Finding the Forest From the Grove
Sometimes you have to try something new. Janice was off to ride around Lake Whatcom in Bellingham last weekend, so I was left to figure out something for myself. I chose to travel to Forest Grove, Oregon for a car show, a Concours d’Elegance, actually. The weekend also had a drive and wine tour, so in any event, my weekend would not be lost.
The best part turned out to be the Oregon State Roads, SR202, SR103 and SR47, in particular. Curving and cavorting through heavily dense forest, these well-banked two-laners were a compete surprise and a ton of fun to drive. For those of us coming from Seattle, SR202 starts at Astoria. Getting there was also a much better drive than the ubiquitous Interstate 5. Beginning with an early morning ferry ride from Seattle to Bremerton on the Olympic Peninsula, we headed south on Washington back roads that included SR3 to Shelton, US101 to Kamilche, then SR8 through Elma and US12 to SR107 at Montesano, finally connecting back with US101 to Raymond and on to the famous Astoria-Megler Bridge at the mouth of the mighty Columbia River. The bridge spans 4.1 miles across the river and incorporates the nation’s longest single truss span of over 1,200 feet. It’s impressive.
In a bit of a non sequitur, I counted over 50 bird carcasses as roadkill along this bridge. I guess between wind, sun and weather, the birds have a tough time avoiding moving objects. It was a bit weird, as particularly during our crossing we noticed very few of them flying about. Maybe they’ve wised up.
The drive took a bit longer than the torture of I-5, but it was free of stress (meaning only a little traffic), much more scenic, both from the perspective of natural beauty and the eclectic smattering of small towns. The weather was blue sky and warm with a light breeze – perfect.
Arriving at Forest Grove around 4:30, we checked in to the hotel. I stayed at the Best Western, where I found a gaggle of show cars in the parking lot, including the multi-million dollar 1929 Mercedes S Barker Tourer. Originally commissioned by Lord Howe of England, this beautiful polished blue and stainless steel sports car is the property of billionaire Bruce McCaw and winner of best of show at the 2017 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Pebble Beach is widely regarded as the most prestigious concours in the world. So, its presence here essentially means another slam dunk best of show award. I got up early on Saturday morning to watch it fire up and leave the parking lot for the day’s driving tour. The exhaust note of its 200hp straight six left no doubt as to its original purpose – going fast.
Saturday morning’s que of cars for the wine tour and drive gathers downtown on Cedar Street. It’s an impressive lineup. Billionaire Jon Shirley has sent his 1967 Lamborghini Miura. Originally owned by the Shah of Iran, this car sports one-of-a-kind features ordered by the Shah for this car. It’s mirror-like orange-red paint, perfect finish and gorgeous bone leather interior will surely challenge the Mercedes for best of show. The show itself will feature several of the works of Marcello Gandini, who designed the Miura as well as the Lambo Espada, another car also present this morning. Other notable cars designed by Gandini include the Alfa Romeo Montreal (another car that is here) and the iconic Lamborghini Countach.
On Sunday the Concours opened to spectators at 10am, but they always seem to let people in early to these things. The gates opened for exhibitors at 5:30am; we arrived around 6:45. Plenty early for me to still be an early arrival, detail my car, get rained on from a couple unexpected thunderstorm cells, dry off (both me and the car), do more detailing, then sit back for a little rest and interaction with the paying public.
The show takes place on the campus of Pacific University near the student union building under wooded lawns surrounding an appropriately stuffy looking brick edifice of education, Marsh Hall. It’s a wonderful variety of vehicles that include everything from the 1920s through to modern day supercars. Most of what’s here pays homage to the days of yesteryear, however. I only saw one Ferrari and three Aston Martins, but there was the usual gaggle of Porsches.
Suffice to say, as expected the 1929 Mercedes won best of show and the Miura won best of the Gandini class. I was able to escape with the first group of departing exhibitors, allowing me a clean dash out of town for home. I elected a modified route home, as I had a double dentist appointment Monday morning. Good planning on my part. Anyway, I opted to return north on SR47 and was rewarded with another wonderful road full of curves and dense forest. At times the canopy entirely covered the roadway, leaving us in an intense, green hue of shade and filtered sunlight. It was beautiful.
All good things come to an end, and this drive was no exception. Crossing back over the Columbia at the Longview Bridge marked the end of fun driving and the beginning of driving for survival – the dreaded I-5. There was, however, one highlight left twenty miles ahead – Mrs. Beasley’s Drive-In. Exit 59 at Vader is etched into the minds of me, my wife and our three boys. Stopping there is like In-n-Out in California – you generally have to make a point of pulling in. It’s so easy, as exit 59 literally drops you right at the front door, and the on ramp is back-to-back to the off ramp. I’ve never seen anything so perfectly placed at a set of ramps to an interstate. Beasley’s is really nothing extraordinary. It’s just a really good, old fashioned, small town drive-in burger. Basic goodness. No scrimping. Reminds me of Twin Pines in Cle Elum on WA 970, just off Snoqualmie Pass. I can taste it now. Yum.
After Beasley’s though, the goodness really is over. A 15 minute backup begins just south of Chehalis. Heavy traffic all the way to just south of JBLM (Joint Base Lewis McCord) where another 25 minute slowdown jugs things up all the way into Tacoma. Then it’s another 45 minutes to my south Seattle exit and the squeaky, creaking rumble of the garage door as it welcomes us back. Yes, it’s good to be home.
