Portland

Portland/Fairview RV Park, Portland, OR:  Beautiful morning!  We drove over to the rapid rail station (only 5 miles from our park), parked the truck and bought two one-day tickets on the blue line.  Only $4 for both of us.  It took about 40 minutes to get downtown.  We got off at Old Town and walked down to Pioneer Square.  Walked around and finally found a great place for lunch.  We both had beef brisket which was really good.  Then decided to get on a hop on/hop off trolley tour which took about an hour.  Got back on the east-bound train and were back at our parking spot by 4:00.  Back to our park and sat outside reading for a while.  We’re going to go back on the train to the China Gardens in Chinatown.  Upper 80s today.  Nice!

Pioneer Square--downtown Portland.

Courthouse at Pioneer Square.

Mikey in Pioneer Square.

Downtown Portland.

Did a lot of walking.  Lucky for me, I had my "go walk" shoes on.

Downtown Portland from Washington Park.

Warehouse area in Old Town Portland.

Convention Center

Waterfront Park

Downtown Portland

Historic home in the Washington Park area.
Picture by Mike

Portland

KOA, Lincoln City, OR, to Portland/Fairview RV Park, Portland, OR:  Didn’t leave until 11:00 this morning.  I tossed and turned all night, so Mike did all the driving today.  Back on Rt. 18 through McMinville again and the cute little towns of Dundee, Newburg, and Sherwood.  Big winery area—especially Dundee.  Wanted to go back there, but by the time we got through all the Portland mid-day traffic, I nixed that idea.  Caught our first view of Mt. Hood off in the haze.  Pretty impressive.  We’re in a very nice RV park just east of Portland.  90 when we pulled in here.  Feels nice to be able to sit in the shade and still be warm.  Got set up and sat outside reading for a while.  We’re here for two weeks.

All through Oregon, and especially the coastal road, you see these self-contained bicyclists.  Loaded down with gear, they struggle up long hills.  Doesn't look like fun to me.  Plus, in some places there isn't a shoulder to speak of.  

This is a water park at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum.  The water slides and chutes come out of the other side of this 747.  

Otter Rock

KOA, Lincoln City, OR:  Another fantastic, sunny day today.  We got the laundry done early this morning and then headed south along the coast to Otter Rock.  When we drove through the little coastal town of Depoe Bay we spotted whales blowing really close to shore.  So we stopped and watched them for a while.  Continued on and pulled off at a historic bridge and took some pictures.  Just before the onset of WWI, it was determined that the Oregon coast was vulnerable because there was no coastal road.  So, the legislature proposed a military highway be constructed along the coast.  Construction began in 1919.  The bridges weren’t completed until 1937. This road became US Highway 101. Continued on to Otter Rock.  Not much here.  Mike had a meeting here back in the 80s.  Back to Depoe Bay and had lunch.  Then back to Lincoln City and fueled up and picked up some groceries.  Back to our park and sat outside reading for a while.  A beautiful day.  71 today, but it felt a lot hotter in the sun.  Tomorrow we leave for Columbia River Gorge.

One of the historic bridges.

This beautiful loop was on the original road bed.

This windswept area Captain Cook dubbed "Cape Foulweather".  It's not unusual to have winds up to 100 mph in this area.

I love this little stone house way up on the bluff.  You can see the effects of the wind on the trees.

The marine layer hanging over Otter Rock.

Otter rock.  We saw some whales here also.

North Coast

KOA, Lincoln City, OR:  Another beautiful day today.  We headed north up the coast since when we leave on Monday we’ll be heading inland to Portland.  So we drove north on the 101 and then took the Three Capes Scenic Byway which hugged the coast.  Not a great road but fantastic views.  Drove all the way up to Cape Meares and checked out the Cape Meares Lighthouse.  Had lunch in the little coastal town of Oceanside at Roseanne’s right on the beach with a view of the 3 arch rocks.  And OMG the food was fantastic!  I had Pacific snapper and Mike had their clam chowder and a sandwich. He said their chowder was by far the best he’s had since we’ve been out here.  Left there pleasantly stuffed and headed back to the 101. Passed this cute house which was pretty close to the road and it had chain-link fence all around topped with razor wire!   Guess they don’t want anyone bothering them!  Went through the cute little town of Tillamook which sits in a pretty valley with mountains all around. We saw a bright yellow Lotus parked on the street there. Thought we were back in LA. The temperature was 82 here in the valley.  A veritable heat wave.  Back to Lincoln City and our park to rest, relax, and digest. 69 here in Lincoln City.

Little pond meets the Pacific.

Another amazing beach.

Sand dunes creeping up into the pine forest.

The three arch rocks.

Cape Meares

Cape Meares Lighthouse
We had to walk way down to this lighthouse. It's pretty short and squat.  Then we had to slog back up a long hill.

KOA, Lincoln City, OR:  This morning dawned sunny and pretty warm—for here anyway.  We got ourselves ready and headed back south to Yachats (Ya-hots) so we could stop and see some things we couldn’t while pulling the fifth wheel.  Yachats is a cute little artsy coastal town.  We checked out the beach and stopped at an amazing gallery.  Continued north through the little coastal towns of Depoe Bay, Waldport and Seal Rock.  Stopped at Newport and parked in the historic bay area and had lunch at a little place right on the water.  Checked out a couple of lighthouses and headed back to Lincoln City.  Relaxed the rest of the evening.  Mid-70s today. 

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

Rugged Oregon Coast

Yaquina Head

Wide Oregon beaches.

No jackets!

Fishing boat coming in to Newport harbor.

Yaquina Bay Lighthouse.

Bridge over Newport harbor.

The Spruce Goose

KOA, Lincoln City, OR:  When we first opened our eyes this morning, the sun was out.  But by the time we actually got up it was drizzling and cool.  So, we headed to McMinville, OR, where the “Spruce Goose” now resides in the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum.  This immense flying boat was designed and built by Hughes Aircraft Co.  Howard Hughes was involved in every aspect of its design and construction.  The government contract was for $18 million.  Even so, Howard Hughes spent $7 million of his own money to finish this one-of-a-kind flying boat.  The fact that Howard spent so much of his own money didn’t deter Congress to drag him to a hearing implying misappropriation of funds.  Howard was so incensed that in 1947 when he took this huge craft out for a taxiing test in Long Beach, he in fact took off and flew it for about a mile at 70 feet over the water.  Ya gotta love him!  I guess members of Congress didn’t think it would fly.  Take that Congress!  The drive over there was quite pretty.  Went through a beautiful national forest with huge, old-growth pines and a pretty mountain stream right along the road.  This opened up to a beautiful valley of neatly planted crops creating a patchwork of color.  Also a lot of vineyards in this valley.  Reminded me a little of Napa Valley in California.  Also passed a couple of amazing galleries—amazing because of the elaborate landscaping surrounding them; a work of art in themselves.  Stopped to check out a historic covered bridge and then continued back to our park.  Made chili for dinner.  81 in McMinville.  69 on the coast.

Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum
McMinville, OR

The Spruce Goose has eight Pratt & Whitney 3000 HP engines.
It's made out of wood.

We took a tour of the cockpit area.  Mike is in Howard's seat.  Our Docent, Vivian, is in the foreground.

Looking aft behind the cockpit.  There was room for 16 passengers in this area.  We even got to look down the wing section.

The SR-71 Blackbird--probably the fastest plane in the world.

My favorite--a drone.  Looks like a big grey whale.

Both of us in the cockpit.

Historic Drift Creek Covered Bridge--1914.

Midway RV Park, Coos Bay, OR, to KOA, Lincoln City, OR:  Left Coos Bay at a little after 9 this morning and headed north on the 101.  Drove over that way high bridge just outside of North Bend…pulling the fifth wheel.  I was driving and it didn’t bother me too much.  I drove to Florence and then Mike took over.  After Florence 101 rose to breathtaking heights above the Pacific. Very twisty, turny and a tunnel with a pretty low clearance.  Drove through one cute little coastal town after another.  The KOA we’re staying at is just across the road from Devil’s Lake, which is really pretty big and has nice lake houses dotting the shore.  The KOA here is really nice—each site having shrubs on both sides, affording lots of privacy.  Got here and were set up by 1:00.  Then headed out exploring.  Stopped along the beach and walked for a while.  Pretty cloudy all day.  But it reached 71.  Had dinner at a seafood grill on the beach where the D River empties into the Pacific. It's the shortest river in the world and is the outlet from Devil's Lake.

After Florence, the higher we climbed the denser the fog/marine layer.

The Pacific was churning pretty good.

Sculpture on the beach.

A bunch of harbor seals sleeping on the beach.

Three ladies on a log.

Our site.