The next leg of our trip saw us relocating to the Salem, OR area getting some quality time with Sarah, Steven and Ellie. Ellie is just about the smartest, most athletic and darn near cutest 3 yr old on the planet. We had a great visit with their lovely family and had lots of Ellie-time.
Also, I was able to have a fortune in RV-power related equipment sent from Amazon to Sarah and Stevens house. Shoulda been sent in a Brinks Truck, not UPS. Now I've got to try and get it installed and working. Never give up!
While in the area, we were able to get over to Silver Falls State Park, an hour or so from Salem. En route, we stopped at the cute little town of Silverton, OR. You should go...it's cute. The hike we did in the state park was very pretty, with some very large waterfalls and nicely kept trails. This, like other state parks we have been in, are not very dog friendly, with all dogs [leashed or not] banned from quite a few areas. I get it, but a pain for us.
This area, like many in Oregon, is very bike-friendly with lots of bike paths and some nice country riding past their very green pasture and little traffic. There are a lot of bikies in OR and the drivers tend to be more bike-aware and generally nicer to bikers than in our hometown. I have been enjoying the road biking very much on this trip and have been getting out a few times a week.
While here we were camped some of the time by the county fairgrounds. A nice, if un-exciting spot in a big parking lot but adjacent to some green pastures. Not a bad view if you look out the back. We had to vacate the fairgrounds due to a flea market over the weekend so we decided to move to a 'REAL' park. Space was a little tight [Happy Hour next to your neighbor's sewer hookup anyone?] but the amenities were something we are not used to...pool, dog park, dog washing station, free ice cream sundaes. We were 'livin' in high cotton'. But, alas, all things must pass so we rolled up the Yahtse board and headed north once again.
After leaving the Salem area [we miss you guys] we headed north to the little town Vernonica, OR, about an hour NW of Portland on the Nehalem River. This is a very nice, small town and we have been camped in their town park which is set up for RV;s. On our way here we had lunch with some friends we hadn't seen in years; Bill and Anita Bruce. We know them from the old days in Etna, CA and it was great to be able to spend a few hours catching up. They have a lovely home in Beaverton, OR with a yard that is straight outta Home and Garden. After setting up in our new location, Kelly headed back to Ukiah for granddaughter Danaya's 8th grade graduation. Congratulations Danaya. Well done and keep up the good work. I will let Kelly tell you about that adventure on her Facebook page.
And, during Kelly's hiatus, I have been tending to camp here in Vernonica without adult-supervision. I filled my time enjoying riding on the Banks-Vernonia state trail. A very nicely paved bike and pedestrian trail that extends for over 20-miles along the old railroad grade between the two named towns. I love these rails-to-trails routes for cycling as there is no vehicular traffic to worry about and the grade is never steep as these trails follow the old railroad lines. I think the maximum grade is 3%. Not too bad. This trail is one of the nicest I've been on with great scenery through the lush northwest forest and a bunch of old railroad trestle crossings. The park where we camped is at the hub between the Banks-Vernonia trail and the Crown-Zellenbach trail which runs northeast to the Columbia River Basin. I thought it would be similar to the other but, NO, the CZ trail starts at the trail head with a 15% climb for the first half mile. [non-biker note...that's STEEP] I'm afraid I had to walk that one. The trail then turns to a loose rock surface [again, sucky for riding]. After, climbing some more hills I came across some local folks out for an MTB ride. They said the road ahead was washboarded and steep with more loose rock. I turned around.
I know you're all dying to know about my battle with the RV power. Hey, it's only been going on since Moab on April 2 and we are now well into June. I think I've finally got it. The lithium batteries are working and charging off the solar panels and we are now carrying a small generator for cloudy spells. I'm not getting cocky...you know how these things go.
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