Spacing Out = Scenic Drive
So I was on I-5, on my way back to Tillamook from Eugene earlier this evening, fully intending to take Oregon 22 through Salem. The exit for Highway 22 is on the southern end of town. I was fully past Keizer (on the north end) before I realized "Hey, I ought to have got off the freeway about 10 miles back, huh?" There is a long exit-less stretch between Keizer and Brooks, so by the the time I got up there, I didn't really want to back-track south.
Mind you, Tillamook is on the west side of the Willamette, and I was on the east side. There aren't many bridges between Salem and Wilsonville! I was map-less, so I decided that I would try my luck with the Wheatland Ferry, not knowing exactly where it was or even if it would be running. After winding my way around a semi-truck stuck at an impossible location in the middle of the 4-way stop and railway crossing in Hopmere, I was on my way on Marion County's country roads.
The ferry landing was easy enough to find, and for a mere $1.35 I was on my way across the Willamette to Yamhill County. From there, I used ded reckoning and followed signs on whacky back roads first toward McMinnville, then toward Sheridan.
June 13, 2004 09:07 PM
Comments (4)
06/15: Trevor said:
You know what website really sucks? wheathlandferry.com! Animated GIF background?! What is this, 1998?
:)
I had no idea there were still any things like this running anywhere. Super!
06/17: JohnH said:
(that's wheatlandferry.com)
And, UGH! It's very late-90's ugly webpage. I admit to having had some ugly webpages back then too, but I never had an animated GIF Background. I also was never a 'professional,' but http://www.webdoers.com/ claims to be the company who designed the wheatland ferry page.
06/17: Bill said:
Agreed that the wheatlandferry.com website is terrible. I couldn't find any better ones content-wise. Design-wise, it would be tough to be much worse, eh?
There are three such ferries on the Willamette alone! Whacky, huh? You would have thought that they would be bridged by now. I am kind of glad that they are still there, though.
06/18: Trevor said:
Sure, having ferries is all "nostalgic" or whatever, but doesn't the absence of bridges impede automotive traffic? Automotive traffic flow is the A+ #1 goal of all planners, isn't it?