Day 21 : The Oregon Trail

{ Tuesday, 04 August 2009 }

No, we didn't actually take the original Oregon Trail, but we did see a lot of Oregon while driving along the 84 towards Portland. But first, let's talk about Idaho. Now, my memory is dimming faster than you can say blog me so forgive me if I am mixing events. Most likely Christine or Atelei will inform me of my error; I'll edit it then. We left our RV park in eastern Idaho around 1100 and started heading west. At first the landscape was beautiful: lots of green, rolling hills; the Snake River meandering its way along the banks of forests and farm lands; and beautiful mountain ranges. Then, as we hit the central valley, Idaho began looking a lot like Southern California: dry, dry, and more dry. Not exactly my cup of tea.

ENJOYING THE VIEW

WE LIKE IDAHO!

HAHA, TOO CUTE!

HEADING TOWARDS CENTRAL IDAHO
{ still listening to taylor swift }

STILL PRETTY ALBEIT A BIT FLAT

While driving, Kale'a took hold of the camera { again! } and took lots of adorable pictures.

SELF-PORTRAIT #1

SELF-PORTRAIT #2

SELF-PORTRAIT #3

WHAT A CUTIE PIE

Somewhere past Boise we stopped to get gas. Brandon saw the signs for "El Taco Loco" and suggested we eat there. It had been almost three weeks since any of us had eaten authentic Mexican food { come on, Taco Bell does not count! } and so we chanced it. Wow, was it good! And their homemade salsa added that something something.

CHOOSING OUR DINNER
{ the keikis made a new friend, the owner's little boy, who rode kale'a's razor and conversed with us in his broken english }

After a yummy dinner I took the wheel and we began driving again. And I think it was on this drive where a tornado hit us! No, it wasn't a Wizard of Oz tornado; it was a baby tornado, about 25 feet tall, but since I had never driven through a tornado before, I was a bit scared.

"Should I drive fast or slow?"
"I don't know. Slow," Atelei suggested.
I slow down and we edge towards the tornado. Suddenly, an 18-wheeler blasted to the left of me, leaving a wake of rain while its gust of wind nearly knocked our RV off the road. I grip tight around the steering wheel and we plow through the funnel.
"Oops," I say, "I guess I was supposed to drive fast."

Who knew?

Later in the evening, Brandon took over and powered through five more hours of driving, safely parking us in our Portland RV park. When we awoke, the cold, gray Portland skies greeted us. Yay, we made it back to the grand Pacific!

Gian and grandma, sleeping soundly through the tornado.

Jessica, Atelei's high school and college friend, will be meeting us today to show us the sights and sounds of P-Town. We cannot wait!