We have arrived in McMinnville, Oregon. We drove on lots of small, country roads to get here and that was challenging at times. The quality of the roads in Oregon far surpasses that of California. We came across a sign that said "Bump Ahead" and we barely noticed it. In California, especially on I-5, you get slammed against the roof of the truck without notification and then you see a sign that says, "We got you with that one!" LOL We have found that we really need to study the route before we head to a new area. We have met lots of nice people here and the conversations are super fun.
We went on the Internet and found that there was Rueda dancing in Portland Sunday night from 6:00 until 9:00. We arrived at 5:40 and found that they did not open until 6:00, so we walked around. We were in the "Pearl District" of Portland which appears to have a large homeless population. We walked the streets while waiting for the dance facility to open and it was an "eye-opener." Lots of homeless sleeping on the sidewalks and sitting around. Some were clearly mentally ill and not capable of taking care of themselves. Most of the tents were seen just outside this part of town. Interestingly, many families and affluent looking people just seemed to ignore and walk around the homeless.
The DJ was very nice and he played excellent dancing songs that we were not familiar with. We did not see anyone dance Rueda: it was all salsa. So, that was the end of our rueda for the evening. The DJ said that they mostly dance "Cuban" style Rueda. I danced with another lady and Lisa was asked to dance by several guys. We practiced converting some of the more challenging Rueda steps to regular salsa; entries were the most challenging. We did have a good time and we got to dance.
The Town of McMinnville - McMinnville is a pretty country town with a historical central commercial area. We took a walk down the streets of McMinnville and then had an excellent Mexican food lunch that cost less then $20. I took the RV to a repair center in town. Met a great guy with lots of military experience; twelve years of service. He fixed a scuff and tear on the back or our camper that happened when I hit a tree in Chiloquin (going to happen sooner or later).
Evergreen Air and Space Museum - This museum is right next to our RV Park. They have four large buildings and lots of great planes. First of all is the Aviation Museum which houses Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose as its main attraction. Lots of great planes and historical aspects of flight. Many were replicas, but pretty cool. Second was the Space Museum which contains several rockets, motors, and planes. They have an SR-71 and much of the equipment that it could carry; pretty cool. Third was a water park with lots of slides. The water park is located in a building with a 747 aircraft on the roof; you climb up into the 747 to go down the slides. Pretty cool. The last part of the museum is an IMAX theater. We saw a great 3D movie on aircraft carriers today. Great fun. See the photos.
Bonneville Dam and Mt. Hood - We drove to Troutdale, Oregon to begin our tour of the Scenic Highway 30 into the Columbia River Gorge. We encountered several waterfalls and areas with great views of the gorge. The best views were found at Vista House on Highway 30. Great views east and west on the river and gorge. We continued on to the Bonneville Dam and Locks. What a great tour. Bonneville was finished in 1937 and took four years to build. Workers were super glad to have a job since it was the midst of the great depression. No workers were killed during the pouring of concrete for the dam. The Dam provides four needs for the people: generation of electricity; ladders to help fish navigate the river; locks to allow ships to navigate the river, and a hatchery to raise fish to be release back into the river. We got to see the turbines that generate power and study the history of the dam's construction. We also visited the hatchery where we got to see "Herman the Sturgeon" that is 85 years old and weighs in at over 500 pounds; pretty big fish. They are having a big birthday celebration of Herman this weekend. After leaving Bonneville, we went to the town of Cascade Locks to see the "Bridge of the Gods." We planned to walk across the bridge, but there was no walking space between the cars and the railings. You can drive over it, but we opted to eat lunch instead. We had a great view of the bridge from our restaurant table. Took about two hours to drive back to McMinnville where the temperature was pushing 100 degrees. It took about 90 minutes to cool down the trailer. We weren't able to get to the town of Mt Hood on this trip; just too much to do.
Our trip to the coast and Tillamook - TBA
Wednesday, June 12th - Took the trailer to a repair shop to fix the damage to the upper left corner of the RV when I hit a tree pulling out of our camp site in Chiloquin. I guess it was going to happen sooner or later. Lisa and I now have new procedures to work together when pulling in and out of camp sites. We use walkie-talkies. Cost was $225 and provides the needed protection to the trailer from water and sun. Workers were very nice and one had nine years in the military; he worked on SR-71s a couple times when they landed at his base.
Thursday, June 13th - Lisa working all day to make up for our full-day trip to the Columbia River Gorge. I went for a beautiful bike ride in the country south of McMinnville. Great ride. Perfect weather; a little cooler than the last two days.
Friday June 14th - Lisa had to work till 1:30 today, so I filled a propane tank, went to the bank, and washed the truck. Pretty exciting, huh? Then we decided to go on a bike ride from McMinnville to a state park called "The Erratic Rock." It was a beautiful ride and the weather was perfect. We finally found "The Erratic Rocks" and I was amazed at what brought them to this place near McMinneville, Oregon. Believe it or not, the came here locked in a chunk of ice from a glacier that happened near Missoula, Montana. Here is the info on these rockls:
This 90-ton rock was deposited during an Ice Age flood. It floated over 500 miles in an iceberg 12,000 to 17,000 years ago, by way of the Columbia River. When the ice melted, the rock was left behind. This is the largest glacial erratic found in the Willamette Valley. It is a type of rock not normally found in Oregon because it came from the Northern Rocky Mountains. Visitors at Erratic Rock can look out across the vast landscape and imagine the huge amount of water that filled the Willamette Valley during the Ice Age Floods.
The floods during this time period completely filled the Columbia River Gorge and the Willamette Valley. To give you some perspective, see the panographic photo of the valley in the photo section. More water flooded to the coast than now flows through all the rivers in the world over the course of and entire year. Pretty amazing.