day 1
237 miles
237 total
day 1 - Rte 20 across Cali
lunch in Truckee, e.z. drive through Marysville, e.z. overall except for the two 10 minute road repair stoppages. I guess the CalTrans focus is Route 20 this week.
lunch in Truckee, e.z. drive through Marysville, e.z. overall except for the two 10 minute road repair stoppages. I guess the CalTrans focus is Route 20 this week.
day 2
103 miles
340 total
day 2 - Harbin to the coast
Because I used 23 of my 24 hours at Harbin, didn't hit the road till 5-ish. I thought I was going to Fort Bragg, but checked out a little campground in the Jackson Demonstration Forest (whatever that is), and found that it was real nice and FREE, except that some dickhead woke me up at 6:45 am to sign something.
Because I used 23 of my 24 hours at Harbin, didn't hit the road till 5-ish. I thought I was going to Fort Bragg, but checked out a little campground in the Jackson Demonstration Forest (whatever that is), and found that it was real nice and FREE, except that some dickhead woke me up at 6:45 am to sign something.
day 3
92 miles
432 total
day 3 - Mendocino Coast
oh, we love that marine layer! Really crummy breakfast at the Cafe Vienna in Ft Bragg, so much so that I went directly from there to the coffehouse downtown for great coffee, an edible bearclaw, and wifi that worked - much better! Nice hike around the pond at Macrichter State Park, nice relaxed drive to Richardson Grove SP.
oh, we love that marine layer! Really crummy breakfast at the Cafe Vienna in Ft Bragg, so much so that I went directly from there to the coffehouse downtown for great coffee, an edible bearclaw, and wifi that worked - much better! Nice hike around the pond at Macrichter State Park, nice relaxed drive to Richardson Grove SP.
day 4
0 miles
432 total
day 4 - Avenue of the Giants
Another easy drive. Pleasant lunch in ??, hang around at the Visitor's Center, reading Flood Facts, always fun.
Another easy drive. Pleasant lunch in ??, hang around at the Visitor's Center, reading Flood Facts, always fun.
day 7
95 miles
615 total
day 8 - Norcal coast
drive to Crescent City, not too much exciting happened :)
drive to Crescent City, not too much exciting happened :)
day 8
154 miles
769 total
day 9 - south OR coast
Welcome to Oregon! - piddled past Brookings, Bandon rings a bell, but I've already forgotten why. Took a couple of nice little hikes along the bluffs. very, very pretty.
Welcome to Oregon! - piddled past Brookings, Bandon rings a bell, but I've already forgotten why. Took a couple of nice little hikes along the bluffs. very, very pretty.
day 9
71 miles
840 total
day 10 - dunes
Dune day! lotsa dunes, and it turns out that dunes collect water in the form of lovely pure-ish little freshwater lakes on the landward side. It was however raining steadily all day, so I stopped at 2pm because I could. worked out well, I liked Florence. It seems dumb to keep driving in the rain past the places I came up to see.
Dune day! lotsa dunes, and it turns out that dunes collect water in the form of lovely pure-ish little freshwater lakes on the landward side. It was however raining steadily all day, so I stopped at 2pm because I could. worked out well, I liked Florence. It seems dumb to keep driving in the rain past the places I came up to see.
10
72 miles
912 total
day 11 - Cape Perpetua
Rainy morning, forgot to take pictures of the Florence Bridge :( Super time hiking Cape Perpetua. Stopped pretty early again, for a bargain room. Depoe Bay was cool - smallest natural harbor in the world! :)
Rainy morning, forgot to take pictures of the Florence Bridge :( Super time hiking Cape Perpetua. Stopped pretty early again, for a bargain room. Depoe Bay was cool - smallest natural harbor in the world! :)
11
82 miles
994 total
day 12 - slow coast cruisin'
Spent the day stressing about where to sleep, but it worked out. I think Pacific City would be a wonderful place to have a second home if I was a Portland computer whiz making fat cash.
Took the lovely drive to Lookout Point SP, stressin' all the way, with good reason because it was all FULL :( looked like a great place to come back to.
Drove around the bay and nailed a spot in Barview county campground.
Spent the day stressing about where to sleep, but it worked out. I think Pacific City would be a wonderful place to have a second home if I was a Portland computer whiz making fat cash.
Took the lovely drive to Lookout Point SP, stressin' all the way, with good reason because it was all FULL :( looked like a great place to come back to.
Drove around the bay and nailed a spot in Barview county campground.
12
164 miles
1,158 total
day 13 - Astoria, cross the Columbia R to Washington
bye, bye beach! A picture perfect last Sunday before Labor day, 50 miles from Portland, brought out so many urbanites that it was enough beach for me.
The motels would be >$100, and there simply were NO campsites, so I punted and headed inland.
The drive up the Washington side of the Columbia was shockingly pretty and pleasant. It kind of reminded me of driving along the Hudson above West Point, quiet and green, with a big river and hills on either side.
bye, bye beach! A picture perfect last Sunday before Labor day, 50 miles from Portland, brought out so many urbanites that it was enough beach for me.
The motels would be >$100, and there simply were NO campsites, so I punted and headed inland.
The drive up the Washington side of the Columbia was shockingly pretty and pleasant. It kind of reminded me of driving along the Hudson above West Point, quiet and green, with a big river and hills on either side.
13
224 miles
1,382 total
day 14 - Mt St Helens
My plans got rained on :<
Pretty tasty Sunday breakfast at a local chain called Shari's. The idea was to camp near Mt St Helens, and it was a cool drive to get there, but it was awfully gloomy and wet in the dark, dark forest where the campground was. It was supposed to rain all night, and I just wussed out.
I have gotten my truck camping act down pretty well, but that act is not rain-friendly. I have to unload a bunch of boxes and bags from the back of the truck to make room for ME, and it is just a pain to have to cram them in the front of the truck, ... while it is raining. So anyway, I pressed on to non-lovely Yakima for my appointment with the real Motel Hell...
My plans got rained on :<
Pretty tasty Sunday breakfast at a local chain called Shari's. The idea was to camp near Mt St Helens, and it was a cool drive to get there, but it was awfully gloomy and wet in the dark, dark forest where the campground was. It was supposed to rain all night, and I just wussed out.
I have gotten my truck camping act down pretty well, but that act is not rain-friendly. I have to unload a bunch of boxes and bags from the back of the truck to make room for ME, and it is just a pain to have to cram them in the front of the truck, ... while it is raining. So anyway, I pressed on to non-lovely Yakima for my appointment with the real Motel Hell...
14
126 miles
1,508 total
0825 Mo day 13
wander, wander. First good call was taking this Yakima Canyon cutoff, which was thirty miles of lovely volcanic canyon, with four BLM campgrounds that I want to come back to someday. Got to see an osprey snag a trout out of the river just like on the Nature Channel.
That worked so well that I make a second, less good call to take a similar cutoff north to Wenatchee, but it got me to the Confluence Campground, so it all worked out.
wander, wander. First good call was taking this Yakima Canyon cutoff, which was thirty miles of lovely volcanic canyon, with four BLM campgrounds that I want to come back to someday. Got to see an osprey snag a trout out of the river just like on the Nature Channel.
That worked so well that I make a second, less good call to take a similar cutoff north to Wenatchee, but it got me to the Confluence Campground, so it all worked out.
15
192 miles
1,700 total
0826 Tu day 14
Planned a meandering day. I attempted to soak up downtown Wenatchee, but it was just another mid-sized traffic hell so I bailed, crossing the mighty Columbia to SR 12 south along the river. Quite a dramatic valley, even up here, I keep thinking about the giant lava flows 17 million years ago, then the hundreds of repeated giant floods ten thousand years ago. strains my geologic imagination actually.
Only real stop of the day was at the Wanapum Dam, with the Wanapum museum. They spoke well and sadly about the the Wanapums, who were peaceful and religious (whatever that means), and much too mellow to raise enough ruckus to get any kind of treaty or resettlement, so they are all but extinct. But anyway, at the edge of this giant hydroelectric dam is a lovely little 50's modern oasis of shade trees, a little fountain, overlook with binoculars, and a sweet little museum dedicated to the life and times of the last few Wanapums, in native garb sittin on 57 Chevies, singin songs, doing healing chants, weaving, the works.
Then I took a 80 mile route to get to a place 45 miles away, just because I've never been here before. My route followed the north side of the Columbia, and on the south site was the Hanford Atomic Testing Site, which turns out to have been a top secret army base in WW2, where they made fissile material for the A bomb, what we call "weapons-grade plutonium" when the Koreans do it. There was an overlook where you could see the nuclear reactors still standing as they slowly try to decontaminate the place.
Planned a meandering day. I attempted to soak up downtown Wenatchee, but it was just another mid-sized traffic hell so I bailed, crossing the mighty Columbia to SR 12 south along the river. Quite a dramatic valley, even up here, I keep thinking about the giant lava flows 17 million years ago, then the hundreds of repeated giant floods ten thousand years ago. strains my geologic imagination actually.
Only real stop of the day was at the Wanapum Dam, with the Wanapum museum. They spoke well and sadly about the the Wanapums, who were peaceful and religious (whatever that means), and much too mellow to raise enough ruckus to get any kind of treaty or resettlement, so they are all but extinct. But anyway, at the edge of this giant hydroelectric dam is a lovely little 50's modern oasis of shade trees, a little fountain, overlook with binoculars, and a sweet little museum dedicated to the life and times of the last few Wanapums, in native garb sittin on 57 Chevies, singin songs, doing healing chants, weaving, the works.
Then I took a 80 mile route to get to a place 45 miles away, just because I've never been here before. My route followed the north side of the Columbia, and on the south site was the Hanford Atomic Testing Site, which turns out to have been a top secret army base in WW2, where they made fissile material for the A bomb, what we call "weapons-grade plutonium" when the Koreans do it. There was an overlook where you could see the nuclear reactors still standing as they slowly try to decontaminate the place.
16
171 miles
1,871 total
0827 We day 15
almost ran out gas, took a gamble that the town of Washtuchna would come through for me, and the Universe smiled on me (as opposed to laughing at me). There was a cute little converted grain loading place with 8 cent cheaper gas, an espresso machine and biscotti, so I felt blessed.
West of there, the countryside is fucking beautful. Starts out being flat wheat fields, and slowly turns into rolling hills wheatfields, then there start being huge lodgepole pines in the valleys and around the farmhouses. They looked odd and oddly magnificent being all dark and green and 100 feet tall against a backdrop of late-summer golden hills of wheat.
They weren't quite harvesting, but they were getting ready. The trucks and the threshers were parked all over the place, in standby mode.
Locally they call this area The Palouse. It's lovely.
almost ran out gas, took a gamble that the town of Washtuchna would come through for me, and the Universe smiled on me (as opposed to laughing at me). There was a cute little converted grain loading place with 8 cent cheaper gas, an espresso machine and biscotti, so I felt blessed.
West of there, the countryside is fucking beautful. Starts out being flat wheat fields, and slowly turns into rolling hills wheatfields, then there start being huge lodgepole pines in the valleys and around the farmhouses. They looked odd and oddly magnificent being all dark and green and 100 feet tall against a backdrop of late-summer golden hills of wheat.
They weren't quite harvesting, but they were getting ready. The trucks and the threshers were parked all over the place, in standby mode.
Locally they call this area The Palouse. It's lovely.
17
144 miles
2,015 total
0828 Th day 16
These days should be easy, but they are oddly tiring. I think because I have no idea where I am going to end up each night and I am incredibly cheap and don't want to end up having to do something expensive.
Anyway, this was pretty hot but pretty scenic drive through the Palouse and then Nez Perce country. I think the Nez Perce are the rockin-est native americans, and Chief Joseph is the rockin-est Nez Perce.
Check 'em out, the more you learn about him the more you love him and ache for the poor fucked over Nez Perce.
These days should be easy, but they are oddly tiring. I think because I have no idea where I am going to end up each night and I am incredibly cheap and don't want to end up having to do something expensive.
Anyway, this was pretty hot but pretty scenic drive through the Palouse and then Nez Perce country. I think the Nez Perce are the rockin-est native americans, and Chief Joseph is the rockin-est Nez Perce.
Check 'em out, the more you learn about him the more you love him and ache for the poor fucked over Nez Perce.
18
208 miles
2,223 total
0829 Fr day 17 Labor day weekend
breakfast at Hoot's Diner - excellent homemade sausage but a completely indifferent waitress who I had to chase into the kitchen o get a coffee refill (Martha woulda died a thousand deaths if she was with me).
The drive down the western edge of Idaho is really lovely. First the wide-open mountain valleys, then the Salmon River valley through Riggins, then it gets less lovely at McCall, which is just another annoying yuppie getaway town.
Soon after, take a left at Banks to head into the Sawtooths. It is of course the Friday of Labor day, so the little mountain road is clogged with trailers and boats and everybody (including me) is crazy to get somewhere.
breakfast at Hoot's Diner - excellent homemade sausage but a completely indifferent waitress who I had to chase into the kitchen o get a coffee refill (Martha woulda died a thousand deaths if she was with me).
The drive down the western edge of Idaho is really lovely. First the wide-open mountain valleys, then the Salmon River valley through Riggins, then it gets less lovely at McCall, which is just another annoying yuppie getaway town.
Soon after, take a left at Banks to head into the Sawtooths. It is of course the Friday of Labor day, so the little mountain road is clogged with trailers and boats and everybody (including me) is crazy to get somewhere.
19
71 miles
2,294 total
0830 Sa day 18
rolled into Stanley on the Saturday of Labor day hoping for some kinda food action but finding little. The one breakfast place had a huge line, the one bakery closed as I drove up to it. Turns out I crossed a time zone yesterday - it's really 2pm here, not 1pm. Actually the cuties at the bakery did sell me a YUMMY almond raspberry criossant and made me an americano, so I shouldn't bitch, I got a lotta love - I was just cranky.
Spent an hour at Cove Hot Spring, just little ole me sittin there in the hot water at the side of the river in my long sleeved shirt for an hour.
Stopped early for the night at a place that looked cool from the road.
rolled into Stanley on the Saturday of Labor day hoping for some kinda food action but finding little. The one breakfast place had a huge line, the one bakery closed as I drove up to it. Turns out I crossed a time zone yesterday - it's really 2pm here, not 1pm. Actually the cuties at the bakery did sell me a YUMMY almond raspberry criossant and made me an americano, so I shouldn't bitch, I got a lotta love - I was just cranky.
Spent an hour at Cove Hot Spring, just little ole me sittin there in the hot water at the side of the river in my long sleeved shirt for an hour.
Stopped early for the night at a place that looked cool from the road.
20
218 miles
2,512 total
0831 Su day 19
too darned much driving. saw five bighorn sheep clambering around on the shale a few miles west of Challis, had an ok breakfast in Challis, served by super cute, super nice nearly age-appropriate waitress who pretty much made my day by being so nice.
Stopped at the state park museum where I lucked into a REALLY knowledgable ranger dude who told me all about Idaho geology, which is a really interesting story.
Then a coupla hundred miles where I might as well have been in the middle of Nevada for all the excitement.
Storm clouds were brewing however, and I ran into pretty serious wind and rain on the way to idaho Falls.
too darned much driving. saw five bighorn sheep clambering around on the shale a few miles west of Challis, had an ok breakfast in Challis, served by super cute, super nice nearly age-appropriate waitress who pretty much made my day by being so nice.
Stopped at the state park museum where I lucked into a REALLY knowledgable ranger dude who told me all about Idaho geology, which is a really interesting story.
Then a coupla hundred miles where I might as well have been in the middle of Nevada for all the excitement.
Storm clouds were brewing however, and I ran into pretty serious wind and rain on the way to idaho Falls.
21
180 miles
2,692 total
0901 Mo day 20
Quite a day of too much driving. I was entering really expensive territory - Jackson WY and that whole valley of Jackson Hole is so damn deluxe, it's like being in Aspen or Westwood.
The next valley south - Salt Creek/Star Valley is much more my speed.
At Jackson I was about 80 miles from Yellowstone, but I just wasn't feeling it.
Quite a day of too much driving. I was entering really expensive territory - Jackson WY and that whole valley of Jackson Hole is so damn deluxe, it's like being in Aspen or Westwood.
The next valley south - Salt Creek/Star Valley is much more my speed.
At Jackson I was about 80 miles from Yellowstone, but I just wasn't feeling it.
22
162 miles
2,854 total
0902 Tu day 21
Kinda rattled this morning. F--ing cold, f--ing headache. After breakfast and copious coffee I started feeling a little better. Still though, I passed up an 11 mile detour to got to a wildlife refuge so I'm definitely not on my game.
Logan UT, home of the Utah State ??'s. They're got white students mowing the lawns! So I think that definitely proves that all they got is white people in these parts! Got an americano and chilled out awhile which finally kicked the headache. I think it was a migraine.
The (pretty big) mountains between Bear Lake and Logan are made of limestone, which is what I grew up with in good ole Kentucky. I really liked it.
Kinda rattled this morning. F--ing cold, f--ing headache. After breakfast and copious coffee I started feeling a little better. Still though, I passed up an 11 mile detour to got to a wildlife refuge so I'm definitely not on my game.
Logan UT, home of the Utah State ??'s. They're got white students mowing the lawns! So I think that definitely proves that all they got is white people in these parts! Got an americano and chilled out awhile which finally kicked the headache. I think it was a migraine.
The (pretty big) mountains between Bear Lake and Logan are made of limestone, which is what I grew up with in good ole Kentucky. I really liked it.
23
234 miles
3,088 total
0903 day 22
damn! I hate leaving my phone at the motel. returned there after breakfast and the place was deserted. waited an hour. ugh.
Very pleasnt and easy drive over the top of the Great Salt Lake to get back to good ole Nevada. Boy there sure ain't much in Wells.
damn! I hate leaving my phone at the motel. returned there after breakfast and the place was deserted. waited an hour. ugh.
Very pleasnt and easy drive over the top of the Great Salt Lake to get back to good ole Nevada. Boy there sure ain't much in Wells.
24
134 miles
3,222 total
0904 day 24
All I wanna do is take the scenic route to Lamoille, but the road trip gods are laughing at me today. From 80 I see a wildfire in the distance, more or less where I and going. I exit, drive 10 of the 11 miles of paved road I need to get to the gravel cutoff to , and sure enough, there are flashing lights from every official vehicle in Elko who could get there quicker than me, and of course the road is closed till further notice, even though all it would take is closing the windows and driving through 20 yards of smoke to the other side.
So.. back to 80, drive through Elko and around for a 35 mile detour. I passed the firetrucks on the way out, and by the time I got to Elko the smoke was gone, so maybe I shoulda waired...
All I wanna do is take the scenic route to Lamoille, but the road trip gods are laughing at me today. From 80 I see a wildfire in the distance, more or less where I and going. I exit, drive 10 of the 11 miles of paved road I need to get to the gravel cutoff to , and sure enough, there are flashing lights from every official vehicle in Elko who could get there quicker than me, and of course the road is closed till further notice, even though all it would take is closing the windows and driving through 20 yards of smoke to the other side.
So.. back to 80, drive through Elko and around for a 35 mile detour. I passed the firetrucks on the way out, and by the time I got to Elko the smoke was gone, so maybe I shoulda waired...
25
323 miles
3,545 total
0905 The Final day
not much to say about blasting down I-80 to get home. I did get off on Business 90 at Battle Mountain and Winnemucca, just to drive through the towns and see whassup with them. home 4:30-ish. woo hoo.
not much to say about blasting down I-80 to get home. I did get off on Business 90 at Battle Mountain and Winnemucca, just to drive through the towns and see whassup with them. home 4:30-ish. woo hoo.