Still Goin' Still Flowin'

5/23/16

Since we left the tedium of the interstate I am constantly amazed with the variety and diversity of terrain that we see in the course of just a few hundred miles of driving.  We are on US 97,  a major north-south highway that begins in Weed, CA travels through Oregon and Washington and ends at the Canada-US border at Osoyoos, British Columbia.  The Cascade Range is always to the west of it and we frequently catch views of the really big mountains like Shasta, St. Helens, Hood, and Baker. Today we drove beside the Columbia River for miles and miles. We went from almost barren volcanic hills to the huge, deep Yakima Valley with its thousands of fruit orchards.

We loved both Lassen Volcanic and Lava Beds National Parks but were forced back to the lowlands by threats of snow. We settled in at Collier Memorial State Park near Chiloquin, OR for three nights to give the weather a chance to clear. On the second day we drove up to Crater Lake NP. It started snowing on the way up but the road was good so we continued. It was lovely of course and we enjoyed it but it was sooooooo cold!

We left Chiloquin on Sunday and continued on US 97 to Bend. We needed to spend some time at a Verizon store before crossing into Canada. Unfortunately life does go on even when traveling and we needed more data to keep up with business. We will see how that works out! Last night we stayed in a sweet little Washington state park, Brooks Memorial. I’m not sure what it memorializes or why it is there, but it was a good place to rest. Our neighbors were two couples in VW pop-up campers. They reminded us of the old days of camping with the Farmers.

Tonight we are at a nice park in Omak, WA. This campground has three names (?) which made us think there were three campgrounds in Omak. Nope, they are all the same. Carl Precht Memorial, City of Omak, and Stampede Park, same place. We had a little sadness here; a young mother with two pre-school age boys camping out of her car. After talking with her I was reassured that she is not homeless or completely without support, just in a bad spot right now. We have done what we can to help. She is a sweet young woman with cute children, I hope she makes it.

Tomorrow we are off to Oroville to get the oil changed in the truck. If all goes well we may cross into BC in the afternoon.

Crater Lake in the snow

Ponderosa

 

Wild Iris along the Columbia River

I am not at all sure about internet access as we travel across British Columbia but will do my best.