Day 65, Wed., June 6, 2018, From Oregon to Washington State. "Over the Rivers and through the Woods!

 Where did the Spainish followers go?  The photos are down a bit!  
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And that is exactly what we did! It was a real step back in history , for me, when on the Oregon map there is a notation for "William's Wagon Road" an historic spot where a wagon road was use so many years ago. It is on the present day OR Rte.  6 that we drove from Tillamook to just east of Portland.

BUT WAIT... I am always getting ahead of the story. The morning  really started at 6:00 AM when Ruth and I decided we would get an early start. The reason being we had an appointment to see a chiropractor that she had lined up in Longview at 2:00 Pm. The miles were not  that long, at 171, but we had some errands to do  before we left town. That was, namely, to purchase two tires for the trailer as they were wearing thin and that is not good. We had set up an appointment at the Schwab Tire store  in Lincoln City some 4 day previous, so we knew the tires would be in stock. We arrived about 15 minutes before the hour of eight and were taken care of immediately. Ben and Gerald lined up everything and I pulled into the open bay and they went to work. In 30 minutes we were on the road to Tillamook. I feel better with the tires solid in back.

The ride on US101 to Tillamook has some coast line but for the main part of the 42 miles it is those winding, rolling, forest roads. They are good two lane but in some places just two lane with no shoulder, There are "Slow vehicles use the right lane" signs when there is a passing lane. Oregon law state that if there are three vehicles behind you wanting to pass you must use the "pull outs" that appear frequently.

We arrived at Tillamook looking for OR #6 to the east, but Ruth said," You didn't forget about Tillamook Creamery, did you ". Heavens no!  So we continued past Route #6, to the creamery for her favorite flavor of course ..."MUDSLIDE"   ...Two scoops in a cup. I opted for a scoop of coffee pecan.  While we were standing there we had a brief chat with a couple from Oregon also pulling a large trailer with FOUR 4 X 4 's in the back of the truck. they were going to meet their daughters in Portland. He elected not to go across the border to Canada as he was carting some guns in his vehicle. (I don't know the regulation on importing guns)

Our campsite at Brookhollow in Kelso WA

We left these signs on the coast. We never did take a photo of the "Tsunami  Corridor" sign.

Portland is known for its roses and this is along I-5.

The Colombia River Brige into Washington atPortland.

The Columbia River from the bridge at 45 mph

Oh yes! Always logging trucks on every road.  This was a rest area.

The Tillamook State Forest is 365,000 acres  and runs from the coast to some 30 miles west of Portland . Solid trees, Firs, hemlock, ...well, there are 30 native conifer species in Oregon, and 37 deciduous species that grow there. Ponderosa is the primary tree grown east of the  Cascades and Douglas Fir is the most common tree in the Coastal Range. (If you guessed that that evergreen tree was a Douglas Fir, you would be right 8/10 times.

We continued on OR 28 and 30 to Portland and skirted that across the Columbia river entering Washington at that point.  The traffic was heavy but moving along nicely. The long downhill (6.5% grade) on OR 28 into Portland is a regular "ski run" . It ends at the entrance to the I-402 bypass, so there is always a "backup" of slower traffic.

This rye, used as food for attracting deer , but also a grain in bread.

 Ruth loves these weird structures

Me? I love the tunnels , this one in Oregon.

We arrived at The Campground in Kelso at 12:45 with enough time to make the 2:00 appointment at the Chiropractor.  We bought a Pizza (Pizza Hut of course for us) and had a slightly early supper.    (Having skipped lunch) Ruth rested after supper and I wrote this blog  and a few letters. This is a very quiet park and one reason is there are no fire rings. Some of you would say "Boooo" to that but this is forest country and care is of the premuim.

Tomorrow We will be in town and doing errands, as well as the Chiropractor visits. See you then.