Road Trip: Spokane Valley to Eugene

  Date        Stop   Odometer   Location                                          Time

6/11/2013	0	208541	Spokane Valley, WA	9:40 AM
6/11/2013	1	208593	Sprague, WA	10:36 AM
6/11/2013	2	208688	Kennewick, WA	12:25 PM
6/11/2013	3	208711	Oregon Welcome Center	12:55 PM
6/11/2013	4	208735	C&D Drive In- Boardman, OR	1:21 PM
6/11/2013	5	208865	Multnomah Falls, OR	5:07 PM
6/11/2013	6	208875	Portland, OR	5:27 PM
6/11/2013	7	208991	Eugene, OR	7:30 PM

Total trip miles: 2353

We made it to Oregon.  Follow the jump for travel notes and photos.




From Cory's travel journal (revised)

9:45AM- Just leaving after our breakfast of duck eggs and delicious pancakes.  It's great to visit family, and we are going to visit more tonight!  We looked at the photos we have from the trip so far, and they look great!  Can't wait for the rest of the trip's photos.

12:30PM- Driving through Tri-Cities in Washington.  Bathrooms were very sketchy and full of gang tags on the wall.  City is difficult to navigate through, but we made it.  

5:07PM- We ate lunch at a great little diner just across the Oregon border in Boardman, OR.  It was called the C&D Diner and featured the Bozo Burger.  Sara ordered said burger and found out it was a standard bacon cheeseburger with a homemade sauce from this cafe.  Nice stop to take a rest.

The Bozo Burger

The ride along the Columbia River is very beautiful.  We got a good look at Mt. Hood from The Dalles, OR.  We took a scenic route through Ainsworth State Park, home of Multnomah Falls near Portland.  We got out to look at Horsetail Falls and Multnomah Falls.  The latter Falls we had seen before and they are famous nationwide for being one of the largest year-round waterfalls in North America.  It was chilly and wet near the falls (Hey!  It's Oregon!) but we had a great time.

Cory looking up at Horsetail Falls

Frog on the banks of the Mighty Columbia

Multnomah Falls with Frog

View from the TOP of the LOWER Multnomah Falls
Make sense?

See?  Proof!

We got to Portland and filled up with gas.  Reminder to anyone traveling to Oregon (pronounced OR-eh-gun, not or-uh-GAHN)that gas stations are not self-serve, by law.  Gas must be pumped by a trained gas-pumping safety engineer.  Failing that, it can be pumped by an untrained High School student working part time after school.  

We made it to Eugene in time for a late dinner.  Our hosts took us to a local pub (ed. note:  I didn't write down the name) their burger and brew special with locally grown meat and locally brewed beers (more on those later.)  After burger and brew, we went to the local Oregon favorite (Hey!  It's Oregon, people!) Voo Doo Donuts.  Anyone familiar with this small Oregon chain knows its legendary status among families, businesses, and late-night partiers alike.

After getting back from our downtown walk and donut snack, we headed back home and watched the cult classic Tremors with a special (unlicensed) commentary downloaded separately.  This outside commentary was in the vein of Mystery Science Theater: 3000.  It was really funny and enjoyable to watch, but I have to admit I fell asleep during the movie.  It is difficult to stay up late watching something, even something so entertaining, when we are on a pace like this.