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COVE PALLISADES
Millions of years in the making. Wonderful nature!The routing now had a definite northerly point in mind. Seattle. But, as with any journey, it is never a straight line and we set off on HW 62 with HW 97 next up to ensure we missed the maelstrom of HW 5, a main, pulsing interstate artery. There are a few simple rules of the road when camper vanning. Try and not do more than 300 km per day and ensure you have a regular stop every hour at a roadside “Rest Area.” After all, this is not a race to the finish, but a leisurely meander to who knows where. It’s the journey that counts. Often these roadside stop points are located with a stunning view on offer which makes the coffee break all that much more enjoyable.
The countryside meanwhile as we nudged north took on a more
COVE PALLISADES
At last we weren't the smallest RV in the Park! rugged, scrub brush and dry façade. It was flat and in the distance some ominous looking clouds were starting to gather. A little further on it happened. Rain pummeled down for about fifteen minutes giving the Ford Bronco a quick make over. With the rain gone the sun shone again and then magically , around breakfast time, the Ford Bronco developed a magnetic force of it’s own and veered sharply off the road when a McDonalds appeared on the GPS, as was the case at a town by name of La Pine. The McDonalds formula is simple. Uncomplicated grub which doesn’t break the budget and which won’t have you have reaching for a pen or whatever to write a gourmet type comment on TripAdvisor. Sort of filling, a hint of taste and satisfying. And, of course, plenty of seriously “interesting” folk drifting in and out.
Back on the road, the countryside became increasingly arid and started to resonate with being back in the Karoo (maybe, we have been away too long?). On the horizon we started seeing towering snow- capped peaks, one of which was Mt Hood, offering year around skiing to the sporty folk of Portland. Another rule
COVE PALLISADES
A seriously chilled Bull Snake being observed by two panic stricken human beings. of this camper vanning “thing” is that there is a need, every now and then, to replenish dwindling food and sundowner stocks. Unashamedly we admit to discovering that Walmart is the place to shop in the USA. This is a store on steroids! It has everything and the prices are astounding. Once again, “Doris” was right on her game and guided is in to a Walmart at a city by name of Bend. What is quite astonishing is how every single Walmart is a replica of all the others visited. Store size, layout and even the buildings replicate each other in terms of design and frontage. Judging by the number of people streaming into these stores, they have got something “right” despite the huge threat posed by Amazon and the on line shopping phenomenon.
Digressing for a minute, some more American “observations”:
City versus Town It is intriguing to arrive in a place which has the semblance of a town because at the entrance the board announces it’s name and population size which screams “town.” Conventional thinking suggests that an inhabited “place” with less than 20,000 souls living there should not be a city. Sue kept telling
COVE PALLISADES
Stunning water filled canyon in the middle of nowhere. me that if there is a cathedral, then it is a city. Well, the jury is out because we came across city after city without anything punching skywards, cathedral like, and which all looked like towns to the untrained eye. So be it!
Beards and ponytails As we drifted north in California and then into Oregon, it became obvious that Gillette had largely abandoned this market area along with all other beard trimming device manufacturers. Dudes with the longest beards and ponytails ever seen became the norm and some of the styles were unique to say the least. Lots of bikers on the road and it appeared as if this “look” is almost an essential qualifier to straddle a bike or thunder down the road in a roaring truck or else you just don’t cut it.
USA Economy There is no doubt the US economy is firing (which Trump would love to hear and no doubt lay claim to). Huge numbers of people travelling, eateries chock a block, RV parks overflowing, State Parks busy and interesting to observe the number of signs everywhere which read “Now Hiring”. Employment opportunities abound. But there is a dark side
which is very similar to the Sub-Prime Mortgage Loan Crisis which triggered the 2008 Recession. This time it is Student Debt. Reports abound about this debt which is now close to $1.5 trillion and just about every student is in debt to the tune of $30k before they start earning a dime. A little financial crater ready to pop?
Homeyard clutter Many of the small towns we drifted through on the back roads reflect a sort of rural decline malaise. Little businesses have shut down, the population has declined and abandoned buildings slowly disintegrate. Often no sign of people and a sense of doom and gloom prevails. Far more interesting is the clutter lying around the houses with occupants. Starting with cars, trailers, farm equipment which has simply been abandoned when each implement became inoperable. Going all the way back to Grandad’s days. Then add household stuff like washing machines and so on. Throw in some furniture which has been tossed out and you get the picture. A house surrounded and smothered by an incredible amount of clutter for all to see on main street. Wondered how some of the occupants actually got to the front door!
COVE PALLISADES
Could have sat there for hours soaking up the spectacular beauty of this canyon. Back to the journey. Far more important than trying to figure out where the USA is headed, not forgetting that if they sneeze, the rest of the World gets pneumonia. Gazing out the window, all we could see was flat pasture land with fodder crops growing as far as the eye could see. The mystery here was simply; where was this canyon that would provide another stop for the night? We had booked a “one nighter” at Cove Pallisades State Park, our last stop in Oregon. Thankfully, nature always provides the unexpected and the answers, and in this case our camping spot had been millions of years in the making. Violent volcanic eruptions, oozing lava and raging river torrents battered this area for millions of years, carving dramatic cliffs and creating a lake out of the life giving Crooked River. Sounds dramatic? It sure was, because the flat, arid land suddenly and unexpectedly gave way to a roadway which plunged down into the canyon and that was where we found our beautifully situated State Park. The wonder of travel and the discovery of natural beauty!
Hooked up all the apertures and then, with walking boots laced up, we set
WASHINGTON STATE
The Green State also had plenty of white snow capped peaks to add to the landscape beauty. off on a 6 km walk to the top of the canyon to view the splendor of this unique place. About 20 minutes into the walk, a large 1.5 meter snake came into view about a meter off the pathway. We froze, the snake froze and it was a sort of slow motion showdown except Sue went into panic overdrive. She was about to streak off and shatter Usain Bolt’s record when I managed to calm her and we simply veered off the path and walked by a restful Bull Snake (identified from the photo by a Ranger). Can bite but not venomous.
Sundowners that evening in a blissful environment did dwell on “what could have happened” despite my gentle persuasions that snakes don’t actually attack people. Most of the time, anyway!
The following morning was picture perfect in this unique canyon environment but sadly it was time to fire up the beast and continue the journey northwards, not forgetting that Washington State was up ahead. The countryside remained largely arid and flat with less and less agricultural enterprise being seen. Bleak and probably bitterly cold in the winter months given the number of snow-capped mountain peaks surrounding us. Just when it looks dull and dare I say, boring, nature always kicks in with an unexpected surprise. After descending a steep roadway for some time there it was. The mighty Columbia River, which is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest. It is about 2000 km in length and has the greatest flow of any river entering the Pacific. Perspective is always essential and it is the largest and strongest flowing river I have ever seen. The USA just keeps dishing up “stuff” which is BIGGER than one can imagine. My trusty navigator, Susan, as observant as ever spotted a sign after the bridge crossing stating “Welcome to Washington State.” This added to our list of USA states visited increasing the number to seven.
Around mid-afternoon, we entered a city (once again!) by name of Yakima situated in a dry, flat region but blessed with an abundance of water, it is a major apple, wine and hop producing area. It was also very warm with a late afternoon temperature around 30 deg C. Water and heat equals….mosquitoes! The first encountered on our travels to date. We had barely set up camp for the night in a WA State Park called Yakima Sportsman when panic set in as the mozzies attacked in kamikaze like fashion. This would seriously impact on the “Sundowner” moment outdoors and necessitated a quick dash to the local pharmacy to procure spray.
Apart from the mozzie moment, there was not much going on in a large park landscape punctuated by beautiful lawns and trees all fed by the abundant water rushing close by in the Yakima River.
Time to reflect. The next day, Friday 25
th May, would mean tussling with some serious traffic once again as we navigated our way into Bothell, just outside Seattle. A crowning moment, so to speak, as Seattle is the end of the sojourn to the North.
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Catherine Kelly
non-member comment
Washington State
Awesome Tim!