North thru OR and WA

I LOVE Oregon roads!  We traveled on I-5 thru Oregon.  It was a delight.  The road conditions could not have been better. 

California should be ashamed of how bad I-5 is as it runs down the center of the state, not to mention the horrible conditions in the LA area.

I am writing this as Craig drives north on our third day of travel. 

It's funny how some things that happened yesterday, that were  stressful, have very quickly faded.  First, as we entered Oregon we noted a much lower price for fuel at the Pilot station listed on our Gas Buddy. We pulled in, and  after starting to fill up,  I noticed the pump price was 16 cents higher than the price on the big green sign.  We asked and were told that the lower price was for truckers with something called a PUC card.  Live and learn.  It aggraved us both at first, but now we have learned and will look for that kind of information in the future.

The second “incident” occurred shortly after our Pilot Station upset.  We needed to stop at a big grocery some time on the way up, and since we had arrived in Fred Meyer country, this was as good a time as any. The parking lot was very full so Craig dropped me off and was going to park somewhere on the perimeter.  Unfortunately he took a turn a bit too sharp and got the car caught in a bad situation against the curb.  I stopped him before any damage was done, but the 2-vehicle rig was pretty much stuck and blocking traffic.  The only way to avoid damage to the car was to unhook the tow bar.  But this turned out to not be easy.  Since  nothing about the situation was straight or level, the pins were stuck and would not come out.

We were very lucky to be helped by a nice lady who told us she was a former deputy from Alaska. She kept me calm and settled Craig down as well. Soon several Fred Meyer people came out and directed traffic around us while we worked on the problem.  I won’t go into all we tried, but eventually the pins were freed when a strong man picked up the front of the Accent and Craig used a hammer and a second pin to get the stuck one out.  We were very grateful to everyone for their help. No damage to the car or tow bar.

It was all a bit upsetting yesterday, but today it just looks like “one of those things” that will remind us to take the right turns a little wider!

We stayed at our first SKP park.  Nothing fancy, but interesting.

Now parked for overnight at the Evergreen SKP park in Chimacum  WA.

We arrived at about 6:00 pm and there were no hook-up sites left, so we are in the dry-camp lot. We seem to have gotten the last dry camp space. I thought that SKP parks always had plenty of dry camp room, but that doesn't seem true here.  I'm not sure what we would have done if it was full. I'm going to ask about that in the morning when I go to pay my $5.25.

It has been a long day, and I am glad to be safely parked for the night. I do enjoy travel days. I like to drive and I like to sit back and watch the countryside pass by, but it is nice to be "at home" at the end of the day too.

Tonight we are having baked brie, a par-baked fresh baguette, and some wonderful fresh grapes and melon. We often had this menu when we were skiers and rented a motel room with a kitchenette.

We will be at the park tomorrow.  

[From Craig]  If you love the sound of words and names like I do, Washington is the state for you! While America is the world's melting pot, Native American names are part of the superstructure that holds the pot together.

When we lived in Texas, a lady once learned the Merikay was from Wisconsin and asked her "Could you please say some of those Indian names from up there?". So she reeled off "Well, we lived near Mukwanago, had friends in Oconomowoc and Menomonee Falls, and would sometimes go up to Lake Winnebago."  Which last name is of course familiar to RVers.

But the names in Washington seem neater than those we grew up with, probably because they're new to us. My previous favorite was Snohomish: our son lived near there.  But just read this last of places we passed today out loud: "Skokomish, Cloquallum, Wynoochee, Lilliwaup, Dosewallips". It doesn't matter how you say them, it's fun to say them however you like! The fact is, most Native American names have been spelled just like how they should be said...

What are your favorite place names?