Smokey Day on I-5 South

We were able to get on the road by 8:00 a.m.  I knew it would be a long driving day because I had figured the mileage to the KOA in California to be 375 miles and 75 miles of that would be on two-lane road.

I took this picture as we were driving through Portland.  The I-84 exit from Troutdale eastward was closed because of the fire and smoke from the fire.   We were to stay at a town called Cascades which is east of Troutdale.   The Columbia River Gorge will have to wait for another trip.

The smoke was bad through Portland but even worse at Eugene. 

The drive down south I-5 was varied.  The mountains rose up east of the interstate but the land on the west of the interstate was flat and used for farmland.  There are signs on the fences of the fields telling those driving by what was being grown in the field.  We saw fields of clover, annual and perennial rye grass, tall fiscue, meadowfoam (I looked this up.  It is used in moisturizers)  hazelnuts, and broccoli.  Farmers were in the fields producing clouds of dust because everything around here is so dry.  There was a sign that said Lynn County is the grass seed capitol of the world.  From the list of crops being grown in the fields we say we agree.  We also saw several large flock of sheep.

We enjoyed the drive even if it were through a fog of smoke.  Around exit 174 the gas gauge was getting low so we pulled off and into another "RV friendly" gas station (according to I-exit) and guess what, there was no way we could get into the station for gas.  The positive things about I-exit is that it lists all gas stations at that exit and their phone numbers so I called ahead to a station and was assured that we could get into it.  The young man was so nice.  He also told us the best way to get into his station.  It was off the interstate but we needed gas so we went to it.  When we got there, that young man was out in the front of the station to direct us into the pump area.   Another young man came out to fill the gas tank.  We were told that it is against the law in Oregon for anyone other than the gas attendant to fill a gas tank.  Who knew?  Certainly not us.   He said you could be fined $500 and/or spend a night in jail.  Oregon is serious about who pumps gas.  We gladly let him pump our gas.  Carol said we were closer to empty than we had ever been.  We put 49.999 gallons of gas in the tank. We never really knew how large our tank was so now we know that is a 55-gallon tank.

We have seen more hitchhikers in Oregon than any other state.  One lady was walking along the interstate pushing a shopping cart filled with her stuff.  I guess she doesn't plan to ride because most people couldn't accommodate a shopping cart in their car.  We also found someone at every rest area we stopped at who was seeking financial help from travelers.   Some of the signs were very creative.  One read that they were out of gas, had a son who had cancer, and needed money for gas.  Another guy needed money because the State of Oregon had taken his tuition money and then refused him entry into the college or give him a refund.  

At Grant's Pass we left the interstate and drove on The Redwoods Highway, route 199.   

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It was a beautiful drive through tall redwood trees.  There was even a tunnel.  This part of California has had its problem with fires too.  Twice we saw signs on the road that read "Fire activity ahead."  We saw a staging area for firefighters.  The area contained lots of smaller individual tents and larger tents as food serving stations.  

There were places on the road where I could reach out the window and almost touch the wall of rock along the road.