Days 15 - 18 - It's Willamette, Dammit!

The "a" in Willamette is flat, making it easy for this Jersey boy to remember. Ar-y-gun is a bit more difficult, but we have been trying. We arrived in Salem and checked into the downtown Grand Hotel, which offers so much more for the same price as the typical highway motel. Our first morning, we walked around the city for awhile, noting in particular how unlike North Carolina there were no demonstrations going on at the State Capitol and that the legislature was working together on a "grand bargain" budget deal.

Oregon State Capitol in Salem

Our daughter Melissa and son-in-law David drove down from Seattle to join us for a tour of the Willamette Valley. With record heat out here hitting 90, we made it a point to get in some early birding at a wetlands on the edge of Corvallis. Several Wrentits added to Phil's life list, and the Marsh Wrens put on a show.

Marsh Wren

Corvallis is a university town and probably the "greenest" city in America. The city's rose garden was in full bloom, too. This is pinot noir country, and we stopped for some tasting and a relaxed lunch at Left Coast Cellars north of Corvallis. Most of the wineries create only small batches for local distribution, so we don't see these labels back home. The winery grounds also provided nice views of a Bullock's Oriole and an Acorn Woodpecker. Phil was happy.

Acorn Woodpecker

Left Coast Wine Tasters

Further north, we stopped at the small, bustling community of McMinnville to sample some more wine and gather fresh fruit at the farmer's market. Berries are in season! Yum.

It was interesting to compare Salem and Winston-Salem. Salem has about 150,000 people, thousands fewer than Winston. The downtown area is much larger, not even counting the Capitol grounds, and there is more vehicular traffic. We also noticed there were downtown department stores - Nordstrom, Penney's, Kohl's, Ross's - with free public parking garages. Could there be a connection, city council members? Lots of wide bikeways, greenways, parks, too. And, Christo's offered some of the best pizza we've tasted in a long time.

On Saturday morning, it was time to head to Seattle where we will spend some more time with the kids. However, we detoured to see the Pacific Ocean at the town of Seaside. Lewis and Clark ended their western journey here, so we had finally completed the Oregon Trail.

Lewis and Clark 2013

It was a crystal clear day, and the beach at low-tide was about a quarter-mile out to the surf. We walked in the sand as Phil tried to identify gulls - Westerns? Glaucous-winged? California?

Seaside Beach

Western Gull

We then headed north, crossing the Columbia River near its mouth at Astoria and taking a scenic route through southern Washington. Lots of birds in the Columbia River area, including several Bald Eagles. After a stop for a dockside lunch in Olympia, we passed a sunlit Mt. Rainier and reached hot Seattle by late afternoon.

Columbia River at Astoria

We will be in Seattle for five days, and it looks like lots of heat in a city with few air conditioners.