Tuesday, September 5, 2017

September 3 and 4, 2017 - Portland Oregon

Hi everyone.  We are at the western end of our journey, staying in Portland Oregon.  We have been with one of Tom's high school classmates, Mike, and wife Cathie.  The last 2 days we have spent on a houseboat, or a river home if you choose.  They are not on land, but the house structures are on logs, intermingled with styrofoam blocks.

The houses make up a community of houseboats, connected by walkways, and held in place using the tall poles you see in this pic.  

There is a long wharf running parallel to the shore, and then walkways running out into the Columbia River.

 Because the houses are subject to the tides, the house must be able to move up and down twice a day.  The rollers allow that to happen.

Many of the houses are multi-colored, and adorned with flowers.

They have all the usual connections to services a land based house would have.

Some even have some of the owners favorite signs displayed.

Because the banks are high and allowances need to be made for tides, walkway construction allows for the movement.

Many of the owners are fishermen who have the need for catching 20, 30 or even 40 pound salmon.  Tom got a day license and got no bites.

Some flower lovers tend to go over the top.

On the underside, the logs run length ways with styrofoam in between logs.

Some of the houses are quite large.

...and some have places for boat storage when away.

With the house sitting on the water, Grampy didn't have to rock Grammie to sleep.
This picture is looking down the river giving you a better look at the houses.

Over the last couple of days, there has been a growing fire up river to the  East.  When we left this morning, I-84 was closed in both ways on the route that we were going to travel.
For more info, click the link.  Multnomah Falls fire.

Leaving, we headed for Caldwell, Idaho for an overnight stay.  It was a long ride for over seven and a half hours.  We did stop to look a shoe tree. They are not as uncommon as one would think.

As always, thanks for keeping an eye out for Grammie.  She is now headed back East,  and a special thanks to Cathie and Mike for their hospitality.

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