A New Route

We began our day getting to know the family traveling in this rig. They are a couple just a little younger than us who have adopted 8 kids ranging in age from 2 years to high school. All the kids are at least part Indian. They are taking 7 of them on a fantastic trip that began in Anchorage, where they live. They flew down to Salem and rented this rig, two trucks and a whole slew of bikes. They will travel the West Coast, but no Disneyland for them--they will see historic sites and geographical wonders. The kids were so polite and well-behaved except the 3 year old who is the cutest Dennis the Menace look alike you've even seen--and he behaves like Dennis, as well. It was fun and inspiring to get to know them.

Then we headed out on the days travels. It has been a long time since we have driven the Portland route to Astoria. After we left Beaverton and as we drove thru all the farmland and berry fields, Gary said he's been wanting to take an alternate route to Astoria, so I said, "why not? Today is the day we have plenty of time."

So we turned off toward Vernonia. We drove thru Vernonia, Mist (never could find the town of Mist), Berkefeld and














Olney.














There is an Elk Preserve outside Olney and we were lucky to see a herd of Elk even though it was the middle of the afternoon. They usually only come out of the woods at dusk.














We drove around lots of S curves and saw a gazillion lumber trucks. It was a beautiful drive.


We completed the day by going to the Regatta Queen coronation in the old Liberty Theater that has been beautifully restored. There was amazing entertainment and we were impressed by how exacting the expectations are for the Regatta Royal Court. Being a Rodeo Princess was a lot easier. We spent some time with Mike and Julie and both their kids, Lisa and Nick. It was a real treat to see them.