July 25 2016 – White Salmon WA to Astoria OR … Tunnels Galore!

Committed to avoiding the narrow Hood River Bridge again in our motorhome, we headed to the Bridge of the Gods over the Columbia to Cascade Locks.  That meant going through

ONE

Tunnel 5 (a), WA-14 - 2106-07-25Which had a blind entrance so we couldn’t see what was coming at us from the other end

TWO

Tunnel 4 (a), WA-14 - 2106-07-25

THREE

Tunnel 3 (a), WA-14 - 2106-07-25

FOUR

Tunnel 2 (a), WA-14 - 2106-07-25

FIVE

Tunnel 1 (a), WA-14 - 2106-07-25

tunnels, any of which can be “exciting” particularly if a semi is headed toward you and hugging the centerline.  However, once through the last of these tunnels, I assured Debbie that was the last of them for today and possibly during our trip.

As we made the turn for the

Bridge of the Gods Signto cross back into Oregon, there was a loud crash in the rear of our coach.  Debbie quickly jumped up and announced that the latch on one of our pantry slides had [once again] failed and it and the canned goods it held were not on the floor.  Unable to stop on the bridge, I continued driving while she sat on the floor to keep anything from rolling around or doing any damage.

Once across in the bridge we found a place to pull over, pick up the loose grocery items and store them elsewhere and wedge the pantry slider shut for the duration of our day’s travels.

We followed I-84 west along the shore of the Columbia to Portland where we veered inland an into a major traffic jam.

Portland Traffic Slowdown

Leaving the city, we opted to take US-26 toward the Oregon coast, where we were quickly surprised by, you guessed it, another lengthy

Tunnel US-26 Portland

Tunnel US-26 Portland. (interior)jpg

Once through we headed into relatively level farming country

Multiple Crops - US-26although we soon began to make out the hazy ridge line of the Pacific coastal ring in the distance.  The valley slowly morphed into a region of rolling hills

Barn with Corn and Hay, US-26, OR - 2106-07-25

Farm and Barn with Hay and Wine Vine, off US-26, Oregon - 2016-07-25

Corn and Wine Vinesbefore the farms gave way to evergreen forests

DSC_9465and a road that began to climb

DSC_9468through yet one more

Pacific Crest Tunneland elevations increasing

DSC_9466

DSC_9469before peaking out at over 1,600 feet where the Pacific Crest Trail crossed it.

While I kept well below the speed limits on this narrow highway, traffic coming the other way was far less cautious, particularly the larger "rigs".

Log Truck US-26

DSC_9480

After descending to sea level in Seaside, Oregon

Low Tide, Seasode, OR - 2106-07-25

We headed north to our destination campground in Astoria where we are looking out over a 9-hole golf course.

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