The ‘Flatlanders’ head for the Oregon coast

We were absolutely chomping at the bit to get going again and ended up leaving a couple of days before we had planned realizing that we didn’t have to wait for our Travel Medical Insurance to kick in cuz we were still going to be in Canada for a couple of days – da!

First night was in Cranbrook, BC to visit RV friends! Oh, my God, was it ever cold and we were not plugged in so we cuddled – that can only keep you warm for so long, so we headed south!

We got to Coeur d’Alene the next night and went on a telephone hunting expedition. We thought we had the activation situation all solved after the problems last year – BUT – guess what – we still ended up talking to Bogotá, Columbia, Belize City and Guyana (S. America) before we finally got that straightened out. We are now officially connected with Idaho and Calgary phone numbers.

As is our routine – we go fast and furiously for the first few hundred miles and then take a few days to get adjusted and figure out where we want to go next and what we forgot to pack. This time we ended up at an Oregon State Park (Deschute) in the Columbia River Gorge where the Deschute and the Columbia rivers converge.

Oregon has fantastic State Parks! They’re well laid out and well kept.

Most of the sites have at least electric and water and they are

reasonably priced (this one was $12/night) – couldn’t ask for much better.

The Dalles was the nearest community of any size and Mt Hood shadows a multitude of markets, orchards, vine-yards and wineries that are scattered throughout the whole area.

We toured what they called the “Fruit-Loop” and ended up at a community Fair at Parkdale that highlighted local crafts as well as a working train that still runs daily from Hood River to Parkdale.

When you take the time to ‘visit’ with fellow RV’er, you usually learn something and always get advice on where to go next and how to get there – and so it was! By the time we left the Columbia Gorge area, we were heading for the coast and South Beach State Park just south of Newport, Oregon and even knew how we were going to get there.