Okay… I’ve dried my tears and am ready to continue; this will be the last chapter of this road trip.

I didn’t know that Lake Mayfield was dammed and that it empties into the Cowlitz River. We couldn’t see the dam from the highway. Road trips can always be such learning experiences; it’s one of the things I love about taking them.

We were enjoying this part of the road trip; I-5, the major north-south freeway around here, was coming up quickly, but in the meantime, we enjoyed sights like these:

All too soon, Highway 12 had ended and we were on I-5 South. The freeway entrance was only about 15 miles from Lake Mayfield so we got there quickly. In a way, it seemed that this marked the end of our road trip. Now we just wanted to get home. It was 3:30, and as my papa-san used to say, we had TB…tired butt!

Now we’re just about to cross the Cowlitz River.

It’s a very pretty river.

Go here to read the story of John Kalama, the native Hawaiian for whom the town of Kalama is named.

We made a rest stop here; it was a really nice one. We really needed to get out and stretch and go shi shi!

I learned that the Cowlitz River eventually empties into the Columbia River. Something else learned!

We’ve now reached the Columbia River!

The river splits right here with that little island in the middle; to the east is the Old Pacific Highway south at Carroll’s.

Then we crossed the Lewis River just south of Woodland, Washington.

Clark County Fairgrounds near Ridgefield. We were definitely getting closer to home. It was just past 4:30, and we were really tired.

I-205 turnoff is coming up in half a mile, and that’s where we’ll go. This will be the final leg of our journey.

But wait. This is Friday afternoon at 4:45, and things are changing. Check the traffic heading north.

I’ve never figured out why traffic going north is always so bad, no matter what day it is. Are these people working in Portland and heading north to home? Here, we’re almost to the Glen Jackson Bridge over the Columbia River, and traffic is crawling along.

See what I mean? I’m glad we’re not going north!

We cross the Columbia River and are back in Oregon again!

And we’re finally on our road, and we’ll be home in less than five minutes! It’s now 5:22 pm and has been a long, but very good, day.

And guess what!! They were out just for you, AFK!!! What a great way to end our trip!

And you guys!! When we finally got home, I rushed to the hummingbird feeder and was able to get these two daily hummingbird photos! I was so worried that I’d miss a day, but I didn’t! Chee hoo!

Here’s a map of our travels that day.

The next morning, I checked out trip stats:

And considering that we were travelling in our minivan, I think we got terrific mileage, considering all the mountain driving that we did. I was pleased and surprised!

K’den. Pau! This post marks the end of a wonderful, exciting, and treasured road trip. I was so happy that we made the effort to be at my niece’s wedding, getting to see my ʻohana again, meeting new people, and seeing new and beautiful sights. Everyone we met along the way, strangers and family alike, was friendly and welcoming. Yes, we were glad to get home, but also enriched by deciding to venture out for the first time in two and a half years. I so appreciate you folks traveling along with us.

Next time, who knows where we’ll be going!