skiers, hikers, and tourists to rest, eat, etc. We enjoyed an excelled buffet.
Entrance to the Lodge. Snow is up to the top of the arch in winter.
All the furniture was made by craftsmen of the 1930's and is very heavy and sturdy.
One of the many spectacular views from the lodge
The buffet was super!
And, yes, I found the cookies!
The major mountain chain is the Cascade Mountains that run down from Washington and through Oregon. In California the name changes to the Sierra's. This next photo is looking south down through the Cascade chain. Mount Hood is directly in back of us.
The Cascade Mountains
Jeff was the host of a TV show that focused on outdoor activities in Oregon. Louise has done a considerable amount of hiking and touring so, between the two of them, Lib and I had great tour guides! Louise hiked up to the top of Mount Hood. You leave at night at the base and you reach the top early in the am. Mount Hood had a cloud cover on its peak when we were there.
Mount Hood
Elevation of Mount Hood is 11,245 ft. and average snow depth where we are is 21 feet!
Not wanting Louise to have anything on me; I decided I would hike the trail toward the peak. I will have to add this to my last year's accomplishment of hiking the Appalachian Trail.
After we left Timberline Lodge we drove to Bonneville Dam. This was also built during the WPA years and FDR came to dedicate it the same day he dedicated Timberline Lodge. The Army Corps of Engineers have built in fish ladders which are stair-like structures that allow the Salmon to swim up and over the top of the dams to spawn. They are migrating up the rivers to spawn now. Jeff was very knowledgeable of how all this works and the different types of fish, how they count the fish going upstream, etc.
Watching the fish go up the fish ladders
Water is rushing down the ladders but the fish have no problem in jumping up the next rung in the ladder to get to the top of the dam
It is difficult to catch a fish jumping on camera but if you look in the water you can see plenty of fish
Now, the most interesting part of this whole process is that the Army Corps of Engineers built in "viewing windows" in the walls of the dam below the water line! This was fascinating to watch the different fish, large Chinook or King Salmon, Coho Salmon, and Steelheads, wait and rest and time their jump and then go!
A Coho Salmon getting ready to jump
The Sea Lions feed on the Salmon as they migrate. You can see where a Sea Lion took a bite out of the tail of this Salmon
This viewing window captures the water flow the fish swim against
Our friends in Tulsa, Dennis and Jan, both good fishers, will like these photos. Also, they catch a lot of trout. We had trout at their house when we visited. Jeff explained to us that Steelheads are Rainbow Trout that migrate to the ocean. Having more food to eat, they get very large. Watching this Salmon run was fascinating to us southerners. Other than TV shows, we have never seen this migration.
The Salmon ladders and viewing stations attract a lot of tourists. Wouldn't you know it, a large contingent of tourists arrived on a tour bus and they were from Alabama! You can always spot them because of the high percentage wearing Roll Tide or War Eagle hats.
Next on the tour was The Gorge. Joe and Joey Hair had told us when we were in Colorado to be sure and see The Gorge. The Gorge features the Columbia River running through a huge canyon with towering rock walls. Washington to the north and Oregon to the south. Jeff explained how it was formed and it is fascinating!
A recap of how The Gorge was formed is this: During the Ice Age, as huge ice deposits melted in Montana creating the Missoula floods. Large amounts of water equal to all the water in all the rivers of the world, rushed to the sea. It blew out this gorge as it traveled through this area. The amount of water is staggering when you consider the height of the canyon walls and realize the water was above these heights! All of this was figured out by a a geologist by the name of Bretz whose works were not given much credibility at first. Now, geologists agree this is what happened. I took this photo which offers an explanation at one of the lookout points.
The Gorge. This is also the path Lewis & Clark took. They probably knew they were close to something but they had another 50 miles to go at this point.
The road alongside The Gorge has its own history and has many waterfalls. We stopped at several and took some pictures.
Our last stop was at the Vista House built in 1918. The road was built in 1915. Louise served as the Director of Vista House for a number of years. She got views of The Gorge every day in all kinds of conditions. This gorge is very popular for wind surfers and kite surfing but you had better be good...VERY good. The wind howls down this gorge which runs east and west. The winds sometimes reach 75 mph..the speed of a hurricane!
Vista House
Vista House sitting atop The Gorge
Thank you Louise and Jeff for a wonderful, full day of seeing the sights around Portland!
So fun to hear about and see pics!!!��
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