Heading East - Day 1 (bjg)

Across Oregon into Idaho

Breakfast report: we’ve hit a new low – and of our own doing. Leaving Holly’s house in a rush we wanted coffee and a something, and on the way to the highway we took a detour to McDonalds – I will claim because we like the superior quality of their coffee cups – but maybe because their breakfast sandwiches the best of the fastfood lot.

Across Oregon – tree farms, lush fields, then barren hills, a stop in Baker City, (Mott has all the photos) an old gold town with a good bookstore. We paralleled the Oregon Trail….lush valley along the Snake River but then more barrenness, and on into Idaho to Twin Falls. The covered wagons pushing along the trail in the mid 1800’s is another poignant story of migrations and hardship.

Found a Comfort Inn with windows that open, but then we noticed the eau du cow – this, a big dairy area.

Idaho Joe’s for dinner – a baked potato seemed appropriate (you know what was on the appetizer list…) We wanted to find a local place in the historic town – but there was nothing except nearly 20 blocks of chain eatieries and fastfood joints. It was a Chinese buffet or the AAA suggestion of Idaho Joe. I have never been happy with AAA suggestions and I am still NOT. It seems that mainly they care about hygiene – no objection there – but often the food seems to be from Sysco food service delivery – nothing really homecooked. This place seemed to have a pie specialty – maybe that is what we should have eaten for dinner.

It’s back to real summer here – 80 degrees at 9 PM, with insects chirping. Tho Portland was hot for a few days, it had a different feeling.

Taking the Pulse of America

Fox news - 5 of 8 (Portland was all CNN)

Mozz stix - 6 of 7