12-17-08 Wednesday (Planes, Trains, Automobiles)

A 3 hour drive to Portland, Oregon became a 7 hour drive! We woke up at about 7am, and shortly thereafter, it began to snow. It stuck hard and fast. We kept the Jeep disconnected so that we could fit in the small gas station a few miles away. Our propane read empty last night. We still had enough for heat and the hot water but knew we'd need it asap. The gas station didn't sell propane so we figured we'd find it on the way. After we filled the fuel tank, we drove about a mile a way to hook up the Jeep.

The drive was terrible. The snowfall grew thicker and stuck easily. The interstate had unrecognizable lanes. Was it 2 or 3 lanes? Some lanes were unused and therefore completely covered. The 70mph speed limit was impossible and unsafe to achieve. Traffic moved at 30-35mph. I knew it was going to be a long day.

Everywhere we looked for propane was a disappointment. Either they didn't sell it or their hook up was impossible for us to get to. At another interstate exit, we searched 3-4 gas stations and no luck. We spotted an empty out of business Shell and decided that would be a good place to turn around. Funny thing is they had a propane tank, but as I said, out of business. This place was a little bit downhill. Know where this is going yet? So we decide to walk the dog and smoke a cigarette. Back into the RV we go, up this slight hill we go, or not. The wheels on the RV go round and round, round and.... Each time we get some momentum going, traffic passes and we have to wait. We never slid back down though. When traffic was clear, Jim floored it and up we barely went.

We're now getting close to the campground and stop at a gas station with propane. The propane filling station is of course where we can't fit. The man says his hose is only 10' long. I guess size is everything. We had that feeling like he didn't want to be bothered because it was cold and snowing. He told us of another gas station.

We venture on, find the gas station. It's basically a service station with 1 mechanic and this one guy. Nothing but fuel and propane. The one guy did everything. There was also a full service fuel lane. I haven't seen one of those in a long time. When we got there, the man was replacing someone's tire, then came over to us, 2 other people with tanks pulled up and a lady entered the full service lane. This guy was running around. He filled our tank, then was our cashier. We never asked how much propane was there. We figured out it was well overpriced at about $4.00 a gallon. Ouch. Even if we had known prior, we would have gotten it there anyway. At least the propane issue was finally resolved 7 hours later. It's been raining here, so we're out of the snow, but it's still cold at 34.

The next exit was for the RV park located at Jantzen Beach, on Hayden Island just north of Portland. This park is huge. It was dark when we arrived but from what we can see, it's very nice. We settled in (hooked up), and then decided to go to a nearby Dennys for dinner. We have a gift card afterall.

As we await our food, we over hear a local saying that he hoped the weatherman was wrong. We ask our server for clarification. She said they are expecting the temperatures to drop, and the rain will freeze all over. She said it hasn't happened since 1997. No, I'm not kidding. I apologized for the bad weather, blaming it on ourselves, explaining the weather we've encountered on our trip. I told her that when the weather clears up, it means we're gone. She smiled and nodded her head like a southern lady which means "well then, get the hell out, morons.... bless their heart." If only they had sweet tea......

By the way the Dennys server was a short older woman who reminded me of the psychic from Poltergeist. "Don't go into the light" was all I kept hearing.

Oh, an another by the way, we're located near a highway, I heard a train, and we're in an airport flight pattern. Luckily, it's hard to hear all that from in the RV.