Live. Travel. Play.

We slept for free in another rest area last night – this time in Rufus, northern Oregon. We hit the road at about 8 am and drove west through the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic area, where the Columbia River has cut a deep canyon through volcanic lava and mudflows dating back 40 million years. All along the gorge are volcanic rock outcrops, cascading waterfalls, and industrial locks and dams. The famously windy region is also a windsurfing mecca.

Since it was Memorial Day long weekend, the most popular attractions on the scenic drive were crawling with people. We enjoyed the gorgeous scenery along the winding road that followed the contours of the valley walls. This road was originally built in the 40’s for recreational automobile travel, so it was really narrow and dangerously close to the edge of some ridiculously steep slopes. Thankfully, Gregor is a good driver.

Today was a big driving day – from Rufus to Portland in northern Oregon, then from Portland straight south to a town called Weed, close to Mt. Shasta in northern California. A total of 789 km (493 mi). We’re now in an RV park by the I-5 where we have the luxury of hot showers and free Wi-Fi!