The Road Home, Day 1

As a young girl I’d read stories about pioneers coming across the country and been fascinated with their lives. Then several years ago I became interested in the Lewis and Clark expedition “Corps of Discovery”.

For Christmas a couple of years ago Nate and Bekki bought me a book on the Lewis and Clark expedition focusing on the locations and events, “Traveling the Lewis and Clark Trail”. I carry the book with me and read various portions when I have a question about a specific area. So I carried the book with me to Seattle and had read the portion pertaining to events in Washington and Oregon on several evenings.

As we left Seattle we had the choice of driving over a mountain pass or two or going south to Portland and then east thru the Columbia River Gorge. We decided to take the longer route because we were still having freezing temps and rain off and on in Seattle and were concerned about icy roads late at night over the mountain pass. The plus about going the longer route is that Lewis and Clark had traveled in that area and it is the location of the Oregon Trail. Even though I wanted to get to my Sunny and Tailor I was a happy camper with seeing some of history.

Dale and I have never driven through the Columbia River Gorge and we expected something more like the Royal Gorge in Colorado or the Rio Grande area just out of Taos. Here the gorge was more rolling hills. The Columbia River divides the states of Washington and Oregon and is very wide. It is not the raging river encountered by Lewis and Clark but tamed by dams.

There is a road following the river on each side. We took the Oregon side because it is an interstate and more direct. The road on the Washington side cuts thru towns but has places to stop, a road I’d like to take some time.

Ruts from wagons traveling The Oregon Trail are visible along the way however with snow on the ground one must use their imagination.

When I get home I intend to order a detailed map of the Oregon Trail and of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Leaving the River the highway turns east and runs across Oregon. This area is mountainous and reminded me of I-80 thru Tahoe. The roads were plowed but it was quite cold so I was concerned about ice. On one long decline I was happy for the trailer assist on the truck, remembering the time Dolly Hei and I were coming down the Blue Ridge Mountains in my last truck and on the steep decline I burned up and lost the brakes. Yikes, that’s something I’m not anxious to repeat.

After leaving the mountains in Oregon we hit the prairie; lots of flat, flat land. Most of the landscape is brown but closer to Idaho covered with snow. It was amazing to see flat land covered with snow for miles with snow capped mountains in the background.

Unfortunately I took no photos of this leg of our trip. It was still dark, about 5am when we started out and then later the skies were dark with clouds which is so typical for that area. I’ll go back armed with maps and cameras next time.