Albany, Oregon - Week Two

The weather has been overcast most of the week, with temperatures in the high 60s and low 70s.  A few drizzles on some days.  And today, right now, in fact, it is sunny and 66 degrees.

We waited all week for a nice day to drive around (in the Tahoe) and look at some of the covered bridges here in Oregon.  When you think of "covered bridges," what do you think of?  The average person may say "bridges in PA or on the East Coast."  But, no -- here in Oregon, there are 51 covered bridges, some of these bridges date back to the mid-1800s.  Jerry asked a guy why did they cover the bridges?  He was told that, when they were built back then, they covered them to protect the wood decking on the bridge from the sun, rain and elements which could ruin them.  As you will see by the pictures, these bridges are way too small for an RV our size to cross.

There is actually a Covered Bridge Tour Route one could follow.  We didn't exactly follow the Tour Route -- but did get to see three different bridges here in Linn County, outside of Albany, Oregon.

The first bridge we saw was the Hoffman Bridge.

Hoffman Bridge

Rafters inside Hoffman Bridge

From the Hoffman Bridge, we could see people fishing below.

Almost the same, but not quite -- this is the Hannah Bridge

Rafters inside the Hannah Bridge (the sides are open on this one)

Taken from the Hannah Bridge

The Shimanek Bridge

Rafters inside the Shimanek Bridge

We almost feel as if we are in Alaska as the evening doesn't really get dark until 9:30 p.m. because we are that much farther north than LA.

We've cleaned the whole coach (inside and out), washed the Tahoe, did all of the laundry and cleaned the house.  We are set to move on tomorrow for Newport, Oregon, right on the coast.  We've been there before and love it.  We look forward to spending the whole summer here in Oregon.