Week 10 - Portland to Calgary Alberta

Our general travel route for this week...

The chemical warfare we waged on Kris' toothache turned the tide and the pain abated so we decided to spend 5 nights in the Portland area, ending each day with a couple of glasses of wine at the Shaken Martini Lounge (the one we mentioned in last week's blog... check out the review in the Gresham Outlook published while we were there; if it is still available) in Troutdale. Unfortunately by the end of the 5th day the tooth was a little uncertain so we decided to change plans and head for home via Spokane rather than Seattle/Vancouver. The unfortunate result, for us, is that we missed connecting with our friends John and Joan who recently completed a cross Canada trip and had already traveled onto the Okanagan area by the time we hit the Radium area.

We had a good time in Portland. After the Sunday craft market we mentioned last week, we did a day at the Japanese and Rose Gardens followed by the Hawthorne district, a day combining downtown and the Pearl District, and a day in the Arts district mostly all just wandering, sightseeing and checking out the wide variety of shops including, or course, Powell's Books.

The Japanese Gardens were in their usual beautiful and tranquil state...

... and, much to our surprise, and delight, the Rose Gardens were still in full bloom...

Leaving Portland we stopped for lunch in Goldendale Washington. We decided to try out the Windy Ridge Saloon and Eatery on the main drag. Nice... the interior decoration was quite neat, a sort of gentrified western saloon, very authentic but with modern touches. The menu was varied making it hard to decide what to try. Kris settled on batter fried salmon which she concluded was probably the best she had ever had. Brian settled on the Goober Burger, a 1/2 lb pattie covered with a large spread of crunchy peanut butter. Their menu stated that it "Sounds weird, tastes awesome" and was true to their words. Good choice and the beard only needed a good rinsing after as the pb was a tad melty  :-)

North of Goldendale we came across a couple of sights worth mentioning. The first was a viewpoint...

... with a great view of a mountain across the valley. We think we could see Mt St Helens but couldn't be sure from the viewpoint map, however the view was fabulous...

The second was more on the negative side. We got stuck in a very long traffic jam for over an hour...

It turned out that a large transport truck did something to catch fire. It sparked a grass fire on both sides of the highway, hence the long holdup as the fires were brought under control. The cab of the truck ended up a pile of molten rubble (couldn't get a pic of that) and we couldn't tell if it was only one vehicle or if there was another smaller one in there as well. Brutal sight! We checked the local newspaper the next day and it reported that only the truck was damaged and nobody was injured. We guessed that something in the truck engine sparked the fire.

Anyway, we decided to stop the night in Yakima and found a spot in a RV Park next to a golf "resort" (use the word loosely). The RV park guy told us there was a bar/restaurant in the clubhouse so we decided to wander over and have a glass of wine and possibly some munchies. Recall our experience, earlier this trip, at Chowchilla where the clubhouse had a very nice bistro overlooking the 18th green. Not this time! As we approached the clubhouse one of the young men working in the clubhouse pointed us to the bar. We entered to a seemingly surprised woman who looked at us as if we had two heads. She looked at the clock to see that it was all of 6:20 PM then at us and said quite sourly "well I decided to close at 6:00 today". We asked if we could have a couple of glasses of wine to have on the patio and we would leave the glasses with the guy in the clubhouse... Well, didn't that just pee in her cereal! She was not having any of that! As we left, the clubhouse guy came over and sheepishly apologized and said that she normally stays open later but apparently can do whatever she wants. Any golfers still on the course were out of luck on that front. In retrospect, it was not the most modern looking "bar/restaurant", sort of on the grubby side if the truth were told, so probably just as well.

To top off the Yakima visit Brian got accosted by some guy panhandling in a Target store parking lot. Brian declined to offer up anything and the guy looked at our license plate and loudly suggested that "we should go back to where we came from"... after driving around to sightsee Yakima for a bit we decided that it was an apt suggestion and since we were on our way back home anyway we would continue to do just that! No need to spend anymore time there.

The next day we continued on to Coeur d'Alene for a couple of nights. Since we were nearing the end of this trip we decided to have a nice prime rib dinner at the Cedars floating restaurant on Lake Coeur d'Alene. Very nice!

On the way north up the Idaho panhandle we decided to stop, for a night, at the Blue Lake Resort about 8 miles south of Bonners Ferry. We have driven past there many times and always thought it was probably a mosquito infested little swamp. NOT SO! Turns out the little lake is spring fed and is some 50 to 100 feet deep. The campground is a delight amid a pine tree forest...

Then it was on to the border where there was zippo for a lineup and after a few quick questions the agent wished us well and sent us on our way. We headed to Fort Steele just north of Cranbrook for the night. That turned out to be the coldest night of our trip with the temperature dropping to a few degrees below freezing during the night. The little ceramic heater along with an extra blanket we have does a decent job of keeping the wee trailer and it's occupants warm enough but as we were getting close to home we decided to do the relatively long drive, for us, and head back to Calgary the next day. It was a beautiful drive north to Radium, over the mountains and on to the foothills into Calgary on a clear blue sky day.

Home again.

Some stats for this trip:
Total distance traveled: 10,928 kms
Total $ spent on fuel: $CDN 1,737.34 (after converting $US to $CDN)

Average $ cost per litre of premium gas in Canada: $CDN 1.426
Average $ cost per litre of premium gas in US: $CDN 1.061 (after converting gal to litre and $US to $CDN)

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Back to Week 9

... end of this trip

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Week 9 - Florence to Portland Oregon

Our general travel route for this week...

Since we wanted to try out the "Glass Blowing - Make your own art piece" place on Monday we decided to stay an extra day at Mercer Lake as you have to leave your "piece of art" to slowly cool down in their kiln overnight. We asked at the office and they said we could stay as long as we wanted because the RV part of their resort is basically empty the rest of the year. Indeed, by late Monday morning we were the lone trailer in the place (except for some permanents a bit further up the hill).

Anyway, off we went to the glass place and had a real fun time there. Kris made a paper weight and Brian made a glass float. Actually, saying we made them is a bit of a stretch. The guy helped us pick out our colors then he started the big glob of molten glass going. Then he handed us the rod and told us how to hold and rotate the glass in the furnace and how to add the different colors. Once all the colors were done he took over and we were assistants the rest of the way. What a blast!!!

Here's Kris adding some of the color to what will be her paper weight...

...and here's Brian showing how full of hot air he can be by blowing into the tube to create the float...

Later Monday when deciding what to do for lunch, Brian proclaimed that he had a hankering for a hamburger, so off we went to the Hot Rod Diner on the Florence main drag. Warning... be wary of diners that have convertible cars, with the interior converted to a dining table (we did not sit in one). Although the hamburger craving was satisfied, it was pretty well the greasiest spoon joint you might image. Kris had a taco salad which was mostly left behind.

Tuesday morning we picked up our personal glass pieces. Nice souvenirs for a fun thing to do...

Afterwards, being in a glass piece frame of mind, we drove to Old Town where we purchased a couple of antique glass Japanese fishing floats then returned to Mercer Lake for what will probably be the last swimming day of this trip. Since all the cabins and RV spots (except for permanents) were now empty we had the beach area all to ourselves. A little spot of paradise to be sure. We finished off the day, and our Florence stay, by going back down to Old Town and having some wine and munchies at our favorite little cantina overlooking the river.

Wednesday we drove north up 101 through all the great little seaside towns to arrive at Tillamook where we stayed at the Pleasant Valley RV park, a nicely treed place about 6 miles south of town. We set up the trailer then toured around Tillamook. Not too much to see. Nice dinner at a local cafe.

Thursday we did a day trip north to Seaside. On the way back we stopped for a walkaround,had a brewpub lunch and watched a glass blowing artist in actin in Cannon Beach. We also stopped at a lookout just north of Manzanita for a fabulous view of the coastline with the hovering fog...

After quick tours of Rockaway, Garibaldi and Bay City we found ourselves back in Tillamook and decided it was laundry time. For dinner we drove up to Bay City to go to the Fish Peddler for fish and chips and fish tacos.

Friday we planned to do the Three Capes loop west of Tillamook. Unfortunately part of the loop highway between Oceanside and Netarts is closed due to a landslide taking out a section of the highway. We drove up to Cape Meares and visited the lighthouse there. Great little lighthouse but it was so foggy and windy walking down to the lighthouse that we almost got soaked from water being blown off the nearby trees. It was clear at the lighthouse...

... but all around the fog prevented viewing any of the shoreline. The lighthouse is not fully open for viewing due to some idiotic vandalism last year when a couple of guys thought it would be cool to shoot out the light.

The drive out to the lighthouse goes through a very eerie forest that makes you think you have entered the Lord of the Rings territory. Unfortunately the road is so narrow it is virtually impossible to stop for a picture and it was too cold and windy to walk back up the hill from the lighthouse parking lot to take a pic. Maybe next time.

Leaving the lighthouse area we continued on the loop to Oceanside where we had an excellent lunch at Roseanna's Cafe overlooking the beach and rocky shore. Since the road to Netarts was closed, just south of Oceanside, we drove back north around the peninsula and up to Netarts from the south for a bit of sightseeing in that area. Later in the afternoon we went back up to Bay City to the Fish Peddler for an excellent dinner of Shrimp/Crab Louie and baked Oysters Tillamook (baked oysters with bacon and Tillamook cheddar).

One of the real fun things they have done in Tillamook is to add a touristy touch to the regional tradition of quilt making. Tillamook is the home of the Latimer Quilt and Textile Center. Many local businesses have joined a program called the Tillamook Quilt Trail in which they have taken traditional quilt block patterns and reproduced them in the form of large square paintings and attached them to the outside of the various business buildings. They then published a brochure showing all the businesses which are participating with a picture of their quilt block and a blurb about their business. As you drive around the town and the surrounding country side it is quite fun to watch for the blocks being displayed. Here's one from a local pharmacy...

Saturday we packed up and traveled along the beautiful Wilson river valley inland to Portland. The weather was fantastic and many inlanders were obviously taking advantage of it to head to the coast as the traffic coming the other way was heavy and continuous. When we left Tillamook it was 12C... when we arrived in Portland it was 30C.

We had planned to stay at the Portland/Fairview RV park on the east side since we had stayed there last November. We arrived to an entirely different attitude from a mere 10 months ago. Apparently when the park is mostly bereft of seasonal business they overlook their unpublished rule of "must be self contained" and will gladly take the money. (Note... in our wee trailer we decided to be plumbing free... ergo are not "self contained"). The young lady at the desk tried to tell us we couldn't possibly have stayed there last november because she would have gotten into trouble for it and then "corrected" herself by saying she probably did get in trouble but couldn't remember!

While we were there she took a telephone reservation from someone and at no time asked if they were self contained. Our situation was irritating enough but imagine if you made a reservation and arrived late in the evening to be turned away because of this stupid rule. At one point we asked the young lady why they had restrooms and showers if all rigs had to be self contained. She said it was because some people don't like to use their on-board facilities while at the park. We said exactly the same thing. We don't need on-board if we always stay at places that have the facilities! We actually felt that they would rather have only permanent residents but put up with tourists just to fill some empty spots. So... do not patronize this place!!!

We went a bit further down the road to another place that had open spots but upon driving to one of the available ones we realized that it was really an immobile mobile home park with all permanent trailers and a few empty spots to pick up a bit of day money. What a stink! It smelled like the sewers had definitely runneth over... we skedaddled out of there in a hurry. Lucky we viewed before paying.

Using our trusty Trailer Life Directory we looked up the location of another park about 10 minutes further east in a little place called Troutdale. We arrived there to find a most pleasant reception. To cut to the short of it, the Sandy RV park in Troutdale turned out to be a gem and a lot more pleasant than the Portland/Fairview RV park along with larger and better kept restrooms, showers and laundry facilities, and a bit cheaper to boot. Nicer location, walking distance to the charming little downtown of Troutdale and beside a great river in which many, many people go swimming when the weather is quite hot. On Sunday afternoon we went down to the river to check it out. Looking up and down the river we estimated there were close to 1,000 people enjoying the fabulous weather and, what turned out to be, an excellent swimming/floating river. A two block walk up to the town is a great little place called the Shaken Martini Lounge owned and run by Andy a friendly fellow who is an avid James Bond fan. His prime drink offerings are all based on Bond drinks and he can tell you which movie featured which drink etc etc etc... We dropped in there every night during our stay. Very nice. Not much on the food side of the menu but, as Andy says, it is a lounge and the law requires him to sell food so he provides things that he would like to eat, in a lounge. He has good taste and the sandwiches and munchies (baked brie, bruschetta, etc) we tried out were all excellent.

Earlier Sunday morning we drove downtown and went to the Portland Saturday Craft Market under the Burnside Bridge. Yes it is the Saturday market but it is also open on Sunday. What a great place. The array of creative crafts showing skill in woodworking, glass making, clothing, etc is wonderful. In total we picked up a couple of cool wood puzzles, a funky t-shirt, a neat belt buckle made from a chunk of old bicycle chain and several very nice fused glass pieces.

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Back to Week 8

On to Week 10

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Week 8 - Fortuna to Florence Oregon

Our general travel route for this week...

This week was the traditional (or at least very common) route up highway 101. Nothing fancy, basically an easy freeway type drive but not much traffic.

Monday was a tour around Arcata, historic downtown Eureka and Ferndale. Fortuna is about 25 miles south of Arcata and we decided to start there and work our way back so grabbed a couple of coffees at Starbucks and headed north on 101 to Arcata.

Downtown Arcata is a nice easy stroll mainly around the town square (green park where a fair number of young folks chill out) with numerous cool little shops to wander into. The two main shops (yarn and shoes) we wanted to look in were both closed on Monday so that was pretty quick. We had to mail a letter to our condo association back in Calgary, so dipped into a stationery store, bought an envelope, found the post office and that was that. After strolling a bit we decided it was getting close to lunch so headed south past Eureka to King Salmon Ave, the exit to the shoreline where "Gil's by the Bay" is situated. A little seafood cafe/restaurant where they make great food without screwing around with it. Beautiful garden patio and a small seawall esplanade attached to the property. Wonderful.

Back to Eureka old town where Brian went spelunking in an old antique/second hand/junk store for a couple of old HO scale model train cars while Kris revisited the Talisman Bead store to score more beads. Afterwards we wandered down to the waterfront and watched a harbor seal who happened to be there at that time. More strolling old town before we decided to head south to Ferndale.

We had seen ads for historic Victorian Ferndale but this was our first visit. It's about 5 miles off the 101 but well worth the drive. Short little main street (about 4-5 blocks) but pretty well all very well maintained Victorian style buildings...

We went into a nice yarn (of course) store where we ended up having a chat with the proprietor about the history of the town, ordinances for keeping it Victorian, impact of the tsunami, etc etc. A place to come back to for sure.

Tuesday we headed north to Crescent City where we stayed about 9 miles east in the spectacular Jedidiah Smith State Park at a RV park in the little hamlet named Hiouchi. Arriving in Crescent City we immediately stopped at the wharf to lunch at the Chart Room restaurant where you can watch Sea Lions from the windows. Excellent seafood lunches as well.

We had decided to stay out at Hiouchi as it is on highway 199 going towards O'Brien Oregon up the Smith River valley where Marcy Tilton's Art Barn is located...

a must for Kris to visit for fabric shopping...

and a great opportunity for Brian to park the car in the shade, lay back and have a snooze.

The drive up and back down the Smith River valley proved to be worth it, scenery wise, even if there had not been the Art Barn up there. Later we drove back into Crescent City and toured around there for about an hour before heading back to Hiouchi for the night.

Wednesday morning leaving Hiouchi we decided to try a different secondary highway cutoff to hit 101 about 10 miles north of Crescent City. Nice. Our destination for the day was the Bandon/Port Orford KOA where we spent 2 nights. The drive into Oregon was under a beautiful blue sky, albeit a tad windy. Contrast that to last November when it was so foggy, cloudy and rainy that we did not once see the ocean. Much nicer this time with the beautiful ocean and coast vistas.

After checking into the KOA we drove 6 miles back to Port Orford to have lunch at Griff's on the Dock.

Great view, great food.

On the way back to the KOA we drove out to Cape Blanco to see if was as foggy as it was last year. This year it was bright blue sky but so windy it was even hard to stand still. That said, we still got a good look at the lighthouse although it was closed on Wednesday, so nothing up close. Here's the difference in what we saw last year vs this year...

Last year...

This year...

Then it was back to the KOA for a late afternoon dip in the pool and spa (hot tub) before settling in beside a good fire as it gets dark very quickly in the well forested recesses of the KOA.

Thursday we drove up to Bandon for a browse around the "Old Town" and another dockside lunch of shrimp cocktails and fish tacos. Later we returned back to Port Orford in time to take in the museum at the Historic Port Orford Lifeboat Station before it closed for the day (it was closed Wednesday)...

This is a fabulous little museum detailing the dramatic rescue missions in some pretty horrific offshore seas.

Back to the KOA for another swim then back into Port Orford for a most excellent seating in the relatively new Redfish restaurant and wine bar. Beautiful view over the coastline...

We asked our waitress what their experience was after the Japan tsunami. As with other places, she said it was lucky that it occurred at low tide but what they saw was a series of super low tides followed by high tides at about 10 minute intervals; awesome. It continues to amaze just how much the tsunami, all the way across the Pacific, impacted the west coast.

Friday we headed north to Florence where we decided to hunker down for the Labor Day Weekend. We had made reservations about two weeks ago and as we drove north it looked like it was a good thing we did. Many RVs, campers, etc on the highway and numerous parks with no vacancy signs out already early on Friday.

The place we reserved did not disappoint. Prior to this trip we had never heard of Mercer Lake. The Mercer Lake RV resort is about 6 miles north east of Florence and sits on a most beautiful lakeside property...

Friday night we sat out on the dock with a glass (paper cup) of wine and watched as an Osprey made several passes, each time diving down to take a small trout as it surfaced. Beautiful evening.

Saturday we drove south to Winchester Bay to take in the BBQ on the dock. We did this last year and it did not disappoint this year either. A couple of orders of bbq'd salmon and tuna once again did us for lunch, dinner and dinner again the next day. This year we thought we'd try the Blackened Snapper and bbq'd oysters as well. Contrary to the salmon and tuna, they were not really all that great. The oysters were not bbq'd in the shell, rather they were cooked in a garlic bath in a pan on the bbq. The snapper wasn't really "blackened", just seasoned with some so-so cajun sauce. Not great in either case... just messing with perfectly good seafood.

Later on Saturday after returning to Mercer Lake, it being a beautiful sunny day we decided it was time for a lake swim. WOW... the water was fantastic. Not quite as clear as Lake Tahoe (you can still see your feet in about 5 feet of water but might not be able to count toes... you just hope they are still there) but every bit as warm. Sitting on the dock in the sun afterwards... very fine!

Sunday we took a drive around "greater Florence". Bordering the delta of the Siuslaw River along Rhododendron Drive there are some rather large gated communities. Even in the early afternoon the fog along there had not fully lifted and the temperature was a good 10 degrees cooler than over by Mercer Lake. We continued on into the Old Town area. It was busier, with tourists, than any other time we have been here but we managed to find a parking spot and did a pleasant stroll along the main drag looking in some shops and stopping for a decent lunch in an old refurbished building. Later we stopped at a place which advertised "Blow your own Glass" and after watching a bit and inquiring as to "what it is they do", we decided it would be fun to try but would have to come back tomorrow... so we have to wait until next week's blog to say how that worked out.

After returning to the lake for a swim and a sit in the sun on the dock, we decided to go back down to Old Town and have some wine and munchies at one of the small places overlooking the river watching the fog slowly seep in and overtake the remaining sunlight of the day...

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Back to Week 7

On to Week 9

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