lewis and clark, west coast

[juanbenae]

the 1st step in my california exodus is set to get underway at weeks end. will be going hwy 5 north from the bay area on friday, up through oregon to seattle. hope to get to southern oregon the 1st night so we can travel in daylight the next day while making our way to portland to stay with some friends. will be splitting from portland the morning of the third day, again traveling during day light hours to seattle.

i intending on going up hwy 5 most the whole way, what are some things i might check out in the hwy 5 corridor? i would not mind finding some other routes north and south to travel on the way up, or back if they were not too east and west. the trip home might be more of a east swing through Bend and such. just any suggestions you guys might have would be cool. if not my girl will recomend just the things she wants to do and then i suck. information is power, and i want to be impowered....

once in seattle i will be staying at a very good friend's house in burien (sp?) for a few days. again any pointers on things/areas to check out is desired. i am not the "space needle" touristy type so all off the beaten path type things considered. i will more than likely go up to canada for a touch-in-go, more to see the area north of where i will be staying and check some towns up that way.


couple things,

i will be traveling with my dog, so suggestions of k-9 friendly things is good.

will be in truck for space and weather passage considerations, no 911 this time..

info on train routes may be useful if sweety starts ax's up...

may stop in at JW shop for a license plate frame, tour, and autograph...

i know with the holidays things will be tough but any pelican's that might want to meet for a beer drop me a PM.


thanks for your insight,

toby

[red-beard]

I envy you. I drove the Coast from SF to San Diego 15 years ago. I'd love to go North from SF to Seattle.

[Don 944 LA]

I once made a trip from LA to North of Seatle for some off-roading. Drove straight through both ways.
There is some nice scenery there.

Beware of Oregons Gas Pump law...
If you try to pump your own gas, they view that as trying to steal it. They have people to do that.. thats their job..

I'm sure that there are quite a few Kanine friendly places the more " Country " you get.

[juanbenae]

i can not get any help here? oh, i mean bump....

[island911]

I5 corridor: You could make a stop in Corvallis Oregon. . .home of OSU; an interesting mix of tech & granola. (a very liberal place, you'll like that

McMinville OR is not too far off, and has some interesting stops. The SpruceGoose at the Museum of Flight . . Emory's place (Wild-ass Porsches) is there too.

From Portland up; you could detour off to Mt StHelens. . . for something rare.

When abouts are you going to be in Seattle?
I'd be glad to buy ya a beer if the timing works out.

[cbeers]

Toby,

Go check out Crater Lake if you have never seen it. I think you can work that into your return from Bend?

Also the Smith River area has a lot of scenery - rock climbing mecca and dogs are welcome last I heard.


Have fun!


-Chris

[Owain]

The drive up the (I think) 101 along the coast of Oregon is very nice. Lots to see that way and some great twisty roads, although it will take a little longer than using the I5. There's a great aero museum at Tillamook. Somewhere along there you can visit the Spruce Goose, too. I didn't get a chance when I was along there last, though. Personally I hate those interstate highways, they bore me to sleep. But if your time is limited, I guess that's what you have to do.

The drive along the (I think) 97 on the east side of the mountains is also very scenic (in parts)(since you mentioned going through Bend). Flat plains with the occasional cinder cone and deep river gorges at the north end of the plain are quite spectacular. You might be able to visit Crater Lake which is a bit of a detour from the 97 but is probably closed this time of year anyway. Snowy up there, you know.

In Seattle, there's a great chili place in the Pike Place Market with a name like "Worlds Greatest Chili" or somesuch. You probably get good chili in California already but we don't get much up here so I often visit when I'm down there.

Anyway, there're a couple of ideas.

EDIT: I second Island's recommendation of seeing Mt. St. Helens. Very impressive and humbling. (I'm not sure if the road from the north is still open, not the new one from the interstate. It wound up through the forest until you came out into the clearing made by the blast where all the trees are laying down flat radially away from the crater, and there was an old charred car left on the side of the road from that day. I remember it being much more impressive than the relatively sterile new route, although a lot of the same things can be seen. Probably not in your timeframe, though.)

[juanbenae]

thank you guys alot for the insight on your area. I will be leaving the bay area tomorrow so any last minute ideas still welcomed!!

toby

[RoninLB]

Originally posted by Owain

I second Island's recommendation of seeing Mt. St. Helens.

ditto.. don't miss the visitor center.

[pwd72s]

There is NOTHING in the Pacific Northwest worth seeing. That is, IF you could see it through the rain and fog that happens this time of the year. The I-5 corridor has lots of Denny's restaurants. Good place for breakfast food 24/7.

[Moses]

In Seattle, Cowgirls, Inc. (shhhhh. You didn't hear it from me.)

[red-beard]

If I were doing Oregon, it would ---> BEER and HOPS !

[RoninLB]

Originally posted by red-beard
If I were doing Oregon, it would ---> BEER and HOPS !

you can get that anywhere..

if it were me doing it in 40deg weather I'd do some of the most extraordinary hot springs in the whole country..
That's not imo. That's hard info.

Of course you'd have to be especially fortunate to ever find about which ones of the many are "extraordinary". I couldn't offer that info.. it would be sacrilege. like opening someone else's mail.

[red-beard]

No way. There is nothing like truely fresh hops. Smell them, oh yes. MMMMMMMM.

[juanbenae]

I bring this back to update a question or two inquiring as to how my ramble went in other posts ive replied to since returning.

some quick notes on route and impressions, if anybody has followed along or plans a westy road trip. for those uninterested,, move along there is nothing to see here.

left friday and hoped to get in oregon a bit and stay. well found out thursday night before departure the civil war game (O vs. O-State) was being played in corvalis and that traffic might suck. we powered up to albany right next to corvalis and stayed the 1st night with some friends. left in the morning and drove the opposite way of the traffic north.

we set out for the columbian river gourge and drove along that to the 1st major dam from the coast in. forget the name of the bridge and town but you get it eh? checked out a bunch of falls along a historic hwy by pass thing. also went to a fish hatcharyand saw a stergeon the size of a big man. also they did trout and salmon. we just missed the last of the fall spawn of the salmon. the last of them were around and swimming the maze of waterways that lead into the hatchary about half dead. pretty cool place if you like fish and i do..

from there the morning of the 3rd day we drove the north side of the gourge to seattle. we spent a couple days there. visited bainbridge island by ferry and actually saw some orca in the sound. my host mentioned she had never seen them from a ferry in all her years there. i had actually joked with her that we might see them prior to the ferry ride and she scoffed at me. it was a dreary rainy weather deal as advertised. i dont think i could do it for so much of the year, my 911 would melt like a bar of soap if driven in the rain....l

drove home along coastal washington and oregon, from west of olympia down to tillamok, from there east to eugene. touring the coast again was a california guys worst nighmare. we got out and checked out the beach in a couple areas when the weather would permit. stopped in tillamok and got some cheese and such.

yesterday we rose early and left eugene heading south on 5. i really fell in love with southern oregon. ashland and medford particularly. i will concentrate my search for employment there and along the columbian gourge area where the weather seems to suit my clothes.

in hindsight i wish i would have head east on the trek home instead of along the coast. i think see st helens would have trumped the coast thing due to weather. i guess that route is saved for a future summer 911 run....

some observation,, for the most part the remote state highways in both states were well cared for, great asphalt quality. i dont care for your roadway double yellow, the lines are like a foot apart, very odd compared to ours here in cali. people in the two states WILL not move to the right on the freeway to let faster traffic by. i tried driving like a visitor and they pummled me. i changed to driving like i was trained as a bay area traffic survivor and things got better.

will make another summer trip i think, not quite all the way to seattle but a drive all the same.

all in all great drive and visit. really know where i want to go now, and the feel of the people around there. medford/ashland/roseberg here i come.... well as soon as i can find work.

[RoninLB]

Originally posted by k911sc
will make another summer trip i think, not quite all the way to seattle but a drive all the same.

.

do it in spring. as soon as the NW rains let up you hit the roads. All you need is a one week window to hit the finest ride that a loop of N Calif, Oregun, Idaho, Utah, and Nevada has to offer.

No out of school kids, no tourists, HP is relaxed, and weather is perfect for a big rpm ride.