Well the best laid plans…
I will now have to change the name of this blog, because I was not able to drive up the 395 Hwy. The California fires were impacting the road. So I drove over to Bakersfield and took 99 to 5 and made it safely to Oregon. It was a very long drive to do in 2 days with 2 little dogs who were bedded down on the floor of the front seat of the car. They had lot’s of padding, but every bump made them jump and they really didn’t understand why I was torturing them this way.
Back to the trip. Once I got to Sacramento the landscape started to change and it was getting greener and even though it was still very warm out, it was cooler than the desert or the Central Valley. We stopped for a break in the little city of Woodland which has a restored historic downtown with tree-lined streets, murals, and artfully created historic plaques that talk about history and the buildings. Lot’s of empty storefronts. I am sure the pandemic took quite a toll on them. We walked around the neighborhoods for a little while talked to a few friendly people and then it was time to get back on the road. We spent the night in Redding, CA at a very uncomfortable Motel 6 for way too much money!
Day 2 was more road trip and lot’s of road construction, however the countryside was incredible. I stopped for a few pictures just past Shasta of the burned forests from last year which are starting to get ground cover again. For me that is a sign of hope, even through the sadness of seeing these beautiful trees charred black. Just around a curve from where I took these photos, I came to a wide open valley with sunlight filtering through the clouds. I had to stop and get this panorama of most of that valley. Again there are signs of hope.
Suddenly in the midst of massive road construction I spotted the sign that said WELCOME TO OREGON! I really wanted a photo of it, but there was no place to stop. Oh well. Anyway we traveled on enjoying the Oregon section of U.S. 5 with more trees than I have ever seen. So beautiful here, even though there is evidence of the drought things looked really dry and I said a prayer for the area as I passed.
Our first meal in Oregon was in a little town of Roseburg. I found this awesome old-fashioned drive-in called Pete’s Drive-in with car hops and everything. The menu looked wonderful and even though I would have rather had a cheeseburger and a chocolate shake, I settled for hand-breaded chicken strips and fresh cut French fries with a coke. It was all the delicious and I was able to deconstruct one of the chicken strips for the dogs to share. They deserved a treat too!
Then back in the car with only a little over 2 hours to our final destination in Beaverton. It was so wonderful to see my sister Lisa and Mick, her husband, it has been a long time since we were together. Then we introduced the dogs and all is well.
Now it’s time to plan the next part of this adventure just all figuring out what my next move will be.
Lot’s of exploration in store. And I will keep you posted!
Cheryl
On to the Next Adventure 