Random Thoughts on Oregon as we Wait Out the Rain

We had some rainy days while we were camped on the Columbia River Gorge. So we were glad that we had eight days here so we could wait out the rain. It's unusual for us to spend an entire day inside the motor home, but we had one of those. When buying a motor home, one of the things we asked ourselves was, "Would we be comfortable staying inside it all day?" We have to say that our home is very comfortable, and it passed the test with flying colors. We caught up on laundry, blogging, playing the piano, and cooking.

This non-tourist day also gives us a chance to reflect on our month-long stay here in Oregon. We have loved the coast, and the Columbia River Gorge has been delightful as well. We won't have time to explore the central and eastern sections of the state, so we'll have to come back again. We are finally getting used to gas station attendants that pump the fuel in our car and motor home. We also love that there is no sales tax in Oregon! It makes such a difference to not have the tax added to your receipt when shopping or eating out. Nice! 

We also learned about bottle deposits. We usually buy a case of bottled water to keep in the car for picnics and hikes. When we bought the latest 24-pack in Oregon, we were charged $2.99 for the water and an addition $2.40 for the 24 bottle deposits. Ouch! So before we left the state, Denisa was determined to experience the process for getting that deposit back. We looked on-line to find the nearest Oregon Redemption Center--"Bottle Drop."

We waited in line until there was an open redemption kiosk. As you can tell from our neighbors, most Oregonians wait until they have more than a little bag of empty bottles before they do this task.

You simply put the bottles into the hole to be scanned, and watch as your total goes up by a dime as each one is accepted. Customers are limited to a daily limit of 350 containers, but that shouldn't be a problem for us. Since we are so close to the Washington state border, there were signs that only Oregon-purchased bottles can be redeemed here.

After pressing the receipt button, the next step is turning that into cash at the pay station. The receipt goes in and magically the correct cash comes out of the machine. The bottle deposit went up from 5 cents to 10 cents in April, so returning those cans and bottles has become financially more important to Oregonians and people visiting the state for a month.

We are also learning how Oregon weather forecasts differ from what we were used to in our home state. In Oklahoma, if the weather says there is a 25% chance of rain, there is a 75% chance of no rain--so we counted on not seeing rain. Here in Oregon, if there is a 25% chance of rain, you will definitely get rain. But hopefully it will only rain for 6 hours--25% of the 24-hour day.

On one of those 25% rainy days, we did some hiking between the raindrops to see the waterfalls that are just a short drive from our campground at Crown Pointe RV. Even though it rained all morning, we were still able to stop in at Shepperds Dell one afternoon. You will have to look hard to spot Denisa in her black rain coat to the left of the top of the fall.

It's a great view from there to see the arch of another of those historic old bridges. Denisa got nominated to run up there for another picture.

We got some sprinkles of rain on our next hike at Bridal Veil Falls. It looks like Mark got nominated for this picture. He seems to always get the assignments that involve slippery rocks and heights.

Mark saw a hiker close to the falls, so he scrambled up the less formal trail that headed straight up the mountain. Denisa knows her limitations, so she stayed at the viewing platform until he returned--tired and muddy.

So we are learning new things and exercising, even with a stretch of rainy weather. Even though we would prefer blue skies every day, that's another thing we enjoy about traveling. Spending a month has helped us to understand more about life in Oregon. All this rain is the reason that things are so deliciously green in this state. No matter the weather, Oregon will still be one of our favorite states to visit.