Day 39-July 14, 2013-Turning the Corner
Sunny and warm, 85. Drove 216 miles in 4-1/2 hours to Eugene, OR
For a week or so now we have been discussing which way to head home, the northern route or the southern route. They both have their pros and cons, the biggest con for the northern route is that we did it last year, saw just about everything we wanted to see that way and, although the scenery is great, it’s pretty barren through the Dakotas. The biggest con for going the southern route is the heat. But it will be the end of July and the beginning of August and it will be hot everywhere!
When we left in the morning we headed west toward Portland, OR, a great place that always reminds me of Boston. We drove on the OR side of the Columbia River Gorge and saw the vineyards where we stopped yesterday from the other side of the river. Mt. Hood, of course, always looming right in front of us. We didn’t know how far we’d get or even which way we would go ‘til we got to Portland and at that point we either had to turn right and go the northern route or left and go the southern route. We turned……..left, toward California. For some reason I feel that we have reached the half way mark and are headed home, although that might not be the case.
We took “the” I-5 south through Portland where there was lots of traffic, seemed like everybody was leaving Portland at the same time, to Eugene, OR and stopped about 3:00. Two years ago we drove route 101 up the coast of California and last year we drove route 97 through the Cascades so this year we’re going I-5 right down the middle of the other two. So far I-5 is boring, the best thing we saw was Millersburg, OR, “The Grass Seed Capital of the World”-WOO-HOO!!!!! Only stopping here one night, we didn’t even un-hook, will be leaving in the morning for more parts unknown