Out of Oregon!

Monday was Richie's turn at the...

All hooked up and for only $1,600.00 each we are now ready to roll. 

Even though I beat them all 2 nights in a row in a $2.00 Poker tournament they insisted on another re-match.  

Well, I didn't win this one.  Donald did!

 Heading North on 5 to Portland and then East on the 84.  Everything is looking up.

The Landscaping along the Columbia River in Northern  Oregon changed from lots of trees...

To not so many trees...

To no trees as we followed the Columbia River.

The water was like glass.  It was really beautiful.

We went through this area called the Dalles.  Rocky ridges made from ice glaciers.

Then there was some very barren land.

Looks a little like Arizona.

Next was this tree farm.

Tammy did some research on it because it looked so cool with the trees lined up so straight.  So I just copied some  info. from the web sight because I thought it was interesting. Maybe you will too.

The Boardman Tree Farm is located in Morrow, county Oregon, along Interstate 84.   This 25,000-acres land consist of thousands and thousands of hybrid poplar trees. The trees are neatly arranged in evenly spaced rows, and they are about the same size, same height and same thickness. It’s really a cool sight. 

 The farm is broken up into 40-acre and 70-acre plots with access roads separating the plots from each other on all sides. Each plots consist of about 600 trees per acre.

For irrigation, the farm employs nine 1,000 horsepower pumps that pull water from the Columbia River at a rate of up to 117,000 gallons per minute.  The facility is the largest drip irrigation system in the country, with over 9,000 miles of drip line. All of this is controlled by computer so that each tree gets a very precise amount of water, allowing it to grow at an incredible rate while not wasting water or money. Use of chemical pesticides is limited, as integrated pest management processes are employed. Sawdust and the refuse from harvesting is chopped back into the soil, limiting the need for chemical fertilizers. The type of tree they grow here is called Pacific Albus, a trademarked name that loosely means Pacific whitewood. It’s a hybrid of four to five different poplars, cross strained for better yield, faster growth, less use of irrigation water, and straighter growth. 

The trees take 10-12 years to reach maturity. They are then milled to boards and wood chips that are made into paper. Even the sawdust is turned into pulp or hog fuel.  About 65 loads a day will go to the mill and each load averages 35 - 40 tons. 
 OK..too much info?
 My pics were not as good as these from the article but I was going 60 miles down the highway!  

Then after the 327 miles there was our last stop in Oregon. The Wildhorse Casino in Pendelton.

Well, needless to say I was excited!

We were getting all set up in our sites when I looked out the window....OH HELL NO!!!

Yep.  One of the arms (I guess you call it that) on his trailer hitch broke.  Unbelievable!!!

Well, after many phone calls another $900 item will be purchased tomorrow in Pasco. The good news?? Pasco is in Washington; we will be out of Oregon!  So, we went over to the casino had a nice buffet dinner and then Tammy, Rich, and I played in a $40 Texas Holdem tournament.  That's  a whole lot cheaper than putting $$ in the machines.  There were 42 players and they were paying the top 7 places.  So, 4 hours later Tammy was out in 7th place with $40 back in her pocket and I was out in 6th place with $101 in my pocket .  Tammy said she went to a lot of work for nothing.  But I told her if you leave the casino even, you are a BIG winner.  Let's just say Rich was already out.  :)

So next morning Tammy and I rode in the truck behind the MHs 50 miles North to Pasco.  

 Picked up a new hitch.

 Donald hooked it up.  

We went & had some lunch and off we went.  
I know we have had a few problems along the way.  These things are expensive and a pain in the butt.  However no one is hurt. I have to say that we are very lucky, blessed, privileged, what ever word you want to use, that we are all healthy and able to do these things we are doing.   Believe me I am very Grateful!!!

We rolled through Spokane, Washington and into Idaho.  R&T finally got to Washington.  
Well, sorta, the very corner.  I guess that counts.  

That's 3 states today! It was a long 325 mile ride and we were all pretty tired when we got to our next RV park, Lake Land RV park in Bayview, Idaho on Lake Pend Oreille.  Pronounced Pond-er-ay. You can sure tell the French were here.   We went down to the marina and took a few pictures.

This is the coolest house on water I have ever seen!  I bet it doesn't even cost 1 1/2 million like the ones in Seattle.  But there was no one to ask so who knows.

It's a very pretty lake with crystal clear water.  We got up and on the road early the next morning.  My nephew Jason and his family live in Bonners Ferry.  I would have liked to stop & see them but since we are so far behind schedule we rolled thru at about 8:00 am on Wednesday.  Onward & Upward!  
Good bye USA!  I guess I should say  See you soon USA!