Dave
Well-known member
I made a quick to Goldendale, WA and back today. Goldendale is about straight north of the Madras / Prineville Oregon area where they had about 200,000 guests (100,000 in Madras, 30,000+ at one site outside of Prineville, plus all the other scatter around the area). At 6:30 this morning the two north bound rest stops I past had cars parked along the freeway for a quarter mile each side of the rest stop. People had just pulled over to sleep. At 11:30 the McDonald's in sleepy little Goldendale was packed. Way more cars headed north of highway 97 than normal. Going through the Columbia Gorge was heavier than normal but OK. Hit highway 205 just across the river from Portland and it was stop and go clear to I-5. I-5 was moving but packed full with campers. I stopped at a rest stop just north of Vancouver. Absolutely every parking spot was filled. I ended up parking in a no parking zone. There was a line of guys waiting to get into the men's room. I jumped off the freeway and drove the last 50 miles on back roads. Every time I could see the freeway they were either stopped or just crawling.