Day 3 & 4 - Coeur D'Alene to Portland, Oregon

Day 3
With the 2 hour time change, we were all up at 6am, so after a quick breakfast  we took off again, eager to reach our destination and have a break from all this driving. We have been surprised at how arid this part of Washington is. There’s not a tree in sight. We can’t wait to rest our eyes on some mountains and forests.

Finally the scenery changed and the Columbia River Gorge was spectacular to drive through. At the first sight of Mount Hood, Aria exclaimed, “That’s totally bigger than my school!” There were hundreds of wind turbines, which are oddly beautiful in this landscape.

Once in Portland, we tried an RV park for the night, but the fact that we could see the train tracks from our campsite did not bode well for a good night's sleep. Sure enough, by the morning we had booked a hotel, which was only $3/night more than the camping! We'll save camping for the wilderness portion of our trip. Plus, we need to make sure we choose campgrounds and not RV parks. We kept singing the song from Sesame Street, "Which of these things doesn't belong here..." We are not used to feeling like trailer trash, but that's what we were. On the bright side, it was very private because no one is outside. We were all alone amid rows and rows of RV's, all with their spinny wind things and potted flowers.


However, the grounds were amazing. Just look at the size of these hydrangeas!!

Day 4 - Portland

Multnomah Falls

Today we checked out some waterfalls and served at a soup kitchen. A diverse day! Peter and Shanda (the friends we are visiting here) had some responsibilities at the soup kitchen, so we tagged along. The girls helped in the kitchen and Rick and I sang in a little ensemble that sings hymns while the people eat. It was very eye-opening for all of us.

Latourell Falls

The Columbia River Gorge