Saturday, June 23, 2018

Columbia, culture shock and more

 After leaving La Pine we followed 97 north till it intersected I-84 at the Columbia river. One thing I was not expecting was all the wheat fields we drove past. Far more than we have seen in Kansas or Iowa. We then followed the Columbia river gorge westward till we stopped for lunch just west of the Dalles. Always looking for a spot that is big enough I chose the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center. More information can be found HERE This is a very nice and informative museum with a lot of information on the area, from ice age forward.

Summer 2018 travel map


 The Columbia river was 'tamed' in the name of flood control and power generation back in the 1920's. Would have loved to see it as it was. One exhibit dealt with the salmon decline since the '20's. Staggering drop in the numbers.

 We then proceeded west to our campground. I had told you before that the camp ground was affected by the fire last year. We saw pictures and statistics of it and they were staggering. Well we are camped in an area that is technically closed to the public. We sit just off the historic Columbia river highway. More HERE We had to show our reservations and must go thru a guard entering and leaving. The old highway is closed from our point westward for about ten miles. We cannot walk or ride on it or risk fines and expulsion from the park. With all that we are still positioned well to visit many things.

 Today brought us to Portland Saturday market. For those of you familiar with First monday trade days in Canton; think of an upscale version on steroids




Elbow to elbow people. Crowded and these photos do not capture the insanity. We looked around a bit, decided we were underfunded to contribute to the economy so we moved on. Next stop was an old mansion/museum Mary had found. Read more HERE. Very nice and impressive house. Well ahead of it's time. Of all the old mansions we have visited, this is my favorite by far



nice view of Portland

some of what that view can show



 Cultural shock:

 Remember back in Reno when I complained about street people in the river walk area. Well that was nothing compared to Portland. Even with all the people downtown for the market there were homeless sleeping everywhere. Hundreds of them maybe. We live in a poor city in the poorest county in Texas yet NO homeless street people have we seen. Why is that? To make things even worse, never have I needed to watch where I stepped in a parking lot

used(?) needles

 There you are caught up for now. If you would like to see more of the La Pine/Bend area check out one of the blogs I follow. He post great photos and was just in the area. we may even run into them later. His blog HERE



"...gather ye rosebuds while ye may..."



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