Northwest adventure (day 6)

Monday, August 4, 2008
Oregon, Washington

Dani left for work (or school, I am not sure which) just as I was waking up for the day, which was earlier than any of the others were up. We got up, had some breakfast, packed our things, and headed out for the day. First we went looking for a post office to buy stamps and have them hand canceled in our travel books. We then drove into downtown Portland and went to Powell's, which is billed as the largest independent seller of new and used books, and spent a couple hours there. Michael and the children each bought books. I just browsed.

We then went to lunch at a Burgerville, a local chain here in the Portland area. Dani had recommended it as a place with to-die-for onion rings and in-season fresh raspberry shakes. We tried both and were very pleased.

We then met Dani at OMSI (the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry), which is located along the south bank of the Willamette River, and spent a couple hours there. It was similar to what we had seen at the Discovery Center of Idaho in Boise.

We said good-bye to Dani and, at her recommendation, headed toward Astoria in the very northwest corner of the state by taking I-5 back into Washington and traveling up the Washington side of the Columbia to Longview, where we crossed the river back into Oregon and continued along U.S. 30 on the south side of the river to Astoria. We stopped there to buy food at a Safeway store and then drove on to Fort Stevens State Park, our home for the next couple days. We found the ranger station and checked in. We are staying in yurt number 11 both Monday and Tuesday nights.

The yurt is just the right size for our group of six people. Caleb and Jacob will sleep in their sleeping bags on the top bunk. Michael, Meghan, and Caleb will sleep on the wider bottom bunk. And I will sleep on the futon couch. After we got settled in, we went to the nine o'clock campfire program at the amphitheater on lighthouses on the Oregon coast. That was an enjoyable half hour program.