FROM THE MOUNTAINS TO THE SEA

July, 2021

We’ve had a few necessary repairs along this journey started so long ago. Some repairs were caused by human error, some the need to replace a gasket or filter or worn water line, and some repairs necessary due to the simple fact that bumping along down the road over so many miles will occasionally cause something to become loose.

We returned from our first marvelous adventure in the Columbia River Gorge to no electricity coming into Aimee. Making a long story short, the transfer switch had tripped. A transfer switch acts as a super circuit breaker; for example, should there be a power surge that blows through our surge protector or should the temperature of a component exceed a safe level the transfer switch “trips” and stops the electrical current from entering our home and causing electrical damage to various essential components internal to Aimee and/or causing an electrical fire. A circuit breaker can be reset; a transfer switch has to be replaced. The recommended repair guy came out, replaced the transfer switch, and when the electrical system was tested or “stressed” by turning on the air conditioners it tripped again! By the way, it’s the hottest summer on record in the Portland area and it’s Friday. Can’t stay comfortably in the rig and the repair shop would close for the weekend…so…we drove Aimee to the repair guy’s shop, parked it for the weekend, grabbed clothes and toiletries for a few days and checked ourselves into a Hampton Inn close to our Troutdale campground. Come Monday the technician discovered that a heat sensor on the front air conditioner had come loose (bumping down the road, no doubt), and every time the unit turned on it registered extreme heat tripping the transfer switch. Once the sensor was secured back in its proper place and the transfer switch replaced, we were good to go.

Mount Hood is Oregon’s highest peak at 11,240 feet and is home to 12 named glaciers and snowfields. Although the last eruption was more than 1500 years ago, Mount Hood is considered a “potentially” active volcano – we’re not sure but that phrase probably means that Mount Hood is a dormant volcano, but “just in case” all bases are covered.

The “McGibbon Tour Guide Company” recommended a trip to Trillium Lake for a nice hike with spectacular views of Mount Hood…

Followed by a hike ON Mount Hood.

Timberline Lodge at Mount Hood has been serving vacationers, skiers and snowboarders since being built by the Works Progress Administration in 1931. There may also be something familiar about the Lodge to fans of the movie adaption of Stephen King’s “The Shining,” as many of the exterior scenes in the movie were shot right here!

Larch Mountain is an extinct volcano. There are 3 ways to ascend Larch Mountain in order to spend some time at the overlook known as Serrard Point. For the extremely fit hiker up to the challenge, there’s a 13.1 mile out and back trail that climbs 4396 feet (0.83mile) and passes through old-growth forest and past several waterfalls. The hike is considered very difficult and may take in excess of 8 hours. There is also a moderate hike of 3.7miles; the trailhead is found at Bridal Veil Falls and the change in elevation is 971 feet. Or, and oh so much simpler, the roadway permits a motor vehicle to ascend in a fraction of the time. Guess which we chose?

But why bother with Serrad Point at all?

From Serrad Point there are unrestricted views of Mount Hood, Mount Adams, Mount Jefferson, Mount Baker and Mount Saint Helens! Now, it’s quite some distance from here to there, but being able to have a sight line to most of the volcanos in the Cascade Volcanic Arc can only be done from Serrad Point.

Remember the 1985 movie The Goonies? Many of the neighborhood scenes in the movie were filmed in and around Astoria, Oregon. We never made it to that locale…actually the present owners of the properties are not very welcoming to tourists. But we did make it out to Canon Beach, home of the “famous” Haystack Rock. At the end of the movie “One-eyed Willie’s pirate ship The Inferno” sails by Haystack Rock on its way out to sea.

Not too much to see in the tide pools around Haystack Rock. However, bird watchers with very powerful binoculars or cameras equipped with a strong telephoto lens claimed to see puffins on the Rock. The sea birds were not evident to the naked eye or with the telephoto lens on Brian’s camera.

Moseying on south to Hug Point gave us landlubbers quite a thrill. The tide pools provided wonderful sights of sea anemones and sea stars, and the skies offered up Brian’s favorite – pelicans in flight.

Hug Point provided some pretty nice sea caves and rock formations, too.

When roads were first built for the “horseless carriages” in the early 20th Century the roadway often left the solid foundation of rock, and drivers found themselves trying to skedaddle across the sand…far too often resulting in the vehicle sinking into the soft surface and needing a “tow.”

“Damn Right!” Brian exclaimed when The “McGibbon Tour Guide Company” guide asked if he enjoyed corn dogs. Barbara’s not that much of a fan, but she’s been known to choke down a corn dog or 2 on occasion. Pronto Pup considers itself the original corn dog; however, their dogs are dipped in a pancake-like (rather than corn bread) batter mix as invented in Rockaway Beach, Oregon, and then fried. Was there a question that a stop at Pronto Pup was next on the agenda? Alas and alack the restaurant was closed…drat!

Just a little bit further south along the coast is Tilamook, home to the dairy co-op that manufactures cheese and ice cream, sour cream and yogurt, and which has expanded its products to include jerky and meat sticks. Following a factory tour which included samples of medium cheddar and cheddar flavored with black pepper (winner, winner, chicken dinner!), an ice cream cone was requisite. YUM!

So much to see and do in this part of Oregon, and we’re just scratching the beginning of the possibilities. Or is it that we’re rookies in this part of the US, and we appreciate everything we experience? We hope you agree with us that it doesn’t matter much – there’s so much more to come!

Barbara and Brian

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.“ – Henry David Thoreau