Westward Ho!

Days 20-22

Mile: 3163

Our original plan was to travel no more than 250 miles, or less, a day with occasional days off. It is a good plan and we have stuck with the plan for 19 days. Day 20, we realized we still had 1,165 miles to Portland, Oregon and we had a swim meet we wanted to attend on Day 22, at 5 pm. (My sister’s granddaughter is on a swim team.)

So, we decided to change the plan and see if we could make it to Portland in three days instead of five. We drove a total of 905 miles on days 20 and 21, and finished up the last ~260 miles on Day 22.  Besides verifying why we had created the 250 mile a day rule, we learned a couple of things on our journey west. 

First, we live in a beautiful and diverse country. The view from our windshield, as we drove from Colorado, through Utah to Idaho and into Oregon, was breathtaking. The roads were as diverse as the scenery. From the narrow two-lane road from Silverton to Ouray in Colorado to the 6 lanes of traffic driving the legal speed limit of 70 miles per hour around Salt Lake City. 

The other thing we learned is to take care of ourselves. Day 20 we drove 475 miles and it took 11 hours. This was due to the winding, two lane roads and numerous stop lights and construction. That night we got a Motel 6 and all three of us slept in one king size bed.

Day 21 wasn’t as long, as we were on the Interstate all day. We didn’t have any camping reservations, so I got on line and found the La Grande Hot Springs RV Park in La Grande, OR. For the price of our campsite, we got to soak in the natural hot springs.  After a day of bouncing around in the camper the 104-degree water felt fabulous.

All the while we were driving, I kept trying to imagine what it must have been like to ride in a covered wagon over this beautiful, harsh, dusty, and rocky landscape. It gave a whole new meaning to the signs along the road that read “No Services Next 80 Miles.” 

I was reminded of the first computer simulation I designed for The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis; “Load a Wagon.” It was on a stand-alone kiosk in the history gallery and players had to load a Conestoga wagon with the supplies they thought they would need for a trip on the Oregon Trail. Once they picked their supplies, from a list of items, they headed west on the trail, meeting all sorts of challenges along the way. To successfully meet each challenge, players needed to use the supplies, they brought. If they didn’t have what they needed, the game was over. To win the game, you had to have packed some rope. 

Somewhere between Twin Falls and Boise, Idaho we got a Check Engine light on the camper. With no services for miles, we pulled over and got out the owner’s manual. We think it has something to do with “bad gas” or one of the emissions sensors. We will take it in to a Ford dealer next week when we are in Portland. By the way, the manual didn’t say anything about rope.