Oregon

We say bye bye to California by crossing the ( to many a Bucket List item) Golden Gate Bridge and drive across the astonishing Redwood Highway northbound to Oregon, a state that will give us the chance to drive along the Pacific West Coast highways. But, before that, a couple of historical remarks have to be made: the story of Lewis and Clark and a brief encounter with a very tall man (?) whose past resembles the believes of the monster of Loch Ness , a creature that has inhabited in many people’s minds but no one certainly hasn’t demonstrated its existence.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition began in 1804, when President Thomas Jefferson tasked Meriwether Lewis with exploring the lands west of the Mississippi River that comprised the Louisiana Purchase ( remember, In 1802, King Charles IV of Spain returned the Louisiana Territory to France and revoked America’s port access). In 1803, under the threat of war, President Jefferson and James Monroe successfully negotiated a deal with France to purchase the Louisiana Territory—which included about 827,000 square miles—for $15 million. Lewis chose William Clark as his co-leader for the mission. The excursion lasted over two years. Along the way they confronted harsh weather, unforgiving terrain, treacherous waters, injuries, starvation, disease and both friendly and hostile Native Americans. Nevertheless, the approximately 8,000-mile journey was deemed a huge success and provided new geographic, ecological and cultural information about previously uncharted areas of North America.  We crossed the state from the south on our way to the state of Washington.

Approaching Mount Hood you see signs of an interesting creature…. BIGFOOT!!

Stories about Bigfoot have entered into oral tradition and become part of regional folklore. The historical record of Bigfoot in the Oregon country begins in 1904 with sightings of a hairy “wild man” by settlers in the Sixes River area in the Coast Range; similar accounts by miners and hunters followed in later decades. In 1924, miners on Mount St. Helens claimed to have been attacked by giant “apes,” an incident widely reported in the Oregon press. Local Native Americans used this event to discuss publicly their own knowledge of this very tall, hairy man/ape. Same as Loch Ness monster, science has been sceptical of its existence.

Like salmon, Bigfoot has become an important symbolic resource through which many Oregonians and Northwest residents have defined their identities and considered their place in the natural world.

And here’s where the Pacific Ocean concert begins…. miles and miles of road making contact with the Pacific shores and Scotty enjoying the view. It is not actually a straight highway; it is a nice curvy and hilly road that makes the driving quite pleasant.

Abundance of large rocks can be seen from the road.

Scotty taking a break next to an older Country Coach

Beautiful bridge!!

Campground in Klamath southern Oregon, just one night before heading towards Mount Hood!!

Typical morning in the Pacific North West… foggy and a bit cool

One of the nicest campgrounds in terms of space, amenities and staff was Mount Hood RV Park, part of the Thousand Trails network ( not that we are members). It is located very close to the foothill of Mount Hood, part of Mount Hood National Forest is in Oregon, east of Portland and south of the Columbia River Gorge. Mount Hood, a dormant volcano capped by glaciers, is home to ski trails, alpine lakes and the 1930s Timberline Lodge. The Timberline Trail encircles the peak, passing waterfalls, glacial creeks and meadows. Barlow Road, once part of the Oregon Trail, goes around the southern slope near the village of Government Camp. It is over 11,000 ft high.

In that campground we met a lovely family from Chicago; Kevin, Gilliand and son Colton are traveling the country in their fifth wheel trailer and they enjoy the company of Ovie, a very friendly French Bulldog

Tree number 20!!

The tree from Oregon was planted at the Mount Hood campground thanks to the coordination and support from Cindy from the Office.

So, having done Oregon there is one more state to visit before adventuring into foreign lands… Canada!. We shall be in Washington State soon…