Portland began as a small clearing near the confluence of two rivers, the Columbia and the Willamette. The location was prime—not only were waterways the highways of yesteryear, but the Willamette and nearby Tualatin River Valleys were conducive to agriculture. Also, the Pacific Ocean (and therefore the rest of the world) was only a boat [...]
It was a typical early summer day in Oregon, warm and sunny when we left Portland, cool and foggy when we arrived at the Oregon Coast. Eventually, the fog burned off and the day was intermittently cloudy and sunny. Our route took us through the small town of Tillamook, but our visit to the town’s [...]
Our next two weeks in the Beaver State were spent in the Bend area of Central Oregon. While in Bend we learned why Oregon is called the Beaver State, and why the Beaver is also the state animal. The fur of the busy rodent was the area’s first lucrative export long before Oregon even became [...]
We picked our new location of Klamath Falls somewhat randomly, but there were several factors we considered. First, it was just about the right distance for us to travel—we like to keep our mileage around 200 miles if we can. Second, Lance had read that there was pretty good birding in the area, and finally, [...]
This leg of our journey required us to do some backtracking, and for those of you who know me you know I avoid going the same way twice if I can help it. I’d just as soon go a different way and see something new, but this time we were traveling at night so I [...]
The Sonoma Valley is a beautiful place but the main reason for our visit to the area was to spend time with our good friends Kelly and Elaine. Since they are both working and taking classes and we are busy during the work week our time together was relegated to evenings and weekends. It is [...]
It was late Saturday evening and knowing that we had some miles to cover to reach the Sonoma Valley by Sunday we chose the straightest and largest road, I-5. Our thinking was that it would make the trip more direct and faster. Boy, were we wrong; I-5 was wretched! The roadway was full of potholes [...]
It was a cool, gray morning when we left the Santa Maria Valley and headed for another girl-named valley, Santa Ynez. The valley, river, and nearby mountains all get their name from Mission Santa Ines (Spanish for Saint Agnes). The teen-aged, virgin Agnes earned her spot among the saints when she chose death over renouncing [...]
Our journey to the Central Coast of California went quite smoothly. We left the San Diego area rather late at night so that we would drive through El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles Del Río de Porciúncula (Los Angeles) when traffic was light. Or as one friend put it—it would just [...]
When we left off last time we were in search of refreshments after a long day of walking around the San Diego Wild Animal Park. That’s one of the nice things about having friends who live in the area, they know where all the cool stuff is. Brendan led us to Stone Brewery in Escondido [...]
fautrever.com chronicles the Travel Adventures of Lance and Erin Willett. We are traveling across North America in a 34’ RV—living and working from the road. Contact us or read more about us.
Where are we now? Tucson, AZ 85719. 
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