The Oregon Trail

Getting close, and we decided to just push through.  These last areas are ones we can visit from Oregon on another trip.  Idaho is another state we have never been to, and there are areas we want to see, but some of them were not on our route this trip.  We started to see upheavals of lava in the earth's surface, evidence of being near the Cascade range of volcanoes which still, after 10 years of living in Portland, amaze me.  They spring out of the ground suddenly, all snowcapped and beautiful.  That is, on  a clear day.  We do have a lot of clouds and haze in Portland which often prevents you from seeing them.   When they are visible, the locals say "the mountains are out, ", a phrase I have readily adopted!

Lewis and Clark took an entire year to travel from St. Louis to the west coast of Oregon, and countless people left in the 1800's to find the "Garden of the World".  They encountered hardships across the arid, grassless lands, climbing up hill and down often with no water.  1 in 10 died.  Their wagons sometimes tipped over on the steep grades.  That is, if they had wagons.  Many traveled by foot with belongings on their backs, or in wheel barrows.  I can't imagine.

In Oregon, trucks and RV's are still, on paved roads, warned of steep downgrades and possibility of tipping, and must reduce speed.  The last pass we went through had a brake testing area, three warning signs, and three runaway truck ramps on the down slope!  (and we avoided Montana passes!)   Our new GPS, made just for RV's, often announced "sharp curve ahead,"as we traversed zig zag roads through what is  some of the most beautiful country in the nation.  You go from arid brown slopes to tall stately fir trees to  rushing waterfalls, and into the Columbia River Gorge, which is breathtaking.  And up pops  Mt. Hood, at 11,000 feet, standing before you in snow capped glory, a dormant volcano.

We  spent our last night at a site right on the Columbia River, which was beautiful.  We encountered several  campers as we walked  a trail along the waterfront, and chatted with some just sitting and watching the sunset.  The road we followed to Portland followed the Lewis and Clark trail, and the Oregon Trail.  We have already visited some of the  sites in eastern Oregon, and I will look up some photos from a road trip last summer to add, especially for my Florida friends!  I also have photos of central Oregon, which is high desert, and another place that amazes me, with its unique landscape.  But the Gorge is still my favorite, and now that we have the motor home, I noticed signs as we drove through for camping, and want to do it there.   Funny how sometimes you don't notice things until they pertain to you!