[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.