The final batch of pictures have been uploaded. Check em out...

Picasa Web Album: http://picasaweb.google.com/howemobile

That's it! I'm home! Total mileage... 3230 miles. Damn its hot.

A quick observation on traffic lights in Nevada. They are loooooong. I don't think I waited longer than 30 seconds for a green light in the entire state of Oregon.

Whew! I slept good! I parked behind the Peppermill Casino for the night. Now I'm gonna try to sneak out of the shell so I don't look like a homeless person.

Nothing keeps you awake like driving through a forest on a two lane, 65mph, highway at night while trying not to make road kill out of all the deer on the road. I must have seen at least a dozen deer in a 100 mile stretch. Sorta scary but sorta fun at the same time. There are tons of campsites and populated areas throughout this area. Looks like a cool place to think about coming back to in the future to do some backpacking. Just made it into Susanville which is just east of Lassen National Forest. I'm still feeling good so I'm going to continue to Reno.

I'm in Weed California. Ha Ha. The sunset on Mt Shasta is spectacular.

Well, yet another day having trouble leaving Portland. Met a cool girl from Australia and spent the morning exploring the area a little more. Finally ready to hit the road. I'm gonna try to make it to Reno by tonight. Once again... Sadly... Goodbye Portland.

"In later years, Heimlich would feed his guests big, dry, chunks of food -- then wait, hopefully." from Witstream.com

Oregons recycling laws started back in the 80's. Well ahead of the curve.

Cheapest gas I've seen the whole trip. Sandy and Gresham areas on Hwy26... $2.76gal.

I can now say I have hiked a portion of the Oregon Trail! Just hiked up the Laurel Hill segment which was one of steepest portions of the trail... If not the steepest. They had to lock the rear wheels of their wagons and even chain trees to the back to act as brakes in order to make it down. The road was once paved and has since been abandoned but its cool to see the forest overtaking the old asphalt in places.

Just visited the Mt Hood Timberline Lodge. Its pretty cool to be able to ski in June. The lodge was built during the great depression to provide jobs and income to people in the area. Saw some signs for the historic Oregon Trail on the drive up. Gonna head down and check it out.

More Pictures Posted from Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia

I uploaded a bunch more pictures. Take a look.

Road Trip 2010 Web Album

Just wanted to say one more time... I love Portland. Its just puts me in a good mood all the time.

Just ate at Pok Pok. Supposed to be the best Thai food in Portland. I have to say I was very impressed. The american style Thai food I've had in the past is crap compared to this. Its a little expensive but well worth it. It was easily the best meal I've had on this trip. Can't even pronounce the names of the dishes but I had 2 different ones... a catfish with noodles and a spicy boars shoulder with sticky rice. Both great. Would recommend to anyone.

Hundreds More Pictures Have Been Uploaded!

I'm here at the downtown Portland Hostel for the night. I decided to stay at the downtown location to compare the two. I finally have a fast internet connection so I have uploaded a bunch of new pics. The new pictures are labeled with the date in the album name so it should be easier to figure out what you have already looked at. I haven't edited the ones from Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia yet so I will try to get those done sometime in the next few days. About to head out and get some food at a Thai place (Pok Pok) that is supposed to be the best.

Here's the link to my Picasa Album again if you need it:
http://picasaweb.google.com/howemobile

Just pulled off the highway to check out the Mt St Helens National Monument. Its just a wetland trail and a paid admission history of Mt St Helens over the years. Nothing to really talk about here... Time to move on.

Leaving Olympia headed to Portland. Taking the 5 this time for a change of scenery. Just hit the 2000 mile mark for the trip.

Just spent the last three hours at the Olympia Coffee Roasting Company. Really good all organic coffee. I met the girl who roasts all their beans as well as some other locals. Really nice people. Learned a bit about roasting. Now I'm gonna head to the farmers market.

A river runs through it. Well, I thought I had my leak taken care of but all I did was divert the water to a new spot. Its a very rainy morning here at black lake as well as in my shell. Luckily I put in a plywood deck before I left vegas so all the water is under the wood and not in the mattress. Just waitin for the rain to let up so I can pump out my new pool.

Imagine this... About 65 degrees, cloudy blue skies, a tranquil lake, the faint tap of a woodpecker over your head, a huge grassy field all to yourself, peacefully quiet except for the jet fighters doing training runs over the Air Force Base. Perfect... almost.

Some interesting information about Olympia Washington from Wikipedia...
The capital city of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 42,514 at the 2000 census. Olympia is a major cultural center of the Puget Sound region. The site of Olympia was home to Lushootseed-speaking peoples for thousands of years, including Squaxin, Nisqually, Puyallup, Chehalis, Suquamish, and Duwamish. The first recorded visit by Europeans was in 1792 when Peter Puget and a crew from the British Vancouver Expedition charted the site. In 1967, the state legislature approved the creation of The Evergreen State College. Because of the college's presence, Olympia has become a hub for artists and musicians, and was recently named one of the best college towns in the nation for its vibrant downtown and access to outdoor activities.

Yep, definitely sticking around here for another day.

Just took a drive through Tacoma. Seems OK. Traffic is much better but the streets are some of the worst I've ever seen. They should rename it pothole central. And the freeways in this area are no different. Vegas roads are heaven compared to here. And with all the hills you probably have to get a brake job yearly. I seem to compare everything to Portland and nothing even comes close. Portland is the only city so far that I got a great feeling about immediately upon getting there. Gonna head down the 5 to Olympia and see what I can find there. Hope to find a good spot for lunch.

Goodbye Seattle. I'm just not feeling good about Seattle. Way too big and congested. Feels like a blend of LA and New York with more trees. Would be a waste of time and money to stick around. I feel like I've seen it all before in other cities.

Just got to Seattle and I already feel like leaving. I might feel different if I didn't have my truck. Crowded, crazy mess of a city.

Oh... Forgot one thing... FU Lakers.

Had a great day here on Bainbridge. I spent the day driving around the island as well as walking around the small downtown district. Its a very nice place that is noticeably upper class only. I'm camping at the same park as last night. I'm gonna catch the ferry tomorrow morning and head into Seattle. I spent the last few hours organizing hundreds more pictures that I will post as soon as I get a fast and reliable internet connection. Get off me skeeters.

New town motto for Bainbridge... Welcome to Bainbridge Island. A place for millionaires and nobody else.

Well, I have decided not to leave Bainbridge Island until tomorrow. I figure why not spend the day exploring this place since I may not be back. I just realized that I haven't seen a rainy day since last Friday! Pretty odd for this part of the country. I guess they knew I was coming.