Day 17 - Newberg, OR (Day 2)

We got to stay put and enjoy family activities today.

Our Site
We're settled here. 

The black and white plastic bags wrapped around hitch parts are grandchild grease protection devices. 

About the Day
Much of the day involved Lucy and William.

Lucy was the first thing we saw when
 we stepped out of the trailer this morning.

Lucy and William presented a number of "performances" throughout the day.

Dancing and tumbling were
big in the shows.

We got a tour of Barbara's new youth theater classroom.

We had a fun lunch at Jac's Deli ... a gas station converted to a 1950s-style restaurant.

Lucy and Grandma went shopping for groceries, hair bands and nail polish.

Kenny and Dick worked on an apple press.

It was a fun day!

Day 16 - Boardman, OR to Newberg, OR

Yippee! We made it to Portland today after 2,994 miles of towing. It was a nice day. No smoke haze, no high winds and no dust storms ... just some really special moments.

The Route
We drove 193 miles from Boardman to Newberg. The route was simple. Leave Boardman on I-84W, make a stop at Hood River, continue on I-84W to Portland, then take I-5S to OR-99W and follow it to Newberg. We're staying at Carol's daughter's family farm just outside Newberg.

Along the Way
We left Boardman at 9:15 with a plan to meet a friend for lunch in Hood River.

The drive along the gorge was beautiful. The sun was out and the sights were clear most of the way.

Columbia River from I-84W 

Washington is across the river

Wind farm on the plateau

I-84 descends into the gorge

The highway offers great views
of the gorge and the river.

There's a lot of rail traffic on
both sides of the river.

Hood River lunch with Cheryl ...
Cheryl Patchet worked with Dick for many years in San Diego. We've connected a number of times during other trips west. We learned a few days ago that she was visiting family in Parkdale (about 14 miles south of Hood River), so we arranged to meet for lunch for when we came through Hood River.

Trailer parking in downtown Hood River looked like a challenge. We parked in the Walmart parking lot and Cheryl provided transportation to the Sixth Street Bistro and Loft. The restaurant was small, attractive, and a great place for conversation and an excellent meal. Our time was short, but this was surely a special moment with our friend.

It was sunny all during our lunch
time with Cheryl.

The rest of the trip ...
The sky darkened as we headed down the gorge.

About 20 miles from Portland we were hit with a torrential downpour.  It didn't last long. The windshield wipers couldn't keep up, visibility dropped to about six car lengths and traffic slowed. The good news is that much of the dust and dirt from yesterday got washed away.

Arriving in Newberg ...
We arrived at Kenny & Barbara Bagley's farm at around 4pm. We were greeted by two waving, jumping grandchildren. Lucy and William were the first in a hug-fest.

The farm has RV connections for electricity, water and sewer. We got set up in front of an audience and were almost able to keep William and the hitch grease apart in the process.

Kenny smoked a chicken and Barbara fixed a delicious dinner to go with it. 

Now, about the chicken. It wasn't your normal chicken. They raised it last year on a high protein diet. It was really big (they had some even bigger). It was smoked with a marinade. It was moist and tasty.

What's next ...
We'll be at the farm for a week and then will move into Portland to stay with Tim, Elizabeth, Jacob and Anna Winslea for a week. Elizabeth is Carol's daughter.

After that, everyone will decide it's time for us to go home and we'll realize it's a long way away.

Day 15 - Mead, WA to Boardman, OR

We've found that each day on the road is unique. Some are fun, some are exciting, some are ... well, you get the picture. Today was certainly different from any we've experienced.

We woke to an overcast day. We received travel alerts on our cell phones while we were getting ready to leave. High winds, dust storms and limited visibility were forecast along our route to Oregon.

The Route
We traveled 212 miles from Mead, WA to Boardman, OR. We took US-2 to I-90, then followed I-90 west to Ritzville where we connected with US-395S. We picked up I-82 at Kennewick, crossed the Columbia River into Oregon and finally got onto I-84S which took us to Boardman.

Along the Way
We left Spokane aware of the weather warning. Wind gusts began to increase as we left town. We drove through two areas that had really high winds and dust storms. The first between Spokane and Ritzville (60 miles) and the other between Pasco and Umatilla (30 miles). The weather became sunny and windy elsewhere along the way.

Leaving Spokane

The gusts increase and visibility drops 

The weather began to clear near Ritzville

We've driven this route a number of times and are always impressed with the expansive view. The fields and open plains appear to stretch forever. We could see rain showers in the distance on one side of the road and sunshine on the other.

The scenery is breathtaking

Second dust storm envelopes
the bridge at Kennewick

Further south on I-82

The scene brightens as we enter Oregon.

We've wondered about a huge tree farm along I-84 east of Boardman for years. Today we learned that it's the largest irrigated tree farm in the country (7.5 million hybrid poplar and alder trees on 25,000 acres). It's owned by Greenwood Resources who plans to use them for biofuel.

The Campground
Carol found another dandy stopping place at the Boardman Marina & RV Park in Boardman, OR. The grounds are attractive, the sites are huge and the facilities are well maintained. The campground is located on the Columbia River and is next door to the Boardman Bombing Range.

Site #63

Barge shipping on the Columbia River

We took a walk along the river and around the campground at sunset. 

Boardman marina at sunset

Boardman park at sunset

Carol at sunset

We met another Airstream family during our walk. Davis and Heather Cook have a sparkling 2013 25' Flying Cloud. They're from Amity, OR (near McMinnville). They were returning from a Wally Byam Caravan trip.

Observations
We faced a day of high winds and a night in a campground next to a bombing range. Thankfully, we haven't been blown away or blown up.

We've passed a large number of RV sales companies along I-90 in Montana and in Washington. Many of the companies are side-by-side. There are many thousands of rigs on display. This is just a small sample of what's for sale, but what are they going to do with all of them?

Day 14 - Missoula, MT to Mead, WA

It's day 14 and we're travelling slowly, as planned. We'll be in Portland on Sunday afternoon. Today ended in Mead, WA ... a suburb north of Spokane.

About Today
It was overcast (or hazy from smoke?) when we woke at 8:00. The windows were closed and the fans were off all night. We had no ash inside the trailer, but the flat surfaces outside were dusted with it.

We were on the road by 10:00. 

The Route
We took I-90 from Missoula, through Coeur d' Alene, to Spokane. We then went north on US-2 to Mead. Total travel distance was 199 miles.

Along the Way
The winds shifted overnight, the smoke began to clear and visibility improved as we drove. Sunshine peeked through from time to time and we had a few light sprinkles. The temperature reached the low 80s.

There are mountains in western Montana.

Old fire damage in Montana

Clark Fork River approaching St. Regis

Idaho displayed an important reminder.

Washington greeted us
with Pacific Time, too

The  Campground
We're staying at Alderwood RV Resort tonight. It's rated as one of the top 10 U.S. resorts. The staff is friendly and helpful, the services are extensive and the sites are quite attractive. We felt the rating was a stretch. The sites are narrow, the internet is slow and the site utility connections are placed in an inconvenient location.

Site #105

Tomorrow
We're aiming for Boardman, OR tomorrow.

Day 13 - Big Timber, MT to Missoula, MT

This was an interesting travel day. We spent most of it driving through smoke-filled valleys. It was not a day to enjoy Montana's beautiful scenery.

About Big Timber/Greycliff KOA
Yesterday we complained about highway and railroad noise at the campground. Truth is ... we were grumpy from a day of travel. We slept well and didn't have any problem with noise.

This morning we discovered they have the best designed campground showers we've seen.

This is a very nice place to stay.

Big Timber/Greycliff KOA views

The Route
We drove 290 miles on I-90 from Big Timber to Missoula.

Along the Way
The day's journey started with a surprise when we stopped at a Sinclair station in Big Timber. We saw our first Tesla Supercharger Station. They can charge a Tesla Model S in 30 minutes, for FREE. Tesla is planning 500 of these stations with 2,818 superchargers. Finding one in Big Timber was as big a surprise as seeing one.

Tesla Supercharger Station

The route took us over Bozeman Pass (5,712ft) and included a number of steep ascents and descents. 

The views would have been breathtaking except for the smoke from Washington, Oregon and California forest fires that filled the valleys and masked the sun. We could smell the smoke. The smoke got thicker as we drove west. We found ash particles settling on the car and trailer when we stopped for the night.

Scenes from I-90 as we traveled west

Other Observations
Gas stations and casinos appear to be really good friends in Montana. Find one and the other is usually right next door.

We saw more Airstream trailers on the highway today than we've seen on the trip to-date. They were coming from the opposite direction and weren't traveling together.

The Campground
Carol found what looked like an excellent campground in Missoula and was able to reserve the last available site. Jim & Mary's RV Park turned out to be a beautiful place to end the day. All of the flowers are grown in their park's greenhouse.

Site #F-3

Tomorrow
We tried unsuccessfully to find a way to avoid the smoke and ash fallout on the way to Portland. So, we'll continue on I-90 through Idaho and into Washington. then connect with I-84 in Oregon and follow the Columbia River Gorge to Portland.