Chicago to Rochelle via Milwaukee

Chicago Botanical Gardens

We left the housesit on Monday morning, Smokey safely re-united with his owners. En route to Chicago city we stopped at the Chicago Botanical Gardens, a 385 acre living plant museum situated on nine islands and featuring 26 different feature gardens. Being limited by time we didn't get to see everything but what we did see was stunning, particularly the impressive vegetable gardens complete with bee hives, the amazing collection of Bonsai, and the tropical glasshouses.

Returning our rental car to O'Hare airport we rode the blue line "L" train (an abbreviation for eLevated) into downtown Chicago, a couple very kindly giving us their day pass tickets that they no longer needed which saved us a few bucks. Cities being expensive to stay in we were fortunate to find a good deal on an older style motel which has seen better days but was clean and perfectly located in easy walking distance of the central downtown area. First stop was the John Hancock Center, a 100 story, 1,127 feet tall (344m) skyscraper with spectacular views over Chicago. Many people pay the entrance fee for the Observatory on the 94th floor but we opted for the Signature Lounge on the 95th, where for the price of a cup of coffee you get the same stunning views plus a hot drink. The Ladies restroom also enjoys this spectacular view, but alas not the Gents.

Panorama of Chicago from John Hancock Tower

The other best way to view the city is by river boat, and we took one of the many river tours to learn about the brief but intense history of this city and see the diverse and wonderful architecture from different angles too. Back on foot, the Magnificent Mile with its mix of upmarket retail stores, restaurants and hotels was worth walking along but we preferred the buzzing and lively atmosphere of the Navy Pier, stretching out into Lake Michigan and from where we took another short boat tour on the lake to see the skyline.

Buckingham Fountain with Chicago skyline behind

Uniquely, almost all the waterfront remains as open public space, which truly makes this city feel bright and airy. In particular, Grant Park, home to the Buckingham Fountain which is one of the largest in the world and has hourly water shows, and The Cloud Gate, a stainless steel sculpture nicknamed The Bean which made for some fascinating photos with reflections of the buildings.

The Bean. Can you spot us in the reflection ?

Chicago is the starting place of historic route 66, not that there is much to see of the "Mother Road" anymore but we did take a selfie by the sign, to go with our picture from the end of the route in Los Angeles. Chicago is also famous for deep pan pizza and it would have been rude not to have had one, plus the leftovers made for an unusual cold breakfast the following morning.

Two days were probably not enough in Chicago - we could have stayed longer to see much more in this city that pleasantly surprised us by everything it has to offer. On our way out after having picked up another rental car we stopped by the famous Wrigley Field to get a brief glimpse of the ivy wall at this unique and historic baseball ground which is home to the Chicago Cubs.

Harley Davidson bike no 1

Sel with the Bronze Fonz

A few hours drive north took us into the state of Wisconsin, and the city of Milwaukee where Harley Davidson are headquartered. Their museum opened here in 2008 and houses an impressive collection of motorcycles, artifacts and exhibits from the company's 110 year history. Plenty pictures taken that day, and nearby we also saw the Bronze Fonz, a bronze statue of The Fonz from the series "Happy Days" which we both remember from our childhoods and which was set in Milwaukee.


Backtracking slightly West we re-visited a place that was closed when we came by three weeks earlier - the sculpture park of Dr Evermore where everything is made from scrap metal. The centrepiece is the Forevertron - you'll have to read the link to get a better understanding of it, but we are glad that we came back when it was open as it is all a bit eccentric and slightly bonkers.

Dr Evermore's Forevertron

The Infinity Room at the House on the Rock

Dr Evermore also created much of the art at our next stop, which was the House on the Rock, a complex built by Alex Jordan with many unique features like the infinity room with over 3000 windows. Again, there is too much to describe here so please click the link to find out more about this fascinating and unique place.

Stopping for the night in Dubuque, at the junction of three states (Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin), we picked up some fresh fruit at the Farmers Market, and took in the view from the top of the Fenelon Place Elevator, claimed to be the steepest and shortest funicular in the world.

The front of Antique Archeology

Driving south along the banks of the Mississippi we called into the small and pleasant town of Le Claire, Iowa, which is home to Antique Archeology, and the base for the reality TV series American Pickers. Having watched a few episodes both at home and in the USA it was great to see the place and browse some of the picks that we have seen on TV. Le Claire is also the birthplace of Buffalo Bill and there was a great museum dedicated to him here.

Tampico, IO - birthplace of Ronald Reagen

Finally, and on the subject of birthplaces, we stopped at the small village of Tampico, IL, which is the birthplace of Ronald Reagan. The small apartment where he was born is now a museum and we had a guided tour of it, along with the restored bank underneath. Filled with pictures, artifacts, documents and clippings it shows that you don't need to have years of history to be interesting. We also stopped briefly at Dixon, the boyhood home of Ronald Reagan, though we only got to see the outside of the house there.

So as you can see it has been a very busy few days for us already, sorry no new pictures on Facebook this time but we will need to do something soon as our camera is running out of memory ! Please do click on the links to read in more detail about the things we've seen, and we'll post again very soon.

House sit near Chicago and future plans

Smokey and Craig in the forest preserve

So here we are again, rapidly approaching the end of another great house sit. We have thoroughly enjoyed the break from our travels and having the lovely Smokey the dog to keep us company, though we are also excited to continue on our adventures again. Smokey has been really good with us, very chilled out and easy going, and spoiled rotten by us with treats and affection. As well as walking around this quiet and delightful neighborhood, he loves riding in the car with us and there is a great walk nearby around a forest preserve which we've all enjoyed several times. He's been our shadow at all times in the house, loves his food (and ours too), and has slept quietly every night at the foot of our bed.

Cranes in the garden

The house here has been lovely too - all the properties in this area are set on enormous (by Jersey standards) plots mostly laid to lawn, which makes for great wildlife viewing. Watching the red squirrels in the sunshine running between the trees and burying their nuts ready for winter, and Cranes walking in two and threes through the large open lawns has been very therapeutic, and we've even seen chipmunks on the decking. No deer or coyote this time, though one evening when we opened the front door to let Smokey out, there was a pungent odor of what we think was a skunk. Fortunately there was no trace the following morning so we presume it had just passed through the front garden, but phew what a unforgettable stink.

Where are my nuts hiding ?

Having access to a fantastic local library means we've been able to borrow films, documentaries and tv series on DVD to fill some evening time, but more importantly we've researched and planned the next leg of our journey. When the home owners return this weekend we have one more night with them before heading into Chicago city itself for a few days, then we backtrack slightly to visit a few places that we missed on our way here. Our plan is then to continue east, stopping at Niagra Falls on the USA side, and we are looking forward to meeting and catching up with a friend - originally from Jersey - and her family in their home city of Rochester, NY shortly afterwards.

One of our goals is to see the foliage and colours of The Fall, which is just starting in Maine. We've signed up to receive weekly foliage reports by email from the Maine Department of Agriculture, and subject to timing we hope to hit the peak season in at least two of the regions, maybe more. There are no firm plans beyond that at the moment but we are aiming to be in New York City by the end of October.

Not many photos this time but we have finally got the map page on our blog to work properly - it is interactive so you can zoom in and out, and click on markers to see more. Red markers are the places (town or city) that we have stayed in, and green markers are the points of interest we have seen or visited. We will update the markers as we progress and will also add more detail, so please keep checking back and give us some feedback too.

Wyoming to Chicago, IL

Beartooth Highway

Most of Yellowstone National Park is in the state of Wyoming, so we crossed the state line from Montana for the last time, through the National Park entrance and onto US Route 212. Peaking at just under 11,000 feet (3,300 metres), and better known as Beartooth Highway, the pass is usually only open from May to October due to heavy winter snowfall, and has been called the most beautiful drive in America with magnificent views over one of the most rugged and wild areas in the lower 48 states. The big blue sky certainly looked surreal at times, though we were brought back to reality at one point when a huge and hairy lone bison strolled across the road in front of us. It made for a very long day, only 500 miles or so but over 12 hours behind the wheel, but it was well worth the trip and would be a great ride to do on a Harley. 

Devils Tower National Monument

The following day we visited Devils Tower National Park, to see a natural igneous intrusion standing over 1,200 feet above the surrounding terrain. Most likely this volcanic plug was created when magma cooled and set solid in the neck of an ancient volcano, after which the surrounding sedimentary rock eroded away leaving this magnificent column. Although in a National Park, the site is sacred to the Native American peoples and once again we read of many conflicts, including a few recreational climbers who purposely choose to ignore a voluntary ban on climbing during the month of June. 

This is the geographic centre of the USA - well its very near here anyway !

Moving on and crossing into South Dakota, we spotted on our road map that we were close to the geographic centre of the USA. Guided by GPS we reached the waypoint but could see nothing special. Just 20 miles south in the town of Belle Fourche there is a tourist marker but we discovered later that we had been very close to the actual point, which is located in a field and involves climbing over a barbed wire fence and across a ditch. Being short on time this picture is the closest that we got to it, not very exciting as you can see. For anyone looking at a map and thinking that South Dakota is too high to be the geographic centre, you are partly correct -  this is the geographic centre of the entire 50 states which includes the two remote states of Hawaii and Alaska - the centre of the contiguous lower 48 being in Kansas.

Mount Rushmore

Next stop was the iconic Mount Rushmore with its bust sculptures of four presidents - Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln - carved from the granite face of the mountain that gives this monument its name. Attracting well over 2 million visitors each year, it certainly had the desired effect of boosting tourism to this region when it was completed in 1941. Just 50 miles north from here is the town of Sturgis, home to the annual Sturgis Bike Rally. Its one of the largest in the world and is held in the first week of August every year - it would have been good to see but we were just a few weeks late for this one.

Driving west to east through South Dakota felt long, on arrow straight roads between enormous fields of corn and soy, and as we crossed the state line into Minnesota the flat plains continued. It was here that the 80's tv series "Little House on the Prairie" was set, and it felt like not much had really changed - the tractors were bigger, but many of the side streets are still rough gravel, giving a distinct and quaint rural feel.

Minneapolis Skyline

Reaching the city of Minneapolis with a full day to spare and under stormy thunderclouds, we visited the "Mall of America", a huge indoor retail complex that receives over 40 million visitors annually. It was an attack on all our senses, the centre piece being an indoor theme park with roller-coasters, funfair rides and attractions. Currently this is not quite the largest mall in the USA, but it boasts an aquarium, adjoining hotel, many restaurants and bars, two huge food courts and of course plenty of retail stores, and is the perfect place to spend a rainy day.

Capitol Building, Madison.

The last big day on the road took us over another state line into Wisconsin, and into its capital city of Madison. Being a university city, it felt like it would be young and vibrant, however arriving on the Labor Day public holiday the streets surrounding Capitol Square were very quiet, and we struggled to find somewhere to eat. The empty streets made for easy parking though and we got some great shots of the Capitol Building before sunset.

A short trip over yet another state line into Illinois found us arriving at our house sit on the outskirts of Chicago, where we received a warm welcome from Smokey and his human parents. Once again we have been very lucky in every respect - a lovely pooch, a wonderful and friendly couple, a beautiful home and a great neighborhood.

Smokey our furry foster dog.

We wont be doing much, if any, sightseeing here but will spend the time relaxing a little after our time on the road, researching and planning the next phase of our trip, and catching up with various administrative tasks such as sorting out our photos and updating this blog. It is also a great time for us to catch up with family and friends and we will be on Skype most days for anyone that wants to chat with us, plus we'd love to hear from anyone by other means such as email or blog comments. Our Facebook friends will have already seen our latest batch of photos and for those of you not on Facebook you can view them here by clicking this link.

Washington, Idaho and Montana.

On our way to the Grand Coulee Dam we stopped at a roadside fruit stall and had a good natter to the two old dears who ran it as their retirement project. We left having made their day by putting a new pin in their world map, and with a selection of home grown apples and peaches, and a huge bottle of fresh apple cider (apple juice to us foreigners, over here its called hard cider if it contains alcohol). We also had our first taste of huckleberries, which can only be described as blueberries with attitude. Being on Indian Reservation lands we learnt from these ladies that only the Native Americans are allowed to pick these berries, who then trade them. There are also many other local issues such as the control of water by the ruling tribe, and we are continuing to discover plenty about Native American peoples as we move inland.

Panorama from the top of Grand Coulee Dam

Whilst the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington is far less well known than the Hoover Dam in Nevada, at nearly a mile long and with 33 turbines it is the largest electric power producing facility in the US. The dam provides a free visitor tour which took us underground into the workings of the enormous pump room that provides water for irrigation up to the high plains, and also up on top of the dam itself. Except for the tour, it is off-limits to the general public due to the threat of terrorism and as a result we had to go through airport style security and were accompanied by armed guards throughout, but it was well worth it.

Stopping for the night in a small town called Spokane, the following morning we drove through the top of Idaho before crossing into Montana and driving through the stunning Glacier National Park. Its a huge park of over 1 million acres, formed over 170 million years ago. The only road through the park is called "Going To The Sun road", an engineering marvel spanning over 50 miles, gently winding up hill to the continental divide at Logan's Pass (Altitude 6646 ft).

Glacier National Park

Over the the other side and out of the park we passed through Browning, the seat of the tribal government for the Blackfeet Indian reservation. It was our longest day so far at over 500 miles but our "General Lee" is proving very comfortable and surprisingly economical too.

Beautiful Montana

After another night stop in a rural town called Conrad we were back on the road and driving through Montana, which seemed to consist of vast amounts of nothing, just rolling hills, fields of wheat and plenty of cattle and horse ranches. The sky was brilliant blue with white clouds that had flat bottoms just like the opening credits to The Simpsons - no wonder it is known as Big Sky Country.

Suprise Pool, one of many hot pools in Yellowstone

We stopped to buy a pint of locally grown cherries to sustain us before reaching the working cattle ranch to the north-west of Yellowstone, where we are staying in a rustic log cabin. Just half an hour drive from the West entrance, its a great way to stay near the park but without paying park accommodation prices. Accessing the park using our annual pass which has proven to been great value, we saw many geysers, mud pools and hot springs, all of which are truly stunning.

Famously, Old Faithful was worth the wait to see it erupting and we also witnessed an eruption of the Great Fountain Geyser in the Firehole Lake area, which erupts less than twice per day. Great timing on our part but more by luck than judgement. There has also been plenty of wildlife including Bison, Elk and Deer to name a few. Getting over 30,000 visitors every day, this park - considered to be the first national park in the world - gets very busy and we could easily spend a week or more here and not see everything, but it has been a great experience.

This morning brought a sharp frost, the first we have seen in the USA and a bit chilly for Sel on her horse ride today, though daytime temperatures are getting up into the mid 20's. We head east again tomorrow and are looking forward to seeing Mount Rushmore in South Dakota very soon.

Sel in blue on the fourth horse, called Yukon.

Quick visit to Vancovuer

So having arrived back in Seattle we did some more bookings and caught up with the boring admin jobs like checking back our credit card statements, then we walked down to the waterfront to have a beer and watch our ship load its supplies lined up on the dock for the next bunch of passengers. It was good to see it sail but we would have liked to have been on it again !

Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle

Being in the centre of the downtown area we spent some time exploring on foot, seeing Pioneer Square where the city was founded in 1852, and walking a good length of the historic waterfront including the Olympic Sculpture park, past the many seafood outlets and the Seattle Aquarium. Close to the new landmark Seattle Wheel is the landing site of the steamship "Portland" which in 1897 arrived carrying a ton of gold from Alaska, kick starting the Klondike gold rush and the rush of Stampeders to Alaska

For such a young city there is a lot to take in, and no visit would be complete with riding the ducks, a whacky city tour on land and water in a rebuilt WW2 amphibious truck complete with a crazy captain and a party atmosphere. Its a great way to see the city and have fun.

Finally we took a bus ride uptown to see the Fremont neighborhood, originally a separate city but now annexed to Seattle. It is home to much counterculture and locally known as the centre of the universe, among other things sporting a statue of Lenin salvaged from Slovakia, and an 18 foot tall concrete sculpture of a troll under a road bridge, created in 1990 and crushing a full size VW Beetle.

The Fremont Troll, note the VW - its a real one !

 Back to reality and we collected our pre-booked rental car and drove up to the US/Canadian border, where after a slightly difficult time with an inexperienced and young Canadian immigration officer we were admitted, continuing up to Vancouver, B.C. for a whistlestop tour to meet our friend Nikki and her husband Taymour. Nikki used to live in Jersey and although they have only called this city home for a few months, we were treated to a great tour both of downtown Vancouver and some of the outlying areas like Deep Cove, plus some great food in this coastal sea port. Although it was a very brief visit its not hard to see why Vancouver is consistently voted in the top five cities worldwide for liveability and quality of life, and we are sure you have made a great choice. Hope to see you there again one day once you are properly settled in !

Sunset from Kitsilano Beach Park, Vancouver

Returning to the USA, the border crossing was slow but trouble free, and we quickly turned East through the State of Washington which has recently been battling enormous wildlfires. The devastation was very clear to see, with huge swathes of blackened and burnt land, bare tree trunks and charred fence posts testifying to the force and ferocity of fire that has swept through this region very recently. We passed a huge fire camp, a field full of tents and gazebos, livestock trailers and vehicles, where tired and hungry firefighters are fed and watered, and can shower and sleep. Local farmers who have lost their fences to fire have also corralled their livestock here in makeshift pens. Listening in to local radio news told us that the firefighters have been reduced to around 500 in number as many fires have now been extinguished, but the state has another problem with flash floods in the last 24 hours which have taken out roads and left many homes without electricity. We were diverted twice today due to road closures but were grateful that we weren't here a day earlier when several vehicles were wrecked on these very roads during mudslides. Sorry no pictures as were were driving most of the day, and for longer than we expected !

The next few days are mainly going to be on the road too as we have a lot of miles to cover to get to Chicago, though we have a few places to visit along the way. Fortunately we had a pleasant surprise with our rental car, having booked and paid for a compact but been upgraded free to a fullsize special - a Dodge Charger. Its bigger than what we are used to and a bit heavier on gas but lovely to drive and will make the 2000+ mile journey a little more comfortable.

Cruising Alaska's Inside Passage

With one more day in Seattle before setting sail for Alaska, we rode the Monorail to the Seattle Centre, a park built for the 1962 World's Fair and home to the famous Space Needle, one of Seattle's most recognizable landmarks. Having already seen the view of the city from the Columbia Tower which simply could not be beat we decided to skip this, instead paying a visit to the nearby EMP Museum with it's eclectic mix of music, Sci Fi and pop culture. The surrounding gardens of the park are great too, with a huge selection of eateries in the old armoury building, and the spectacular International Fountain with its crazy spouts of water, made all the more surreal by many people clad in headgear for Turban Day which was one of many events on that day. On the way back to our hotel that evening we met a Brit from Wolverhampton and ended up have a great chat over a beer or two.

International Fountain with the Space Needle in the background

The shuttle bus came to pick us up at 11 am the following morning and delivered us safely to the dock at Pier 66. Even though there were over three thousand people boarding, check in and loading were very efficient and we were on board and having lunch by just after midday.

Party time on the sun deck

In the hot sunshine of Seattle it was very much a party atmosphere on the sun decks, a steel band playing tunes whilst people swam in the pool or soaked in the hot tub, and several huge charcoal barbeques serving an array of food. Being first time cruisers we spent the rest of the day exploring the ship before having a great dinner, followed by the first of many shows in the theatre.
Day two was a full day at sea, and we were overwhelmed with the things to do on board. In between talks about Glaciers and in-port shopping at Juneau, we booked our shore excursions for the week and started to develop Buffetopbia - the fear of not being able to fit into one's trousers at the end of the week - finally finishing off the evening with "Oh what a night", a tribute show to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
The following morning, as we sailed up the Fjords of the inside passage whilst enjoying breakfast on the rear sun deck, a gray whale breached and slapped its fins very close to our ship, along with many others showing their presence with tell-tale water spouts from their blow hole. If that wasn't spectacular enough, we also saw Sun Fish and on arrival in Juneau at 2pm were greeted by several bald eagles flying around too. After 48 hours at sea it seemed like the entire ship was disembarking so rather than queuing for the coaches we walked the one mile to the town centre of Juneau, the capital of Alaska. The population of 900 swell during summer to around 1800, pretty impressive for a town only accessible by ferry or plane as there are no roads to the outside world. Despite being briefed on board we were taken aback by the number of jewelry stores, most of which follow the cruise ships up from the Caribbean when it gets too hot there in summertime.

Boarding the Floatplane

Without doubt the highlight of the day was a float plane trip on a 1950's De Haviland Otter to view some of the many glaciers in this region from the air, which gave us great glimpse of the vast wilderness of this state that Russia sold to the USA in 1867 for a mere 7.2 million US Dollars. In today's money thats about 121 million dollars, and very much a bargain for what they got. Back on board we had dinner followed by a great show with comedian Bud Anderson.

On the White Pass and Yukon Railroad

The ship docked in Skagway the following morning at 7 am, and after breakfast and disembarkation we booked in for a walking tour with the National Parks Service to learn more about this historic town. Founded at the start of the Klondike Gold Rush in 1878 with just a few tents, only one year later it was a booming town built by serving the needs of Stampeders trying to reach the interior of Canada. The treacherous mountain pass crossing to the goldfields spurned the building of the White Pass and Yukon Railway, now restored and serving the many cruise tourists who visit this remote town. We rode the train up the mountain, briefly crossed into Canada near the 2865 foot summit. Back on the dock we saw seals and sea otters, before dining at one of the ten restaurants on board ship, and then taking in another comedy show by an act called Second City.
Day 5 found us cruising up to Glacier Bay, where at over 1 mile wide and 350 feet high the spectacular Margerie Glacier dominates. Moving up to 7 feet per day, the face regularly cracks and creates a sound know as white thunder - literally a thunder crack like that when lightning strikes, followed by a deep low rumble like ongoing thunder as huge pieces of ice fall up to 300 feet into the sea below.

Marjorie Glacier in Glacier Bay

In contrast, the nearby John Hopkins Glacier is one of only a few in the world that is advancing, thanks to the huge annual snowfall over the steep slopes on which this glacier has formed. After a great and informative talk by one of the park rangers who came aboard by pilot boat that morning, we spotted more whales in the fjord, before another great dinner followed by a show by El Gaucho.

Our time in port at Ketchikan on Day 6 was the shortest, arriving at 6 am and all aboard by 1 pm, so with bleary eyes and by choice without breakfast we stepped ashore at the Salmon Capital of the world, also the second wettest place in the USA, though fortunately dry for us that day. Wandering round historic Creek Street was interesting - famed for the salmon that we saw swimming in the creek, it was also a historic red light area and had a reputation for being the place where both men and salmon came upstream to spawn. We only sampled the wild Alaskan salmon though, followed by a slightly cheesy Lumberjack show, then back on board for 29 hours at sea.

Creek Street in Ketchikan, AK.

For the last full day on board we did our final excursion - a behind the scenes tour of the ship. The main galley area is just huge, with its own bakery, fish,meat and poultry prep rooms, and ship stores. Equally impressive was laundry, with enormous washing machines that take 125 kg loads, rotary ironing machines that iron bed-sheets whole in seconds, and automatic folding machines. Recycling is important too, everything from cardboard, paper and cans to broken plates, food waste and scrap metal, everything is sorted and washed, all the used glass bottles crushed to save space. Backstage in the theatre we saw the workings of the production team, followed by a visit to the bridge to meet our Captain and see the ships controls. This tour may not be everyone's idea of fun but we were fascinated to have the opportunity to see how what most guests never do and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Selfie on the bridge of the NCL Pearl.

A requirement for internationally registered cruise ships is that they must stop at least once in an international port during every cruise, so the final port of call was Victoria in Canada. Docking at 6pm we only had a few hours there but walked to the Downtown district of this lovely city, and had a reminder of home with the Jersey flag on a plaque commemorating the 1994 Commonwealth Games. We also met two huge and friendly Black Russian Terriers, a dog breed that we had not seen or heard of before.

Panorama of Downtown Victoria at sunset

We thoroughly enjoyed our glimpse of Alaska, as well as our first time cruising, and know that we chose well with Norwegian Cruise Lines. Docking in Seattle today (Sunday 17th August) we are back on dry land and looking forward to another few days in this lovely city whilst the sun shines. Having written about what we've seen and done this last week but not too much about the ship, food, entertainment etc we may well write another post soon about those experiences, its all been very positive.

Meanwhile we also enjoyed a tiny taste of Canada and are now looking forward to going back there later next week to meet up with a friend from Jersey and her husband in Vancouver. Its only for a few days then we'll be heading of towards Yellowstone National Park.

Update: - click this link to see more of our photos from Alaska

Astoria to Seattle

Leaving Portland we headed down to the coast and followed it all the way up to Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia River. The town reminded us of Kirkenes in Norway, perhaps not so cold but with plenty of history, such as the shipwreck of the "Peter Iredale", a steel barque that ran aground in 1906. The remains are still on the beach but are now eroding rapidly.

Shipwreck at Fort Stevens State Park

Astoria Column

We also took in the Astoria Column, a 125 foot tall concrete and steel tower overlooking the town, decorated with an ornate and detailed frieze depicting significant events in early Oregon history. Originally built in 1926 but only recently re-opened to the public after having been refurbished, the view from the observation platform on top was well worth climbing the 164 step spiral staircase for.

Leaving Astoria we crossed into Washington state over the Astoria-Megler bridge. Spanning just over 4 miles across the Columbia River, it is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America. 

Astoria-Megler Bridge

Mount St Helens

Heading inland we visited Mount St Helens, probably most famous for its destructive eruption in May 1980. To see and learn about volcanic history that has happened in our lifetimes was quite amazing and gave us a real concept of the power and force that the eruption had. Volcanic ash lies up to 600 feet thick around the base, covering former forests and leaving a barren moon-like landscape. Life is returning to the area as we could see from old photos, and we were lucky to see a herd of wild Elk on the flanks, but the blanket of dead trees still lying as they fell are testament to the power that was released here.

Whilst in this area we also drove through Mount Rainier national park, to see the Mount Rainier, and active volcano and considered one of the most dangerous in the world.  With an elevation of over 14,000 feet it towers above the remains of Mt St Helens and is an impressive sight that a photo really cant do justice to from the ground.

Finally onto Seattle where we returned our rental car on time to Sea-Tac Airport. Taking the light rail train straight into downtown is very easy, and our first stop was the Skyview Observatory at the Columbia Centre. Twice the height of the famous Space Needle, it is the tallest skyscraper on the Seattle skyline by far, and gives tremendous near 360 degree views over the city and surrounding areas. 

Panorama over Downtown Seattle and Harbour Area

Fish Market in Seattle

A short walk led us to Pike Place Market, a bustling centre of activity in one of the oldest continuously operating markets in the USA. Built on the edge of a steep hill and on several levels, one of the big attractions is the Pike Place Fish Market where employees throw fish to each other rather than passing them by hand. Its quite a sight to see, and entertaining too.

Where Starbucks first started

Another attraction is the original Starbucks cafe where people can queue for up to two and a half hours to order a coffee. Its good to see where it all started but you'd have to be very keen to wait that long, and many locals say there is much better coffee elsewhere.


Finally, and our most bizarre place that we've visited so far has to be the gum wall. Its the outside brick wall of a theatre in a lane behind the market,  50 feet long and covered in used chewing gum up to 15 foot high and several inches thick. Authorities tried removing the gum twice but have now deemed it a tourist attraction. Pretty gross we reckon, though the wasps love it.

The Gum Wall

We're here for another day of exploring and then head of to Alaska via the inside passage, on a round trip cruise for 7 days that we got for a great deal at the last minute. It will be nice to not have a car for a bit and let someone else do the transport for a change. We won't have internet connection on board so this will be our last post for a week or so, but we are going to stop for another few nights in Seattle when we return, before heading of to .... well you'll just have to wait and see. 

Portland

Leaving Madras we drove north to the southern bank of the mighty Columbia River, and followed the scenic route along the gorge and parts of historic route 30 with its many beautiful waterfalls. En route we stopped at the Columbia Gorge Discover Center near Dalles, a multimedia and interactive museum with many fascinating exhibits where we learnt so much about the flora, fauna, geology and eleven thousand year old history and culture of this rich and diverse area.

View of Columbia River

As we approached Portland we stopped at the Bonneville Fish Hatchery on the banks of the Columbia river, built in 1909 and responsible for raising and releasing nearly ten million fish each year, the majority of them Chinook Salmon. They also have Rainbow Trout and Coho but their biggest attraction is Herman the Sturgeon, a ten foot long, 420 lb, seventy year old male White Sturgeon, who is quite spectacular to see in the viewing center which is dedicated to conservation of this pre-historic fish species.

Sherman the Sturgeon at Bonneville Fish Hatchery

Just before arriving in Portland, we drove up Larch Mountain and hiked to Sherrad point which normally has a stunning 360 degree panoramic view of Mounts Hood, Adams, Jefferson, Ranier and St Helens. Unfortunately for us the abundance of forest wild fires, combined with a lack of rain and smog pollution have left a brown haze high in the air and we only saw Mount Hood, the closest at only 22 miles away, however it would be a stunning view otherwise. Picture below is not ours, (we pilfered it from another blog) but this is what it should look like from this point on a clear day.

Panorama from Sherrard Point

And so finally into Portland. We are staying outside the city near Gresham at a Super 8 Motel, but the transport links here are fantastic and today we rode the MAX Lightrail link straight into the city, fantastic value at just $5 (£3.50) per person for a day ticket that is valid on all trains, tram and buses.

Voodoo Doughnuts

Having located the tourist info at Pioneer Square we soon joined a free walking tour at 11 am with our host Eric, who gave us a fantastic guided tour for over two hours with rich descriptions of this city, from its origins to present day, and highlighting many landmarks and places of historical significance along the way. We quickly found that Portland is a very interesting city, a little weird but very friendly, though with jobs scarce people have had to diversify. As a result there are over seven hundred food carts to eat from, as well as plenty of restaurants and perhaps most famously Voodoo Doughnuts, offering over one hundred different doughnuts, most which have unusual or eclectic ingredients or shapes.

View from the the Ariel Tramway

Putting our day pass to good use we hopped on a streetcar and went to the South Waterfront district to ride the ariel tramway. It's actually one of only two commuter tramways in the USA, and it leads to the Oregon Health and Science University Campus, but it also gives tourists a great view over the city and downtown Portland.

Returning on the streetcar to the heart of the city, we browsed the multitude of shops and also stopped for a drink and watch the world go by in this quirky but fun and relaxed city. We've only had one full day here but its been a great insight and we highly recommend anyone in this area to spend some time in Portland. The weather has been good to us, hot and sunny, which we are told is unusual - if you stay here for five days or more and it hasn't rained, you haven't experienced Portland. Too bad we are moving on tomorrow.

On returning to the motel tonight we've just had some great news by email about another fantastic house and pet sit with a gorgeous looking Australian Shepherd dog called Smokey but we'll let you know more about that in a later post, so please watch this space.