Visiting the Coast Range and Washington County Roads

Well, after doing a couple quick chores around the apartment this morning, Terry took Robin and me out to the Coast Range for a bit of fresh air and relief from the heat. Unfortunately, I think we spent more time in the car than we did in the creek, but it was still worth the trip.

The Trip West

I have to wonder about Washington County's priorities yet again -- we figured that we could take Oregon Hwy 8/Gales Creek Road west of Forest Grove and connect up with the Wilson River Hwy 6 (to Tillamook) and go to Gales Creek Campground if we couldn't find a park or something before then.

Of course the drive out through west Hillsboro and the mostly farmland that separates it from the cities of Cornelius and Forest Grove is pleasant enough though not terribly scenic. I have to admit that Cornelius is not much to look at. It may have been incorporated in 1893 but it definitely feels like a low-end 'burb now with it's track housing, trailers, and strip malls.

At least Forest Grove feels like a real village or town. Not only is it dominated by Pacific University (the 'ole PU) famous for its School of Optometry, but it actually has a city center with real shops and people walking along the streets. Forest Grove must be the nicest community in Washington County (with Hillsboro running second and mostly suffering because of its size). I might even take the bus out of Forest Grove one morning and walk around when I'm feeling a bit better.

West of Forest Grove we find a sign saying that Gales Creek Road would be closed so many miles ahead the week of Aug 8 - 14. Well, Terry figured that he'd see if the road was really closed or maybe if the project might have finished early so we drove up and I wasn't too surprised to find out that the road was really, completely closed. But hey, he was driving and I don't have partnership rights to tell him how to do that unless he is lost (or losing it).

However, we both found it strange that there was no sign where OR Hwy 47 crosses OR Hwy 8 in Forest Grove advising of the road closure nor any detour signs along the way. Interestingly, some maps show this part of Gales Creek Road as being OR Hwy 8 though many online mapping sites do not, nor was the construction project listed on Tripcheck.com (in fact, Tripcheck.com shows Hwy 8 ending at Forest Grove). So basically we had to turn around and try to find another way to get to OR Hwy 6/Wilson River Hwy.

I don't know how much time we wasted winding around on back country roads. One the one hand, it's always nice to see places I've not been before but on the other, we didn't have a lot of time and that spent on the roads meant less time on Gales Creek. I was rather surprised though with the amount of corn fields our west of Forest Grove - I didn't know they grew much corn this far to the west - and wonder if it is for human or bovine consumption.

I also find myself wondering at how Washington County spends millions on it's new Civic Center (part town hall, part free water park, part Taj Mahal) and yet unable to provide simple signs advising visitors on road detours. And the people who run this county wonder why voters don't want to give them any money?

It's the simple things, like not being able to find your way, that stick in my mind when I'm filling in ovals on a ballot. Maybe my fellow residents are impressed by grand buildings, but I'm not. Or then again, maybe they aren't and that helps explain why everything gets voted down out here.

But I digress as I am prone/commanded to do.

Toes in the Creek, Head in the Trees

Gales Creek Campgroundis actually pretty nice though initially I was a bit displeased by the amount of kid noise, but we were able to walk away from that. Not only is it heavily forested and set well below the highway, thus eliminating that noise, it is laid out in such a way as to maximize the setting. Instead of rows of campsites right against each other, each is surrounded by vegetation with the next campsite down the single lane dirt road a stretch. One can see neighbors if one is standing up and in the perfect spot, so really this a simpler campground but much nicer in my book since you actually do feel more out with nature (rather than in a mall parking lot in the woods). I might even stay here if I was to go camping.

The creek was fairly low and VERY COLD. I took off my shoes and tried to wade in it a bit but it was just too cold for me to take for very long. Plus, I forgot my Teva's, so the rocky streambed really hurt my feet. Still, it was very refreshing to have my lower legs in free running water again -- it's been too long.

Robin, who long seemed descended from the Wicked Witch of the West's hydrophobic dog, actually got in the spirit of the day and retrieved sticks from the creek. He probably got in about chest deep but seemed to draw the line if he could feel much current. Hmmm, maybe he was traumatized when his mommy's water broke and he got sucked out of the warm, moist womb away from all his brother's and sisters... It was a short visit, but fun none the less.

On the way back I told Terry that I'm not sure what I'd do all day in a place like that now though that I can't walk much. In the past, we could have easily spent hours hiking, swimming, hiking, picnicking, hiking, swimming, etc but now it gets kind of boring after a point since I can't explore all that much. I can see why some people get so drunk when they go camping. (I think I'd rather take a book.) Terry likes to fish, but I'm not sure that I'd find that stimulating enough. On the contrary, I might find myself strangely drawn to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Fish or something.

The trip back went fairly well though we had yet another road 'issue.' As we approached the Jackson School exit from US 26 (Sunset Hwy) it looked like the exit was closed for rebuilding. There was lots of excavation work going on but no signs telling much about it. Terry says, "I think that your exit is closed," and then just as we are about to drive past we notice a small, almost temporary-looking turnoff. Now maybe that is the way it's been for a number of years and they are constructing a beautiful new interchange around the original exit but for someone who has never used it before, we need a bit more help than a last second sign. It sure seems like the signs in this county assume that only natives ever drive around this place.

So that was the big day today - a quick romp in the stream and a lesson in Washington County's substandard road signage. It's too damn hot outside though not too bad in the living room here. Robin's out like a light - I guess the exercise did him lots of good! Don't know if he'll get a bath tomorrow or if I'll just finish hosing the moss of the neighbors' patio. Now that I think about it, it might be nice to do that now to get a bit more cool water.