My time in Seattle was fantastic, and alas, all good things must come to an end, and I must move onward. Feeling refreshed and full of that "cozy home" goodness feeling, I headed south into Oregon, a new state for me!
I hopped on I-5 and shot due south- it's only about 3 horus from Seattle to Portland, so it comes as a surprise even to myself that I had never been there before. I stopped in Vancouver, WA to replace my wiper blades. There is an excellent Walmart there, in case anyone needs to know that. It's across the Colombia River from Portland, so in just a few minutes I was in Portlandia, wiggling my way through the suburbs.
Downtown Portland surprised me with it's geography- it sits quite nicely against the riverfront and against a hillside. Makes for a pretty scene. I found a parking post downtown, and started walking around. I wasn't here for a true visit, more of a fly-by. Nevertheless, I went to Powell's Books (a massive, square-block sized bookstore), got some food cart Pad Thai, and walked over to Voodoo Donuts to get a piece of that. Food cart- excellent. Powell's books- pretty decent (kinda felt like a cross between a B&N and an old used book store), and Voodoo donuts was actually pretty tasty!
After Portland, I headed south to Salem, for a quick visit of the Capitol building (a recurring theme on my trip, if it's relatively convenient). Then I headed on some back roads to meet up with Route 20 and off to the Oregon coast. I grew up a few minutes from Route 20, and it's always been fun to think about how it spans from Boston, MA to Newport, OR. I've been on it a few times during my journey, and it was a little "win" to drive it to it's final point in Newport.
The Oregon coast lives up to its fame. Predominantly rocky, transitioning from cliffs to bluffs, to relatively shallow sand dunes, it complement the Pacific Ocean nicely. I timed it pretty well with sunset, making for that "all is right in the world" feeling while you drive.
And speaking of the drive- highway 101 is great! There are a few stretches that hug the coast on the sides of cliffs, and I'm a big fan of roads like that. I drove until dark, then bedded down for the night in Coos Bay.
The next morning I headed back east on Route 42, getting back to I-5. I drove through some beautiful forest, and saw a pretty neat covered bridge! Once I met up with I-5, the goal was to get to Klamath Falls, to act as a base for exploring Crater Lake and Lava Beds National Monument.
The drive down I-5 and over via Rt 140 went through some mountain passes, not as high as the rockies, but nevertheless a pretty drive. The Cascades are a slightly more arid look to them vs the Rockies, but no shortage on lines trees. Now in Klamath Falls, and will start adventuring in some more national parks tomorrow!
