MOUNTAIN HIGH & RIVER WIDE ~Wandering Wednesday 2022-1

Lenny Kravitz – ‘I Want to Get Away’ song:

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewfVFBqOLgw)

I was up bright and early this morning; my garden area was fully watered by 9:30 A.M.

A 20-cent cut in price this morning; still pretty high in a recession period.

Prices have been holding even until today: 8-2-22 prices.

Clatskanie-OR from Heron Pointe-WA; 25 min (19.8 mi) via WA-432 E and US-30 W

I hadn’t eaten anything yet, and my stomach wanted a Bundy Burger for lunch … so I switched out my thongs for sandals, and and drove to Clatskanie, thinking I’d eat my ‘burger, then drive to Lee Wooden/Fishhawk Falls County Park to get a short hike in: but when I got to Clatskanie, Bundy’s was closed tighter than a clam at high tide ☹

So, I jetted across the street to the mini mart; and bought a pound of chicken gizzards … and zoomed back across the street and up the backroad behind Safeway 😊

I had intended to drive the familiar backroad loop route from Clatskanie … but instead of turning towards the Camp Wilkerson Park road towards Apiary, I veered off onto a different road just for the adventure of it 😉

This Daytrip to Vernonia via Mist Mountain, Highway #47, is my first 2022 Daytrip.

I passed the road sign pointing to Scappoose/St. Helens – feeling Venronia drawing me forward. I got surprised in several ways: the Highlander climbed Mist Mountain, at an elevation of 1,320 … and this route into Vernonia led me to different part of Vernonia – both were new adventures for me; I hadn’t driven over the mountain before (with or without Bob), nor had I ever visited the part if Vernonia I found myself in (Bob may have driven through on his truck route – but if he did, he never said anything to me about it).

“Mist Mountain” (is actually higher than stated in this article – I read the posted elevation sign to be 1,320 ft/elev.): https://traveloregon.com/things-to-do/clatskanie-mountain/

Bridge work along the route ...

I was thoroughly enjoying myself 😊

Radio waves were channeling the cheney dog barking … and it appears to me that she is behaving exactly how she tried to prove (falsely) President Trump was behaving – refusing to accept that she lost the election, verbally denying the election results, staging a political coup with a bid for the 2024 Presidential Election, and inciting {mob} mentality. cheney is hosting her own insurrection: and the deadhead obamanites are eating her political barf, up – and spewing it all over social media.

I tuned the biased chatted out.

America has had enough of liz cheney: that was glaringly obvious in her total loss when the count came in. We do not want – nor do we need – liz cheney in DC; let alone, in the Oval Office! Anyone who believes for a nano second … that dementia poster boy biden, actually won the Presidential Election, is as delusional as obama’s puppet is. That is a dangerous person: and that person should not be seated in our governing seats. Kick her treasonous ass to the curb! Kick it hard.

Highway #47 may be a country backroad – but it is a very busy backroad; log trucks were every other vehicle on the road … and cars, pickups, and SUV’s, were seriously crowding my back bumper from beginning to end: I finally pulled over at the Big Eddy campground, and let the bumper riders pass me. I was going the speed limit; but Oregon drivers are rude and obnoxious drivers because they are by and large stoned out of their minds 95% of the time.

This was a new road to me, and I was intent on taking my time, and leisurely looking at the surroundings. I didn’t need to be top-dog on the road.

The area of Vernonia that I drove through was pretty suburban, and edging closer to citified. It’s still got a small-town vibe … but it’s not as {country} as the section of Vernonia I was aiming for – and missed.

WOW. This is a side of Vernonia I never knew existed.

Vernonia from Clatskanie; 39 min (28.4 mi) via OR-47 S

Vernonia, Oregon

Vernonia - along Highway #47 backroad.

Forest Grove was half a mere hour in the distance; so ... I backtracked.

I did not want to end up in Forest Grove! So, I had to backtrack to the green highway sign that pointed to Scappoose/Vernonia 😉

This is a different route than I am used to: there are 3 road routes that lead to Vernonia – this is a new one. I like learning different routes: each route has different scenery, and I like that, too 😊

This route dropped me behind Burgerville, in St. Helens – which is about 30 minutes from home.

When I got to Rainier, there was back-to-back traffic on the Lewis & Clark Bridge, crossing from Rainier to Longview this afternoon; around 1 PM. Bridge crossing was very, very busy.

St. Helens-OR from Vernonia; 40 min (27.2 mi) via Scappoose Vernonia Hwy

W.T. ...

Heron Pointe-WA from St Helens-OR; 34 min (28.1 mi) via US-30 W

Back in Longview - and that little daytrip is a definite repeat.

It was still 90-degrees, but the humidity wasn't sky high, so I decided to nip over to Willow Grove, on my way home, and get a short riverside hike in before parking the Highlander in my carport.

Tugboat on the Columbia River; Willow Grove-WA

This tree root reminded me of a beached octopus. LOL

Hijinx on the River ...

After a light Supper, I watched the fading sunlight gild the clouds 😊

Today was a good day – from start to finish.