Stankertanker

Monday, July 6, 2009

SC to OR- Day 9, Boise, ID to Portland, OR

View 7-06-09 in a larger map

We slept in just a little bit this morning, knowing that we had only a few hours of driving to do. We grabbed our continental breakfast and got on the road, making our way out of Idaho and into Oregon.

In eastern Oregon, we stopped at this little diner called the Redneck Cafe, determined to see what they thought was "redneck". It was a little surprising.

First off, they served the infamous "fry sauce". Now, I do know some rednecks and none of them eat fry sauce. Also, they clearly advertised that they served espresso, not a typical redneck beverage. The proprietor of the establishment was a very large, very sweaty, and very Greek man named "Bo", which I guess in some alternate reality is kinda redneck, but most certainly not in the classical sense. They did however have some good grub, and their portions were huge.

Entering the Columbia River Gorge is awesome, with its mountainous banks dotted with windmills, and its water filled with kitesurfers and windsurfers. After about 50 miles, though, it starts to get a little old, and at about 100 it gets downright unbearable. We were so elated to see Mt. Hood, we were both like caged cats until we finally got to downtown Portland.

Because our apartment was not gonna be ready until later this week due to the holiday weekend, a friend of ours invited us to stay with him for a few days. We headed over, but quickly realized we needed to get into a hotel. Alas, Olive was way too riled up from sitting in the car for days on end, and the presence of little cats at our friends' house was really more excitement than Ev and I could bear. We made plans for dinner later and headed to the Quality Inn.

Tomorrow Ev starts her new job, and we both start our new life in the Pacific Northwest...

Sunday, July 5, 2009

SC to OR - Day 8, Grand Teton National Park, WY to Boise, ID

View 7-05-09 in a larger map

Had a hard time leaving the park this morning, everything was just gorgeous. On the way out we drove past the awesome Teton Range, really indescribable.

Drove quite a ways into Idaho, past some very scenic areas, and into small towns that were having 4th of July parades and to a tiny diner called simply "Angus" (they serve "fry sauce" there, a mixture of ketchup and mayonnaise).

We stopped off at Craters of the Moon National Park, a completely crazy place that is just a huge area of volcanic cinder, lava and lava tubes. I had no idea it even existed until we went by it, but I am glad we stopped, cause it is pretty surreal.

There are massive fields of crumbling and broken lava, huge cinder cones that look like mountains, and caves created by the lava tubes, some fallen in, some still able to be explored...

Some of the cinder piles are huge; Just as a point of reference, the dot of white is a family, climbing to the top...

Called it a day at about 8:00 in Boise. We really wanted to make it into Oregon, but we were just too beat- and sick of driving. We expect to arrive in Portland tomorrow afternoon...

SC to OR - Day 7, Riverton, WY to Grand Teton National Park, WY

View 7-04-09 in a larger map

Headed out of Riverton in the morning with one goal in mind- the Grand Teton and Yellowstone area. While reading about camping options in the area, our book said it was best to get there before 11 to reserve a space (they are all first- come first served). Traffic wasn't too bad during this stretch even though it was coming up on a holiday, and after a few hours of driving and waiting in a short line, we had a spot in Colter Bay Campground, a very nice little spot away from the monster RV's we saw on the way in.

Suffice to say, Yellowstone and Grand Teton are way too much to explore in a day. We hit up Old Faithful, checked out the hot springs and the geothermal areas, and went looking for wildlife. The hot springs and geysers in the area are awesome, pictures really don't do them justice at all. I shot a lot of video that I will have to upload when I get a minute.

We camped for the first time with Olive last night, and she did really well. We put her bed at the end of the tent and she laid down and went to sleep. I didn't hear a peep put of her all night, though Ev said she was shivering in the middle of the night (it got a little cold at night, about 45-50 degrees).

Again, more pictures are up here...

SC to OR

Thursday, July 2, 2009

SC to OR - Day 6, Denver, CO to Riverton, WY

View 7-03-09 in a larger map

Wow, what a difference a day makes. Today we left Denver and headed for Rocky Mountain National Park. I was not really that into going at first, as we were supposed to be using this time to head to Grand Canyon. That changed when we got there; The loop around the park is fantastic! 12,000 feet of elevation at the top, and a fantastic view over the snowline, herds of elk on the mountainsides, marmots scrambling around the place, it was awesome.

We did pay a little bit of a price though, and that was altitude sickness. My head was throbbing, my vision was blurry, and I was winded the entire time. Ev said she was pretty nauseous. We made it to the top, however, and it was totally worth it, even with the climbing.

Some more pics are up if you want to check them out...

Afterwards, we headed toward Grand Teton. We are spending the night in Riverton, and will head into Grand Teton and Yellowstone in the morning.

Wish us luck...