Tip # 43 for travelers in motor coaches. When in Oregon, on a Saturday afternoon, reserve a site for the night at least 24 hours in advance.
We left wherever we were last night at 7.30 in the early o’clock, and 525 miles later, ended up at Big Fir campsite, 25 miles North of Portland. We have been in Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and are now back in Washington!
Some fabulous countryside, through Northwest Montana, past lake Couer d’Alene, in Idaho, with the most wonderful panorama and vistas from all sides of the lake. ( told you I was going to have a thesaurus for breakfast!)
We then went past Spokane which is like anywhere USA, and down through central Washington. Totally different from 50 miles previously.
Rolling plains ( without the E, Steph ) lots of farms, growing all sorts of green things, and mega big ginormous watering machinery wotsits. They are about 250 yards long, on wheels and they go round in huge circles watering the crops. But the weirdest thing is that in lots of the fields they were watering crops, there were herds of cows grazing, some of them right under the watering thingys!!
So, onto Pasco, Washington where we stopped to replenish the grocery and ale departments, and it was as though we were back in Houston. Wal Mart was full of Mexicans!
So, we asked what are all these Mexicans doing all the way up here, and were told that a lot of fruit and grapes for wine are grown in the area and someone’s got to pick it all, so the Mexicans work their way up through California, as the seasons progress, doing all the fruit picking.
Then we drove along the Columbia River Gorge, on interstate 84, with 12000 ft high Mount Hood on our left, in a huge howling 500 mph wind ( well, it felt like it) and campsite after campsite was full, no room at the inn, so we just kept going, and Marlipops finally came up trumps, as usual, and we are in a wonderful little campground, about 4 miles off the freeway. We have booked in here for a few days, so we can explore the region, Mount St Helens etc.
Today’s local brew, for all you following my trials and tribulations of the alcoholic variety is Black Butte Porter Ale, brewed at Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon and a very pleasant brown ale it is too.
Happy Birthday Giles you old fart.
I am knackered, which for our American readers is English for bollixed, and I’m off to bed soon.
Wildlife watch today was a couple of scruffy looking llamas, the usual horses and cows, and a deer, grazing not 5 feet from the freeway curb, who obviously had a death wish.
