Oregon.....

I headed for Mt. St. Helens thinking I would get some good photos….well not this week. The weather was really bad and the visibility was even worse. I stopped at the Ranger station and was told all the roads in were still blocked by snow. So that did pan out so watch out Portland here I come. I got into town around lunchtime so I headed for Pioneer Square to get a feel for the place. The traffic was horrible and I got stuck on a one-way street with all the turnoffs blocked. Not to mention it was the red light district with peep shows and strip clubs by the dozens. After sitting in that mess for an hour I changed my mind about Pioneer Square…Lord please let me just get on the freeway and take off for Mt Hood (60 mile to the east) and some snowboarding. Portland is split down the middle by a river and the freeway so it took some time for me get on the right track. I found a real nice campground about 10 minutes from the Ski Resort and called it a day. I ran into a little problem with the Turtle. The weather was so nice I rolled down both the front windows so we could enjoy the fresh air and when I went to put the back up the passenger side one wouldn’t budge. I took of the whole door panel trying to figure out what the issue was. The switch worked for down but no joy when I tried up. I checked the wiring, cleaned the switch, and even pulled the motor….nada….I finally had to rig it so it would stay closed. I can deal with that when I get home…..

I started raining in the middle of the night and I was afraid the roads would be impassable. They were fine and I got to Ski Meadows around 8 am leaving me plenty of time to eat breakfast and change before the slopes opened at 9 am. That place was huge with over 30 different runs. The chairlifts were scary those things were really moving and to top it off the top of the mountain was socked in with fog. When I got off the lift I worked my way over to the intermediate trail and waited for someone I could follow. A couple of guys came along and I took off after them but the first trip was very interesting because I could only see about 20 feet in front of me but I made it down in one piece. As the day wore on the fog lifted and it made for a great day of riding. The boarding out here is so much fun compared to NC. I rode until 2pm when my legs were getting tired and I decided to call it a day.

Crater Lake was my next stop but I needed a shower and some laundry done so I found a KOA on I-5 that was not to far away. One really strange thing about Oregon I discovered on my way there. They will not let you pump your own gas. I got out a gas station and started to pump some gas in the Turtle and this dude just freaked out on me and started yelling “you no pump gas, you no pump gas!” He came over and told me he had to pump the gas for me. Being the skeptic that I am I figure he was running some kind of scam on the out of towner, but the guy at the next pump explained that in Oregon the attendant has to pump the gas. How strange is that. Any way I got a nice long shower and did my laundry at the KOA and left for Crater Lake the next morning. I have to say the view is just absolutely amazing and I took a few pics but they just don’t do it justice. Unfortunately I ran into my old nemesis again SNOW. It turns out this place has snow on the ground 8 months out of the year. It takes them 3 months just to clear the rim road. The ranger said in some sections the snow pack is 40 feet deep. So all that was open was the Visitor Center and of course the Gift Shop. I ate lunch in the van and took a few shots of the lake but that was all there was to do. Another place I would like to come back and see in the summer when everything is open. I did not take many pictures in Oregon, as a matter of fact Crater Lake was the only place I took any. I am sure California will make up for it………..Next stop California…………..Later, Brett