And we're getting pretty tired of it. But, we keep smiling because we know that it's a pretty safe bet we won't be seeing much rain during our upcoming four month trip to Mexico.
Still... it's just a little wet up here in the northwest United States...
We woke up in South Bend, Washington and got on the road at a decent hour towards Astoria, Oregon.
Taken at 9:30am.
Scenery along the way.
Yep, it's raining.
And a bit foggy.
There are places we would have liked to have stopped.... but not in this weather.
We're going to head over that bridge.
On the other side is Astoria, Oregon.
Nice day, if you are a duck!
We just came over that bridge.
And we arrived in Astoria. Looks like a nice little place. Lots to see with the ships out in the harbor. We found a parking lot close to downtown that allowed daytime parking of RVs. Lots of signs in Astoria saying there is no overnight RV parking allowed. So, we know it's not that RV friendly.
We waited until the rain was nothing more than a mist, and went out for a walk. The goal was the Astoria Column... a tower on a hill that affords a beautiful view of the area. I tried to talk Ruth out of it, because we knew there would be no view to be had on a day like that. But, she said she wanted to go anyhow.
So off we went.
Astoria harbor.
Fog and mist.
This place has got to be haunted!
Shouldn't they have Halloween decorations up?
I think Herman Munster lives there!
Ruth, at the Garden of Surging Waves.
We were kind of expecting some kind of water exhibit at the Garden of Surging Waves. But it's some kind of Chinese Heritage thing. Nice enough, but when I read the plaque about the meanings of everything it was a little too deep for me!
Halloween in Astoria.
Too funny.
Fort Astoria.
If that other house isn't haunted, this one definitely is!
Around the half way point, it started to rain harder. We were already a bit wet, but we took shelter in the entrance to a church for a few minutes. Then I thought... we could stand there for a half hour and it might not stop raining. So we kept going up hill.
We were looking for a path that showed up on my mapping program that would have been a short cut to the column, but when we found it, it was mostly overgrown. So we went the main route, which was now even longer.
And the rain never let up. By this point, we were soaked on the outside, and soaked on the inside from heading uphill at a decent pace.
All of this to get to a viewpoint that we were certain would be shrouded in fog anyhow.
We must be crazy.
Arrived at the parking lot where they wanted $5 per vehicle. But we walked so we didn't have to pay. At least there was that!
I headed to the entrance way of the tower. Ruth says "You're not really going up there, are you?"
"Oh, yes I am. We didn't come all the way up here in the rain not to get to the top!"
And I headed up the 164 steps to the top. With Ruth trudging along behind me.
Made it to the top.
What a view!
It's a neat tower though. The exterior is amazing.
Zoomed in on the paintings.
Of course it was all downhill back to Sherman, where we got out of our soaked clothes and got dried up. We had done 4.2 miles (7.5 kms)!
We still wanted to get some driving in. We're a little behind schedule because of Sherman's mechanical problem. So we set off driving towards Portland. We're trying to get to the east side of Portland where we can take in some of the viewpoints along the scenic Columbia Gorge. It will likely be a long time before we are ever back in this area, and the Columbia Gorge is on our list of things to see, rain or shine.
These interesting places are built on the river itself.
Approaching Longview, Washington there are a lot of lumber operations.
Just after Longview, I made the decision to get on the Interstate 5 heading south.
What a zoo! I knew it would be, but I figured we would make half decent time around the metro Portland area.
No thanks! Between fighting with the the trucks and the rain, I had no patience for Interstate driving. Sure, I can do it if I have to. But why do it if you don't have to? Its simply not enjoyable to me. We exited when we saw a native casino billboard... the huge ilani Casino. They have free overnight RV and truck parking, so that's where we are.
Yesterday's drive, 121 miles (195 kms)
I've already planned out a route for this morning to take us on the back roads around Portland metro. Neither one of us have any ambition to go into the city at all. We'll leave that for another time.
Next stop, the Columbia Gorge where we hope to hike the Beacon Rock!
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The popular Zinus RV Mattress is back on sale again. This time it's the 10" version...
And in Canada...
Ah, suck it up buttercup. . . a walk in the rain every so often is kind of fun. Or at least that's what I kept telling Mike a few weeks back when we did it here over a 5 mile trail. I will admit to getting off the trail eventually, when we started to slip and slide, finishing our hike via paved streets instead. 😊
ReplyDeleteLove the part of our country you are in, and you're definitely heading toward dryer weather down south!
Trust us we are, or we wouldn't still be here, lol! ;-) We're missing all the gorgeous views though.
DeleteLooks like we will have to make it back to this area sometime when it isn't rainy season because it is a beautiful area.
The 'suck it up' was meant for Kevin, not you Ruth! That's what I kept saying to Mike during our slippery walk until I caught on that he, perhaps, wasn't enjoying our little rainy hike quiiiite as much as I was, ha! :-)
DeleteLol... seems like Mike and I are on the same page!
DeleteI started up Beacon Rock one time, got the heebie-jeebies real bad and had to turn around. Looking forward to seeing your pictures while firmly planted in my easy chair, though! I do recommend a stop at Walking Man Brewery for an IPA in Stevenson, and there's some nice waterfalls and viewpoints on the Oregon side.
ReplyDeleteBeacon Rock reminds us of El Peñon de Guatapé in Colombia, www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2015/11/the-best-view-in-world.html.
DeleteWe are hoping to go down one side of the Columbia River and then come back on the other side. There are definitely some waterfalls and hikes that we want to do on the other side.
What a pity, as Astoria is such a cool little town, and that view is usually gorgeous. There used to be a very funky little RV Park right there on the water within walking distance of the Rogue tap house, Pier 38. The owners at the Hampton Inn next door didn't manage it well, and it fell into disrepair. There were many "permanent residents" living in this park, and I think their displacement may have led to the many signs in town.
ReplyDeleteWe did see quite a bit of Astoria as we walked up to the column, just not under bright sunny skies.
DeleteWe really wished that we could have seen the view from the column but I guess you can't have everything. :-)
Too bad you bypassed Cannon Beach, one of the loveliest towns in the area. As to the weather that it normal for this time of year.
ReplyDeleteWe would have liked to have seen Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock but it was totally pointless as there was absolutely no view along the coast. We are headed into the Columbia River Gorge for a few days where hopefully the weather will be a tiny bit better and then back out to the coast again but it will be past Cannon Beach. It will have to wait for another visit in better weather.
DeleteWe know the rain is normal, it is the start of rainy season here after all. We were just hoping there there may have been a few breaks in the weather but unfortunately that isn't the case at the moment.
Good luck with the weather there, you will soon see warmer sunny skies.
ReplyDeleteIt is what it is and we will just deal with it. It may be a long time before we are ever back in this area again and there are some sights that we just don't want to miss.
DeleteCrazy is right but at least you got your walking in. Hope the weather gets better soon. Stay safe.
ReplyDeleteWe definitely got our exercise in. :-)
DeleteWe hope the weather gets better too. It would be nice to see the sun but as long as we can get out and do our thing without it raining on us then we will be happy.
Take 205 around Portland, don't try 5. I would have stayed on the coast, way more interesting but hard to find boondocking spots. Casinos are always good and some have slot machine coupons or buffet deals.
ReplyDeleteWe only came inland to see the Columbia Gorge. We're heading back to the coast after this.
Deletewell simply put late October and November yield exactly what you are seeing in that part of the USA...
ReplyDeleteAnd we know that. However even with that wet record, there should still be some days where it doesn't rain. We're just not seeing any of that on the current trip.
DeleteA couple of years ago, it started raining around October 1 and did not stop until April. Seriously. There were 3-4 clear days every month, with luck. But the following winter, we had a three-week run of beautiful February weather.
DeleteThe story goes, Portland only gets 36.5" of rain every year, less than NYC, etc..
But what they don't say is that equates to a tenth of an inch of rain... every day...
Beautiful weather today though, yes? It's just luck of the draw this time of year. Got to pay for all that green, y' know.
Yep, it is the luck of the draw for sure. We knew ahead of time that it is rainy season here, we just weren't expecting quite so much rain. We figure having some here and there and overcast skies, just not quite so constant. As long as we can get some hikes in and stay relatively dry we can deal with it.
Delete