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cones that became increasingly common further east. The Hood River-Moiser Loop has less traffic
than Highway 30 that means fewer people would have seen the family along the road, especially
late on a Sunday afternoon.
Conclusion: The family had between 9 to 24 minutes to gather greens due to limited daylight.
The girls told the waitress at the snack bar that they gathered fernery for Xmas baskets. The old
Columbia River Highway had ample shoulder area to park the station wagon. According to the
refined timelines the family finished gathering greenery at 4:01 pm to 4:02 pm and arrived at the
restaurant from 4:23 pm to 4:25 pm which matches the waitress’s recollection of the family
coming in between 4:15 pm and 4:30 pm. At 4:02 pm the daylight was beginning to fade. The
family made at least two stops to gather greens but not three. The groups of fir trees, pine trees,
and ferns provide clues to the most probable locations where the family stopped but the actual
stops will always remain unknown. In conclusion, the most probable route was the Hood River –
Moiser Loop Route with the return to Hood River using Highway 30.
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