Lithia Park

We stopped in Ashland for a few hours so Mike could take a hike up the creek in his favorite park. Ian went with Mike, Sandy took a slower amble up the creek and Angie went off with the rest of the kids. What a simply perfect creek and park! It alone would make moving to Ashland worthwhile.

When we finished walking, we estimated that it would take four or five hours to home. Even tho’ Mike would rather have stayed in Ashland in Lithia Park, once on the final stretch toward home, he became like an old horse turned toward the barn and sped south, trailing his unhappy mother behind him. Sandy, who is NOT an old horse, would rather have ended the trip with a nice dinner together and a good night sleep in a pretty park somewhere so she could have finished the drive in daylight and dealt with the RV in the morning. But the kids were eager to get home, so home we went.

Wildlife Safari

We backtracked a few miles toward Roseburg to drive thru the Wildlife Safari. It was really great, especially because we could drive our own vehicles and so see things at our own pace. We took hundreds of pics of zebras, lions, tigers, elephants, ostriches, buffalo, brown and black bears and a herd of yaks. Everyone especially liked the black bears (that were actually brown) playing in the pond - - very much like “Ian” lurking on the bank dunking “Tommy” splashing around in the water. The best photo op was of the very tall giraffe that shoved his head right in Mike’s car window! The most ominous animal was the mountain lion, pacing in his enclosed cage - - no wide open spaces for him and it appeared he wasn't happy about it! After lunch we headed south, with our usual late start of 3:00 or so.

7 Feathers

We drove south and east for a while toward Lebanon. In Scio we drove through one of the covered bridges that Mike remembered from a previous trip. While Sandy got her headlight fixed Mike had a close encounter with a river otter. Everyone except Mike and Sandy were eager to be home and were not enthusiastic about any detours. We spent the night between Roseburg and Grants Pass, OR in the 7 Feathers Resort. The RV Park is run by the Cow Creek Branch of the Umpqua Indian Tribe to support the casino and theater. It really did live up to its reputation as one of the best in the country - - nice sites, pretty landscaping and location, great indoor pool and hot tubs, free coffee and wifi. What more could we want!?! And, Mike finally got his steak and did a little gambling.

Evergreen Air and Space Park

Mike called his old friend Bob Krause, who lives in Oregon, and Bob suggested we visit the Evergreen Air and Space Park that is located near where we stayed. It is an amazing place - - an iMax theater, a building full of all sorts of airplanes including the Spruce Goose (HUGE!) and an SR-71, another building full of incredible originals and replicas from the Russian and American Space Programs, and a water park running from the belly of a huge airplane perched on top of a large building. And, up on the hill overlooking the buildings, there are a group of tanks.

The whole thing is very well done with lots of interesting exhibits, movies, and interactive activities that all of the kids loved. Ian was so entranced by the place that he immediately called his “gang” and proposed a road trip. The hi-tech kids playground was a particular hit, especially with Angie; she loved the spring-loaded teeter totter.

Dayton, OR

Sandy suggested that we take a little detour west of Hwy 5 toward McMinnville because she remembered how pretty the countryside had been from a helicopter-company-visiting trip in the 1990s. It was a bust, however, because miles of fast-food restaurants and shopping centers hid the hills and vineyards. We pulled into the Willamette Wine Country RV Park at dusk. It looks fairly new, as the trees are only 20-30’ tall and is very nice and comfortable with warm showers, a big pool and gym. We played banana scrabble again - - Mike joined us this time with his collection of creative words and supportive iPhone dictionary.

Portland, OR

We spent several hours marching up and down a park that ran along the Columbia River. The Taste of Portland was going on, so there were lots of people on the path, as well as a group of Mennonites singing and passing out fliers, a pack of female roller derby skaters and assorted street people.

When we finished our daily constitutional, we went to find Voodoo Donuts. It is in a scruffy section of town with a long line of VERY scruffy patrons, however the donuts were fresh and extremely varied. And, despite the scruffiness factor, there was lots of interesting architecture.

Eastern Olympic Peninsula

We left Port Angeles early (for us) and started south along the eastern edge of the Olympic Peninsula. There was one beautiful view after another - - little towns, rivers flowing from the snow-capped mountains into Puget Sound, and distant mountains on both sides of the road. The mist that covered the campsite burned off, and was replaced by heavy, dramatic clouds that never actually produced any rain, so our weather luck held. We stopped for lunch near Tumwater, WA and filled up for the first of our serious drives south.