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Oregon and the return home
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Oregon and the return home

We'll spend a few days in Oregon then head east. Read more
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  • Trip start
    July 2, 2026
    Plata PanaceaOregon and the return homePlata Panacea

    Not goodbye, but see you later.

    July 2 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    The caravan is over and we shared some sweet hugs this morning as folks went their separate ways... Alaska, Michigan, Florida, New Jersey, Nevada, California, Montana... ALL over the place. The coolest thing is that we have a new friend in all those places with open invitations to park and visit whenever were passing through. Jackie and I will stay here for a few days and explore more of Oregon on our own before heading east. Thankful that we have folks keeping an eye on our place at home and looking forward to being there sorta soon.Read more

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    Trillium Lake

    July 2 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Just a few miles from Mount Hood and our campsite lies Trillium Lake. It's a beautiful man-made 65-acre reservoir created in 1960 by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Lot's of folks were enjoying the rental kayaks and even swimming?!? We decided to simply enjoy the cool afternoon and walk the 2 mile loop trail. We (or I) may be back for an early morning visit to try and capture a glass like surface closer to sunrise.Read more

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    Portlandania!

    July 3 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    We took a drive through Portland and found a few really nice spots.

    The only fully dedicated REI returns, used and potentially damaged item store is in Oregon City. So we stopped by again on our way and picked up a few more bargains! Our check out lady offered a couple suggestions for lunch. She was funny because she didn't think we'd enjoy her quirky vegan spot - we assured her we were interested so we ended up at Harlow Cafe in the heart of quirky Portland. I had the WALNUT CHORIZO QUESADILLA: A large gluten free tortilla filled with walnut chorizo, vegan cheddar cheese, roasted peppers, sweet onions, butternut squash & topped with jalapeño cashew cream sauce, green onions & cilantro. IT WAS REALLY GOOD! Jackie picked their MIGHTY BOWL: brown rice or quinoa, daily beans, steamed greens, & choice of sauce and we were both super satisfied!

    We walked a few blocks and stepped inside a couple stores then finished our short loop near the cafe because we had seen Cafe Umbria next door. Jackie introduced me to the Italian affogato recently. That's a hot shot of espresso poured over a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream! Tiny spoons keep you from slurping it all down instantly but it's such a good way to finish our lunch time in the very Portland Richmond neighborhood.    Read more

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    Pittock Mansion

    July 3 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    After lunch we just started driving randomly further into downtown Portland. I think all my years working in downtown St. Louis and covering news etc in some very unique areas has made me pretty comfortable with these kind of drives. Just people watching and seeing the sights.

    We wound through the hills nearby and a couple Googles later we found a real gem. The Pittock Mansion! Built in 1914, Pittock Mansion is a 16,000-square-foot French Renaissance château located 1,000 feet above sea level in Portland’s West Hills. Originally the private estate of Oregonian publisher Henry Pittock, it is famous for its panoramic views of downtown Portland and five Cascade peaks, and for being saved from demolition by a community rally in 1964.

    OH! The view! Mr. Pittock knew how to pick a building site! We could almost see our campsite near Mount Hood 40some miles away!!!    Read more

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    Sunset in monochrome

    July 3 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    The interesting thing about getting out for a sunset here this time of year is they are so dang late! It's actually kind of tough to decide to leave 'home' by 8ish to get somewhere in time for a 9ish sunset! On this evening we sorta picked our location poorly. I wasn't sure where we'd wanna go and Jackie reminded me the 3rd of July at the most popular spot would be rather crowded... so we continued past and found a spot on the shadow side of Mount Hood. This is the White River area. When there's a big snow melt up on the mountain it floods this whole area! But tonight it was just a pleasant stream we could step over and investigate.

    There wasn't enough color in the sky here to bother with but I thought these couple black and whites worked pretty well.    Read more

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    Happy 4th of July!

    July 4 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    We chose to do the Oregon coast on the 4th of July. Thankfully we didn’t run into any traffic snarls or parades that interrupted our drive. Starting toward the northern end of things we drove through some big, beautiful pines and forests of ferns! Snaking our way (in our BIG truck) to the park overlooking Haystack rock on Cannon Beach was an adventure unto itself. Narrow roads and tight turns built for a European touring car were extra fun. Hairpin turns. We go slow and careful not to swap paint with anyone who might be going down as we ascend.

    Afterwards we park at Moe’s Cafe for a walk on the beach. Haystack was probably a mile down away but well worth the stop… but Moe’s clam chowder was recommended and soon as they opened we were ready for lunch. Jackie gave the chowder a thumbs up and I enjoyed the fish n chips!

    Tillamook Creamery was on the way and SO MANY folks recommended it! This is a classic tourist spot. HUGE cheese and ice cream factory with tours and tasting rooms and gift shops and of course we had to try a flight of three ice cream flavors. BTW we approved of all three flavors.

    Next… lots more driving down the coast.    Read more

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    Puffins, seals, whales and even a lighthouse!

    July 4 in the United States ⋅ 🌬 15 °C

    We almost skipped this spot and yet we are so glad we didn’t. This area is known for their grey whale sightings but still I thought the lighthouse was gonna be the main attraction. Then as we entered the state park we saw the sign “we have seals”!

    Awesome. This was the perfect end to our highway 101 drive south along the Oregon coast. Puffins were among the many other sea birds roosting on the rocks. I don’t have a great photo but we could see a grey whale taking a few breaths just beyond the nearby rocks.

    The seals were very entertaining though! Most of them must have been old guys like me because they were content to lay on the beach snoozing. But there were a small number seals playing in the waves and every now and then, they’d look over at us… probably wondering when they were gonna get their privacy back!

    And that was a pretty perfect way to celebrate Independence Day without fireworks! It was a 14 hour day in and out of the truck but we’re trying to soak in as much as we can on this trip!!!    Read more

  • Plata PanaceaOregon and the return homePlata Panacea

    Heyburn State Park

    July 7 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Getting here was a long day of driving. We cancelled a midway stop so we could have more time in Oregon (some of my poor planning). Including a lunch break and a couple pit stops we were 9 hours on the road.

    After passing through Spokane and Couer D’Arlene I followed the GPS down our first crappy road. It was paved and took us where we wanted to go but the road was lousy and terribly rough Only after we got here and were set up did I realize we could have come in through the park’s main entrance right off the highway!

    Our camp site is full hookup which means we have electric, water, sewer AND its a pull through site. Those usually have the best access and space etc. This park’s full service sites are as close to primitive as I’ve experienced. Tight turns, big trees, small sites AND lots of downed trees.

    Despite all that we did manage to have a good/short stay. We had a recommendation for Indian Cliffs trail so after a slow start to our day and lots of coffee we hiked the 3 mile loop trail. There was quite a bit of brush to wade through but once we started gaining elevation, the trail and our view really started to change. After crossing a bit of exposed rock we came to the first outlooks. The Chatcolet Lake was several hundred feet below and we could see the low mountains stacking up for miles in the distance!

    We were treated to the passing of a long, slow train as he climbed the gentle grade near our campsite but clear across a vast valley. Trains are actually kinda neat out here. No longer a traffic frustration, they seem to me a sign of progress and efficiency that can’t be beat by pouring more asphalt and patching more potholes.

    After our requesite selfies, we utilized our mountaintop view for something totally different. Cell phone signal! Jackie did her Duolingo, maintaining her thousand plus day streak. I looked at our travel plans for tomorrow and grabbed screen shots so I didn’t have to rememeber anything!

    No pictures to support the subsequent laundry and oil change and truck washing but those got done today as well.

Lunch was documented as we really enjoyed Trail’s End Brewery. We shared a specialty pizza and Jackie approved of their hard berry cider (water for the driver).

    OH! AND… our waiter was very excited to hear about our trip. He suggested a different stop and Google approved of it!

    SO… just like that we’ll change our route and reschedule tomorrow night’s stop putting us super closer to Glacier Nat’l park!!! (more on that when we decide whether or not it was a good idea to take random advice).    Read more

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    The detour.

    July 8 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    The suggestion from our waiter was a really good one! The suggested route kept us off a very steep interstate mountain crossing AND we spent nearly to two hours driving through a mountain valley next to lakes, mountains and “game crossing” signs (but still no big game).

    This might have been one of the best drives of our whole trip. Those mountains get mighty large when passing them by up close like that! There were lots of places to pull off for pit stops and just look around and I popped the drone up for a shot to document how cool it was.

    Once we got the camper set up at the Rollins RV Park, we chatted with some local folks who recommended a dinner spot as well as a mountaintop drive! Of course most of that mountain road was gravel so… so long to the freshly washed and polished truck! I’m hoping to wash it again in the morning before the campground wakes up!

    Tomorrow we head toward our stop just outside of Glacier National Park!    Read more

  • Plata PanaceaOregon and the return homePlata Panacea

    First impressions can be so wrong.

    July 9 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    As we approached the west side gate of Glacier Nat’l Park I’ll admit I kept wondering, where are the mountains? I kept thinking that around the next bend we’d see some fantastic beauty. This is the part where I also felt very spoiled. As you approach the Teton Range in Wyoming you’re just in awe of their stature and beauty for MILES. So this very uninformed first timer to Glacier assumed we’d have the same initial feeling.

    Entering Glacier from the west you’re surrounded by mountains: The Whitefish Range, Livingston Range and the Lewis Range. Those mountains are pretty dang impressive and you drive through all that impressiveness for miles then you get to a very simple pine forested west entrance.

    We got our parks passport stamped at the visitor center, drove to Lake McDonald—and it’s beautiful. A big flat lake leading into the mountains. And yet somehow I’m quietly still wondering, this is it? Where’s the towering Mount Cleveland? Where are the glaciers? ALSO, you should know. As we drive from Lake McDonald ALL along the road is a big beautiful river with LOTS of big and little falls. I didn’t even say this out loud to Jackie. Why am I so underwhelmed? I’m not even going to admit this to her!

    Then we stop at Lake McDonald Lodge. Built in 1914 and it’s fantastic. Built even before there was a road to bring people to it! They built it for steamboat traffic!!! The big exposed timbers and Swiss Chalet architecture, combined beautifully with National Park Rustic, really makes an impression. Large game heads are mounted everywhere. Simply amazing.

    Now I’m getting warmed up. I chat up a professional tour driver and decide I’m gonna start up the Going-to-the-Sun Road. BTW the Sun Road has vehicle size restrictions and my truck pretty much exactly meets those limits. This road is famous for tight switchbacks, low guard rails and jagged granite sticking out into its two narrow lanes! Perfect.    Read more

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    Whitewater!

    July 10 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    While we were on our caravan west, one of the must-do recommendations while in Glacier was whitewater rafting. With a fairly recent canoe incident, Jackie and I weren’t sure about being back on a river with class 2 and 3 rapids! But we made the reservation anyway and we had a great time!

    With our flotation vests, helmets, and paddles issued, we listened to our orientation before boarding the bus to the launch point. We were joined by 5 other rafts, each with 4-6 guests and 1 guide. Our boat elected the teenagers to sit in front and take most of the splashes. They got DRENCHED. Fortunately they seemed to enjoy it enough and didn’t complain at all. Us old folks sat in the back, wedged ourselves in as best we could and we all took direction from our guide Nolan. He shared the typical river lore as we headed through the flat water. He instructed us on his basic commands. Basically paddle, stop or LEAN IN. That last one seemed to be the most important one though.

    Nolan was awesome. The river was perfect.

    Just enough whitewater to make it fun and exhilarating. Nolan did a fantastic job negotiating the rapids to keep us in the proper lanes and away from the monster rocks that could have been problematic. It was really cool having Nolan direct us and navigate us down the river. Only once did he shout out the command, LEAN IN! Those big rafts are designed not to flip over but in a really rough spot, keeping your center of gravity as low and centered as possible certainly helps.

    The raft in front of us actually did have one person go overboard for just a few seconds before being hoisted back in! That certainly encouraged us all to wedge in tighter and brace for those big waves!!

    We thoroughly enjoyed our trip with Glacier Raft Company and Nolan is our new favorite river guide!    Read more

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    Logan Pass.

    July 10 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    The drive up to Logan Pass was breathtaking. When they designed this Going-to-the-Sun Road in 1924 they decided to make it not just a utility road but accessible to all people. Curves that were (sort of) easy to maneuver and no more than 6% grades. We only had one or two moments where I stopped and let traffic pass so that we didn’t make contact with the exposed granite.

    The mountaintop glaciers and snowpack create countless waterfalls. Some falling hundreds of feet in a single drop, others creating amazing rivers that, in turn, tumble and drop. All that snowpack and glacier melt is feeding into rivers like the McDonald… and it’s crystal clear!

    For miles, the teal blue McDonald River gushes through tight openings as white foam. Over miles this water works its way over shoals and crevasses and finally over a flat section that eases the transition from river water to lake water.

    Back at the top near Logan Pass, we encountered a small herd of mountain goats, bighorn rams and even a grizzly bear!

    More driving and more driving and we cross Montana state road 49 back toward camp. It was phenomenal. I was anxious to get back to camp but we still took time to pull over a few times and appreciate the endless sunset that big sky Montana gifted us!    Read more

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    Last day at Glacier Nat'l Park

    July 12 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Today was our last day at Glacier Nat'l Park AND we just finished our 45th day of this epic summer road trip! So this morning we slept in a bit. Had coffee, breakfast, straightened up just a bit then we headed toward the park.

    Montana's state fruit happens to be the huckleberry. They make pastries, fudge, ice cream, just about anything that tastes good can taste better with the huck! So before we headed in to find our last day's hike we bought a slice of huckleberry pie! What a fantastic slice. Warmed for us and just a bit sweet and a bit tart. My favorite taste.

    Then we get into the park and it's a zoo. A beautiful, warm July Sunday and every space in the lot is full and we circle for a bit... take a break and make a few cool river photos. Circle through the lots again and decide to head up the mountain until we find a place to park.

    We hike two uneventful miles and decide to drive the rest of the way up to Logan Pass. Mountain goats and bighorn sheep greet and pose a bit more for us as we give a few more long looks around and appreciate this beautiful place just a few miles south of our Canadian friends.

    On our way back, we stopped at THE HUCKLEBERRY PATCH! They've been in business since 1949. I think during those 77 years they have perfected the huckleberry milkshake! They're sweet and tart with chunks of berries! This might have been our best treat on these last 45 days!

    Edit to add... if you wanna ride with us from near the top of Logan Pass all the way down click here: https://youtu.be/zsNbEh2Ned8    Read more

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    Heading East

    July 13 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 27 °C

    Check-out time was 11am today and we took every minute. It was another slow, easy start to a day UNTIL we got about an hour down the road.

    That good old summer road construction hit us hard! We were at a complete standstill for nearly an hour! I spoke with the trucker behind us on the radio and he assured me that this was the way to go if we were headed east! Ugh.

    After driving through miles of construction and fresh asphalt I can't imagine how much oil and tar I'll need to remove from the truck and camper... but... such is life on the road, right?!?

    Our destination tonight is a farm: Living Sky Grains. They're one of thousands of small businesses that are a part of a network called Harvest Hosts. The host provides safe parking in exchange for patronizing their business in some way. Tonight we were welcomed into their home, told about their regenerative type of farming and they had fresh eggs, pork chops and our specially milled flour ready for us to pick up!

    We parked behind some trees near their barns but out of the way for any early morning tractor driving. After dinner we enjoyed a super quiet evening outside the warm camper - they don't have an electric hook-up here so instead of cooling the camper with the two ACs we just waited for the sun to drop along with the temps. Blankets might even be needed by sun up with the windows open!

    Montana treated us again with a big, beautiful sunset! A thunderstorm showed off in the distance but all we got from it was a light show and some extra cooling!

    Good night from Three Forks, Montana!    Read more

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    Little Bighorn Battlefield

    July 14 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 37 °C

    This national historic site was just down the road from our campsite and even though it was over 100° we made it a quick stop. Neither of us know hardly anything about Custer or the battle that ended his life along with 210 of his men back in 1876. The site and grave markers and monuments to the soldiers is certainly moving. But there's so little information presented about the Native American warriors who were trying to preserve the dignity of their people and their way of life.

    Currently a visitor's center is being (re)built so hopefully it will give the entire site a much stronger perspective of the Native American or Indigenous peoples.    Read more

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    We interrupt this trip...

    July 14 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    Would you believe a DEER smashed a window at our house!?! Our daughter and son in-law were house sitting and saw what looked like a deer jumping through a window - from the inside out! A quick call to 911 and after further investigation it appears that the deer was right next to the window, got spooked, then somehow smashed his head into the glass totally SHATTERING it before running away!

    Thankfully they were able to get glass vacuumed up and window boarded up. AND I get to add window repair to my list homecoming things!    Read more

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    The Badlands

    July 15 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 31 °C

    Here is a polished, beautifully paced edit of your journal entry. It keeps your authentic, conversational voice while smoothing out the transitions and formatting it to make those photos pop!

    I didn't have a clear picture in my mind of what the Badlands would actually look like. As it turns out, they got their name from early French-Canadian trappers who dubbed the area les mauvaises terres à traverser—literally, "bad lands to cross." It seems like an incredibly fitting name, especially if you’re the one trying to navigate across them!

    Located in southwestern South Dakota near Rapid City, Badlands National Park spans nearly 250,000 acres of protected mixed-grass prairie, rich fossil beds, and, of course, those striking, jagged formations carved by millennia of relentless erosion.

    We finally rolled in after another long day of driving east on Interstate 90. Once the camper was set up and the air conditioners were humming away, fighting hard against the sweltering 97° heat, we decided it was the perfect time to grab some dinner and head out into the park for the evening.

    I’ll let the photographs do the talking from here. But first, hats off once again to the National Park Service—they truly know how to design road access that both beautifully preserves the landscape and makes it incredibly accessible for the rest of us to enjoy.    Read more

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    Mount Rushmore

    July 16 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Mount Rushmore was pretty cool. However, I was amazed to learn the idea was simply a tourism gamble. South Dakota was suffering economically from the Depression and Dust Bowl, and the gold strikes were striking out. So, politicians and business folks found a way to fund the project and—BOOM! Or, actually, lots of booms, and you have an economic engine that generates over $300 million annually for the area!

    There are lots of flags waving and a movie inside that tells the creation story. You can buy Thomas Jefferson's ice cream (whatever that means) and any number of tourist trinkets for sale in multiple gift shops and "bookstores."

    It is certainly a been-there-done-that sort of thing.

    I'm glad we went. I got some fun photos.

    And I really wanna rewatch the Cary Grant movie, North by Northwest:
    https://youtu.be/VCP2_5Z8ETE?si=Q0yRwZ-upkh8y-E6    Read more

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    Twin parks - sorta

    July 17 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    The last two days we visited two parks right next door to each other. Wind Cave National Park and Custer State Park. Combined they manage a couple thousand head of bison and occupy over 100,000 acres of woodland. Wind Cave however is enormous UNDER ground with over 167 MILES of passages! (we didn’t try for that tour)

    Like all our other stops these required lots of driving. We visited each park to see their respective bison heards and we were not disappointed! We also saw a family of pronghorn antelope, coyote, a big family of turkeys, lots of boring old regular deer but we missed out on Custer State Park’s elk. We spoke with a ranger and he gave directions to the last known location of the heard… we drove an extra bunch of miles and never could track them down.

    Custer State Park also home to the famous "Begging Burros." The park highly discourages feeding ANY of their animals but apparently turn a blind eye to families giving handouts to these guys. This heard of burros are the remnants of a pack animals used around the park over 100 years ago!

    Tomorrow is the first of 3 long driving days! Just over 1000 miles to get back home.    Read more

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    Lewis And Clark Welcome Center

    July 18 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Located at mile maker 264 Interstate 90 near Chamberlain, South Dakota this welcome center is the prettiest one in the state. It hosts the statute Dignity of the Earth and Sky, beautiful walking paths, great views of the Missouri River, shaded picnic areas, and an information center with Lewis and Clark exhibits. Lewis and Clark poled and paddled their Corps of Discovery up the Missouri River through the Chamberlain area on September 16, 1804.Read more

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    Feikema Farms - Harvest Host

    July 18 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Today we crossed from South Dakota into Minnesota! Who knew you had to go to Minnesota to get to Illinois?!?

    We're staying at another Harvest Host. This is a big family farm with parking for a few folks. They get paid for our electricity usage as well as they have a selection of spices and cuts of beef in the refrigerator.

    Love finding these quiet farms to park for a night! Tomorrow we head south toward Missouri!!!    Read more

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    WE MADE IT HOME!

    July 20 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    The Midwest welcomed us back with 88% humidity yesterday!!!

    Our first big trip in the camper was an overwhelming success! We had a fantastic trip! We made some very good friends during the westward portion of our journey! Then, even though we were on our own coming home, we kept a very busy schedule… so busy that I even took a nap in the camper during one of our midday drives.

    Things that I thought were extra cool:

    Snow on mountain tops - Jackie and I even exchanged a snowball volley!
    Driving to Logan Pass on Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier Nat’l Park.
    Whitewater rafting.
    Our side trip to see the Tetons! So glad Juan & Jovi invited us!
    EVERYTHING OREGON: Multnomah Falls, Cannon Beach, Seals, Whales, the Columbia River!

    Will we do another two-month trip? Definitely maybe! Will we book another Airstream caravan? Definitely!

    Here’s our trip by the numbers…
    Total miles: 8,320
    Nights on the road: 53
    Number of camp locations: 23
    Number of fuel stops: 42
    Average cost per refueling: $76
    Average mileage: 10.6
    Oil changes: 1 (ready for another)

    State Parks/National Parks/Monuments: 28
    Museums: Too many!
    Covered wagons: Countless
    Laundromats: 5
    Number of times across the Continental Divide: Maybe 10? We lost count!

    Interesting animals:
    •Bear
    •Moose
    •Rattlesnakes
    •Bison
    •Bighorn sheep
    •Mountain goats
    •Pronghorn
    •Coyote
    •Prairie dogs

    States: 12
    •Illinois
    •Missouri
    •Kansas
    •Nebraska
    •Wyoming
    •Idaho
    •Utah
    •Montana
    •Oregon
    •Washington
    •South Dakota
    •Iowa    Read more

    Trip end
    July 20, 2026