This is not a scenic drive and I'm not going to pretend it is. It's about 15 miles of I-5 between Portland and Ridgefield, most of it suburban, some of it industrial, and the destination is a burger. That's the whole premise.

The Route

Start on the Portland waterfront, north on I-5 across the Interstate Bridge, through Vancouver, and off at exit 14 for Ridgefield Junction. The In-N-Out sits just west of the interchange near Pioneer Street. Fifteen minutes without traffic, which is not a condition that exists on this stretch between 3 and 6.

What You Actually See

The Interstate Bridge is the good part. You get the Columbia, the port cranes, and on a clear day Mount Hood off to the right if you're northbound. After that it's Vancouver, then car dealerships, then the Salmon Creek interchange, then farmland finally starting to show up around Ridgefield.

Ridgefield itself is worth an extra 10 minutes. The refuge is a few miles west of the freeway and it's a completely different place than the interchange.

Notes on Filming

Hard to film. Freeway driving is monotonous footage and the light through a windshield on I-5 is either blown out or gray. The bridge crossing is the only sequence that really works, and you get one shot at it per direction.

Getting There

From downtown Portland: north on I-5, exit 14. No fee, unless you count the burger.