Grays Harbor and Wahkiakum Counties, Washington

The only state I have fully completed is my home state of Oregon.

I'm sure I visited all of Oregon's 36 counties before I turned 10 (thanks, Dad). Washington (80%) is my next most completed.

I had a few days at home this week, so I thought I'd knock off the two closest counties to me that I'd never visited - Grays Harbor County and Wahkiakum County in Washington. Here's my route:

I took the familiar drive up I-5 to just north of Centralia, exiting onto US-12 west. Only 12 miles up the road, I entered Grays Harbor County. Just across the county line is the tiny town of Oakville (B), where I found a tavern with a remarkable ability to advertise its strengths:

You can read a hilarious review of the Only Tavern here. Past Oakville, there wasn't much to report other than miles and miles of clearcut forest. Even once I got on US-101, America's prettiest highway, it didn't get much better. Driving rain and downed trees left and right made for a fairly depressing drive.

The scenery improved once I got to Raymond and South Bend (C). US-101 goes along Willapa Bay, and the view is often lovely. South Bend is the self-proclaimed Oyster Capital of the World, and from the two to three-story high piles of oyster shells along the highway I could believe it.

A ways past Willapa Bay, I took off on WA-4 (old US-830) towards Longview. Once into Wahkiakum, I came to the little town of Grays River (D) - on the (you guessed it) Grays River. Taking Loop Rd two miles out of Grays River brought me to the Grays River Covered Bridge - amazingly the last covered bridge still in use in Washington! (By the way, here's a map of the fifty covered bridges still in use in Oregon.) Below are a couple of pictures I took of the bridge.

Next time I'll bring along a real camera, not just a cell phone...

Coming back to the I-5 corridor along WA-4 was lovely. Many gushing waterfalls churned on my left as scenic vistas of the Columbia opened up on my right.

This is part of a drive I'd recommend for any Portland daytrippers. Here's my suggestion: US-30 north out of Portland to Rainier, the Lewis and Clark Bridge (WA-433) north to Longview, WA-4 west to Naselle, WA-401 south to the Astoria-Megler bridge (US-101), 101 south past Seaside, and US-26 back to Portland. This is a 220-mile drive that should take you all day if you do it right - stopping at photo opportunities, fruit stands, beaches, and anything else that catches your eye. Happy driving!