DAY 42 - PORTLAND, OREGON 

JUNE 24 , 2014

We got up bright and early to catch the bus for our trip to the Mount St. Helens in Washington.  Our bus arrived at 7:45 and had everyone on the bus by 8:00.  We are off to another great adventure.

Our first stop was at Mount St. Helens Visitor Center.  We viewed a movie and went through the information center with various information about the volcano of Mount St. Helen.

This October will mark the 10th anniversary of the volcano's dramatic 2004 reawakening and start of a three-year-long eruption that built a 1,000 foot tall lava dome in the crater.  

Don & Mae at the Visitor Center

This is a display of the mountain ranges
 in the Mount St. Helens Vicinity

Our next stop was the North Fork of the Toutle River, where one of the main streams from the volcano flowed and of course the famous home of 'Big Foot'.   At this area a family had built a brand new A-Frame home.  But never moved in because the 1st floor was filled with volcano debris.

A-Frame filled with debris

Ronnie & Roland with Big Foot

Elsie watch where you are standing

We found Big Foot

Our next stopped was at Hoffstadt Bluffs for a wonderful lunch and a beautiful view of the area. 

Don't bother me now, I'm eating

The view from the restaurant at Hoffstadt Bluffs

Here is a good comparison of the same area from the Hoffstadt Bluffs -  Before and After the volcano.

Before the Volcano

After the Volcano

We then moved on to the Johnston Ridge Observatory.  We viewed an excellent movie on the how the volcano erupted and how it effected the area.  This movie, and the information center, is one not to miss if you ever go there. 
Next spring they will commemorate the 35th anniversary of the May 18,1980 eruption.  As everyone remembers the catastrophic events and all that was lost, you can't help but be amazed at the pace of returning life and astounding rebirth that has occurred since 1980.

Mount St. Helen is in the distance

There are trees and flowers everywhere

Flowers among the destroyed trees

We boarded the bus to begin our journey back to the  RV Park.  On the way we saw mountains covered with the growth of new trees.  And even saw a truck that was destroyed by the debris of Mount St. Helen.

Pete & Verna getting on the bus

WOW is this beautiful

Look closely at the two trees growing out of the truck

Another Great Day.

Rig #17 Dudley & Rexine

DAY 41 - PORTLAND, OREGON 

JUNE 23 , 2014

Another GREAT day in Portland, Oregon.  We started with a tag-along to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), right down to the center of the city of Portland.   We sure were glad that Phil was leading the way.  

Inside OMSI

OMSI is 219,000 square feet of brain-powered fun!  Five enormous halls bring science to life with hundreds of interactive exhibits and displays.  You can experience an earthquake, participate in lab demos, enjoy a film in a giant-screen theater, explore the universe in a world-class planetarium, tour a real submarine and dine at Theory where you can learn about the science of food.

We started our visit at the submarine.  What a great experience to get to go inside a real submarine.

Mike is at the beginning of the Sub tour

The Sub is stationed outside the museum, on the Columbia River

Inside the Sub

And we must see the torpedo room

Back in the museum, one of the areas was dedicated to dinosaurs, and various pre-historic animals.

This was one of the best displays of dinosaurs and pre-historic animals I've ever seen.

The dinosaurs range from very large to small

This picture doesn't show the different colored lights
 we saw on the dinosaurs

How would you like to wake up to this guy?

There were several hands on exhibits called Brain Teasers.  Several of us tried our hand at solving the puzzles.   We were feeling really smart until some of the kids that were under 10 could complete the solution before we could.

Boys and their toys

Several of the group went to the Laser Show at the Planetarium.  This was interesting how they put different types of music to the Laser show.

Some of group went to the Zoo, cooked, shopped, just relaxed and had a pedicure

I guess you can tell what she did today.

At 6:30 the Louisiana group of caravaner's cooked a pastalaya for the whole group.  WOW was that great.  The Louisianan's sure know how to cook.

Pete is cooking the meal

Verna is helping Pete
(Beside every good man is a good woman)

Verna, Pete, Dudley and Rexine are the cooks
(They sure know how to cook)

 For desert we had berry and apple pies to celebrate Phil's birthday.

Everyone had a GREAT day.

Rig #19 (the Brothers-in-Law) Mike and Tom

DAY 40 - PORTLAND, OREGON 

JUNE 22 , 2014

Today is day 40 and we have a full day.  We visit Columbia Gorge, Vista House, Multnomah Falls and the Bonneville Dam and Fish Hatchery.  As we head out of town we drive along the Columbia River into the Gorge.  The scenery is beautiful with the steep faced hills.  

Look at how everything is so green

Great day for sailing

We see Beacon Rock which marks the length of the ocean tidal pool, the area where the water turns from brackish to fresh, and it’s 140 miles to the Pacific!  

Beacon Rock in the distance

Beacon Rock and the Vista House

We drive the Scenic Highway and stop at the Vista House.  This monument was built to honor those who constructed this road which drops one mile down the hillside.  The engineers consulted with the Swiss as they already had the expertize in this type of construction.  The bluff that Vista House is built on offers amazing views of the gorge and valley below.

Vista House

view from the Vista House

another view from the Vista House 

Wow!!!  what a view

It’s on to Multnomah Falls, the most visited scenic site in Oregon.  After a wonderful Sunday brunch in the restaurant, we head up to the falls.  The falls are 621 feet high falling in two drops.  The first is over 500 feet!  This is the fifth highest falls in the continental US.  We see two owlets peeking from their nest along the walkway. 

Inside the restaurant at the Falls

Multnomah Falls

Owl in the tree hiding the babies

The final stop today is the Bonneville Dam, fish ladder and fish hatchery.  The dam was a WPA project meant to get people working after the Great Depression and has locks to keep the river navigable.  

Bonneville Dam

Bonneville Dam

Viewing the fish ladder was quite an experience as we saw salmon, chad and lamprey from both above and below the water level.  It takes quite a swimmer to get up the ladder to the spawning grounds.  Some fish travel over 500 miles to their spawning area.  

Fish ladder from the outside view

 Lastly, we go to the hatchery where millions of fish are hatched yearly to restock many rivers.  There we see Herman the Sturgeon who is seven feet long and weighs over 400 lbs.  A tasty dinner for sure!

Yum, Yum, Yum

Herman the Sturgeon

The long day comes to a close as we begin our trip back to the campground.  Reality sets in as we are stuck in Portland traffic.  We can only dream about where our travels will take us tomorrow.  I’m sure we’ll have as much fun!  Only a few more days left – it seems as though we have just begun!

Rig #13 Mark and Janice