On To Chehalis

We continued our trip this morning on I-84 driving down the Columbia Gorge. It was a misty morning -- and our windshield is very dirty! -- but the springtime greens in the Gorge were beautiful.

I always get a kick out of these "haystack" rocks --

We eventually turned north on I-205 which led us to I-5. The drive north is always very pretty with lots of rivers and bridges to cross.

At Exit 71 we turned off to Chehalis RV Park, which is listed in our books as an Encore Park. I began to get suspicious when all of the signs started saying Thousand Trails. These are my very least favorite parks. They are generally quite large and sprawling and they DO NOT assign campsites! You have to drive around until you find an unoccupied one. Then you get yourself parked and then you let the gate people know your site number.

We wanted a pull-through site as we did not want to unhitch, plus we want an early start tomorrow. The gate guard showed me a couple of possible sites on the map. The roads are narrow and poorly marked, but we did find one way up at the far end of the park.

We had gotten a message from the Park Manager before we arrived, saying that he'd like to visit with us about membership... Sure enough, long about four o'clock this fellow showed up, knocking at the door, anxious to tell us about their "Zone" membership!

A Long COLD Night!

Because we had so much yet to do yesterday, we got a rather late start. Because we were pretty tired, we decided not to try to make it the whole way, but to stop at a rest area for the night. We're not real fond of driving in the dark. It was dark by 4:30 and VERY dark by five, so about 6:30 we pulled into the Rest Area at Memaloosa State Park on Interstate 84 in Oregon. These are the views we saw when it began to get light this morning --

 

The truck parking area was full most of the night and there were trucks parked along the other side of the highway --

It was an absolutely miserable night. The cold front that has been sweeping down the West Coast didn't neglect the Columbia Gorge. Even running the generator off and on every hour or so all night, we couldn't keep the temperature in the coach up. I ended up bundled up in a heavy coat, scarf and blankets and still got thoroughly chilled. Forry's a bit more hot-blooded, but he even admitted to being awfully cold!

The Gorge was beautiful this morning when we commenced our journey west. The Columbia River at sunrise was spectacular --

The Gorge was formed by the Columbia River's cut through the Cascade Mountains. The huge cliffs appeared quite eerie in the early morning light --

Daughter Dawn's house is right across the street from 91 School. We generally need to use the parking lot to maneuver the motorcoach as we back into Dawn and Todd's driveway. After talking it over this morning, we decided that since today was a school day and there would be lots of cars in the way, we would wait until tomorrow to move in.

There is a nice RV Park not very far away in Woodburn where we decided to spend today and tonight.I hadn't got much sleep last night, so we got set up and parked and I crawled into bed! Everyone at Daughter Dawn's had activities at school or church tonight, so we will plan on seeing them all in the morning.

Finally! On the Road Again

It was a VERY busy day today! We moved the last of the stuff we wanted to leave behind into the storage unit and got it all locked up. We then moved the old Chevy van back in front of the doors.

We loaded my folding trike into the back of the Suzuki (it didn't fit on the carrier!) and tied Forry's folding bike in its case onto the carrier on the back of Toad II.

The two chaise lounges in their bags went into the back along with another chair, the doormat, etc.

We took down the wi-fi antenna and stored it. Then it was all of the usual getting ready stuff: putting the stays in front of the dishes; putting up the bars in the refrigerator; putting away anything that might be loose; pulling in the slides; raising the jacks; airing the one tire that always seems to be low (even though multiple tire shops can find nothing wrong with it!); picking up the jack pads; hitching up Toad II. And FINALLY, we are ready to leave --

It was later then we had planned, but we decided to go part of the way and then stop at a rest area for a few hours. Which is exactly what we have done. We are at the Rest Area that is part of Memaloose State Park on I-84 in Oregon. It's a pretty noisy spot, right by the freeway, but if he's tired enough, Forry can sleep anywhere...

Tree Heart Ranch, Ltd.

We started out today on Interstate 5 heading towards Portland,

then cut off on Highway 205

to connect up with Interstate 84 and head east down the Columbia Gorge.

From I 84 we drove Hwy 14 through the Tri-Cities to Highway 395 --

Then Highway 21 to Rosenoff Road --

to Batum Road --

and up the lane to the ranch.