First week back in Oregon

I drove Highway 26 from Beaverton/Portland to Astoria.  I made this drive last summer when I was here, but neglected to get my stamp from the Lewis and Clark National Historic Park for my National Park book, so I made the trip back.

The drive surprised me because it was a "chain area" with snow on the ground at 500 ft and 1,000 ft.  I never think that it will snow at that low altitude.  I see the wisdom of my fellow full-timers in driving down into Baja and/or hanging around Yuma and Pahrump this time of year. I will be definitely doing that next year.

In looking through  my book, I have a lot of stamps (I'm only "counting" the ones I get since retirement), but I haven't even made a dent in the total.  It is not my intention to get them all like some do, but it's nice to keep tract of the parks I visit.  I will get some more on my way to Alaska and while I'm there as well; unfortunately, there are several national parks in Alaska (4 or 5?) that you can only reach by plane.  Not going there ....

So here are some pictures from my stop at Fort Clatsop ....

Fort Clatsop was the winter encampment for the Corps of Discovery from December 1805 to March 1806. The visitor center includes a replica of Fort Clatsop similar to the one built by the explorers, an interpretive center offering an exhibit hall, bookstore, and two films.  The films were pretty interesting.  Lewis and Clark picked a site three miles up Netul Creek (now Lewis and Clark River), because it had a ready supply of elk and deer and convenient access to the ocean, which the men used to make salt. They showed them "making" the salt on one of the films.

And then onto Longview, WA to stop in a quilt shop or two in Vancouver.













And Greshem, OR ....

and then back to the hotel.

Not very exciting, but a pleasant day none the less.

I'll be staying in the hotel for the next week, taking care of the annual doctor, eye, dentist, and mammogram visits, and then down to Junction City, OR for some Winnebago factory time.

And then the fun begins .....