Ice roads to Oregon Coast
Trip Start
Dec 22, 2008
1
4
43
Trip End
Ongoing
Newport, Oregon
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Even the I-5 was crazy just south of Portland. It was impossible to do more than 10km/h due to the uncleared snow and the ice rain. Gloria had a hard time even getting out of the 6" deep ruts left by the other vehicles, which all had chains. So, we decided to let the GPS select us another route and when we were about 2 hours into it we had to stop for gas. Unfortunately we were then informed by the gas attendant that the route we had chosen was closed. Man backtracking is awesome! One of the only routes that was open was the number 6, which had a huge sign stating that only vehicles with chains were allowed. But we decided to press on and I am glad we did since we passed through one of the most beautiful roads I have ever seen. We didn't see asphalt for several hours (just an icy road), but we did see some amazing houses, which all had bridges to cross the stream separating them from the highway.
About 30 seconds after Daniel took the wheel the snow disappeared and it was smooth sailing all the way to Lincoln City. Finally we ate and it was fantastic Thai food. Then Tyler drove to Newport and we found a driveway of an apparently abandoned house where we would spend our first night in the van. A very momentous occasion indeed.
