Highlights from La Grande, Oregon and Wallowa Lake

View from the top of Wallowa Lake tram, Oregon

My friend Jennifer Jo, (JJ),  grew up in La Grande, Oregon.  I've heard about this place for the fifteen years I've known her, and I have know her parents for many of those years.  I was well overdue for a visit to her parent's home and to her childhood valley.  It's a lovely part of northeast Oregon.

We have packed so much into these two days I will list a few of the highlights.

First day here I met JJ's brother and we pruned surprise muscat grape vines in their parent's backyard.  These grapes have been in the dehumidifier ever since turning into raisins.

Making raisins from Muscat grapes found in backyard

Walked around town and Eastern Oregon University and walked the route JJ used to take home from elementary school.  This included a walk along the original Oregon Trail.

Oregon Trail marker, La Grande OR 1843-57

Drove in JJ's folk's new RV, aka, The Little House, to Wallowa Lake.

   

Driving to Wallowa Lake, OR

Almost ripped off the vent unit on the top of the RV pulling into the Summerville Cemetery archway on the way to the lake.  This was due to my poor navigating skills!

Summerville Cemetery entry

Enjoyed hanging out with the mountain squirrels at the top of the tram of Wallowa Lake.

 

  

See the little critter?

Iconic Mount Emily in La Grande, OR

Days Three and Four!

Whew! You Made It!

95 North

95 North from Winnemucca to Boise was golden desolate with very few places to pull over to pee on the 2-lane, no shoulder highway.  Not a lot of humanity on this 258-mile Nevada-Oregon-Idaho stretch with frequent areas of no cell phone coverage.

When I'm on the road alone I try to have one hour of head-clearing, present silence in the car per day.  No music, no podcasts, no phone calls, no screens.  Just undistracted driving and noting the scenery around me.  

Freshly paved, black asphalt

Bright yellow and white dotted lines

Sandy scrub

Dotted variegated green sage

Fluorescent green fields

Smooth, sandy surfaced rolling hills

Brown, black cattle 

Sparse tufts of trees indicate small, hidden ranches

Dunes meet mountains

Cruise control 75 MPH

Ghost towns

Gas $3.48

Beige, Beige more Beige against Blue Sky

And then, just like that, out of the moonscape and into suburbia as Boise sprawled out before me.  Riverside RV park was a green oasis nestled behind the fairgrounds in Garden City!

     

Boise Riverside RV Park in Garden City

I set up camp and picked up one of my best friends, Jennifer Jo, at the Boise airport.  We walked through Boise State's campus and ended up downtown at Wild Root Cafe that blared 80s rock reminding us of our college days. The Boss! Prince! 

 .  

Boise reminds me of a higher end, casino-free Reno nestled into surrounding yellow mountains and offers more shopping and entertainment.  The houses and downtown neighborhoods are well kept with considerably less grit than Reno.

 

Downtown Boise, Idaho

Made it back to the Boise Riverside RV camp after dinner and found more tents set up near ours.  I was excited to have a snuggle buddy in my tent this night.  We giggled like college girls and drank red wine.  We planned out the strategy in case some of the neighboring RV or camp revelers surprise visited us in the middle of the night.  You spray the bear mace, I'll blow the whistle.

We were off to sleep shortly after being serenaded by the alarming sounds of fireworks shooting off a couple hundred yards from us at the Boise Hawks ballpark, post ball game celebration.  

The night before I drifted off to sleep to trucks and motorcycles whizzing down the highway in Winnemucca, and this night's sleep sounds were fireworks and beer drinking, pickup truck driving men partying next door.  

Ahhh, the sounds of nature...

Day Two!

One Day or Day One. You Decide.

80 East

Day One...of 60-day road trip.  I lit out of Reno at 3:45pm on a Thursday after teaching my last yoga class for two months.  Winnemucca or Bust!  It was a short, 2.5 hour drive.  Left the high desert and drove through more high desert.  Headed northeast.

Landscape was golden, with brown, grey and beige tinged mountains.  Little to no smoke, with mostly clear, blue skies. High 80s.

Little pink house in Winnemucca

Headed to a KOA campground in Winnemucca.  Never need to visit this campground again, unless I want a great bathroom and hot shower.  Other than that, it's just too much concrete and road noise. But, I found the trees, and that's where they have the tent sites.  Yay.  My yoga students were ribbing me saying, "Yeah right, you're gonna set up "camp" in the nearest Candlewood Suites." 

Winnemucca KOA.  Looks better in the picture than in person! Bathrooms are great though.

On this first night I am solo.  One challenge of being solo is figuring out when to set up the tent.  I pulled in before sunset and thought, Oh, I'll set up the tent and then go into town for dinner and a walk.  But I felt like my little tent would be too exposed sitting there all alone, and would someone steal it, or my sleeping bag?

So instead I headed for Riddley's (local supermarket) and had a hot, cheap chicken tortilla soup while standing at a high table in Dawson Taylor Coffee Roasters coffee shop.  $5.00 for dinner, not bad, especially considering tomorrow's chai latte and scone will be at least $8. 

After dinner, I found a green park with grass and stretched my legs a bit.  This park had a golf course, a skate park, little league fields, a swimming pool and playground.  Lots of families and kids enjoying sunset while watching their little ones play football.

Little tykes football practice at sunset in Winnemucca

I parked near the skate park and watched some shredding for a bit.  I find comfort in skate parks.  I used to take my boys to them when they were growing up.  I appreciate the skate culture because of my oldest son and I admire the complexity of the tricks.  In some ways it makes me feel at home.  We had a half pipe in our home in Danville when the boys were growing up.  Other than the next door neighbor complaining about the noise, it remans a great memory.

Skatepark in Winnemucca

Who would have known that at age 52 I'd be on a solo road trip, enjoying a skate park vibe in Winnemuca, Nevada, on the first of a 60-day road trip? !

My youngest son Sam (age 22) stopped by my home before I left.  He said,  "Jeez Mom, you turned 50 and are doing all kinds of adventurous stuff!"  I smiled inside.

Because truly, if I had still been married, I would have never entertained this as an exciting option.  I probably would have scoffed at any divorcee planning this kind of trip.  Oh, how life changes...

Day One!

Courageous or Ridiculous?

 

Tahoe Donner Alder Creek Campground and Sunset in Euer Valley, Truckee, CA

When I tell people I'm going on a two-month long road trip I get responses all over the map.  (Pun intended).  Here are some typical replies from family and friends:



Well, when I was younger that was appealing, but now a good vacation is sitting on the beach in Southern Cal for two weeks, doing nothing. 

What?! Alone? Oh Ker-ry, that sounds lonely and scary. Will anyone know where you are? 

A tent?  Are you crazy?  Any place I stay now has to have room service and a bar.

I'm worried about your comfort in a tent.  Will your back be ok?  Can you sleep in your car?

Wow, that sounds amazing!  You are so brave.  I wish I would do something like that.

Come visit us!  Make a plan to stop by and see us on your journey.

Where are you going?  You should visit __________ , and don't forget about _____________ , oh and also _______________ is a must see.

My door is always open if you happen to find your way this direction.

Do it now, while you are young and healthy enough, I wish I had done that ten years ago when I felt better.

Find some good Pickleball action along the way and come back and tell us how it is.

I'm going to miss you, do you have to go for so long?

Who is going to teach your yoga classes while you are gone?

You are doing some seriously fun things in your life right now!  I'm jealous.

Can I come?

To RV or Not to RV, That Is The Question

While I'm planning my trip, I've had to decide what vehicle to use for the adventure.  I started out thinking a Sprinter van would be fun, so I rented one through Outdoorsy for a weekend and went from Reno to L.A and back.

The road trip was great, but I decided this van was too big for one or two people.  When I looked in the rear view mirror, I saw way too much real estate between me and the back door.  It was also a bit difficult to handle in the wind, and finding ideal parking spots was a challenge.  Plus, it's expensive to rent!

Next I looked into smaller vans.  I test drove the Nissan NV200, the Dodge Ram Promaster which can be fitted out to a camper, and the Ford Transit Connect.  I liked the Ford the best.  Here is the Ford Transit Connect:

I really liked the way it handled on the road, I liked the size, and the seats could be completely folded down flat to the floor to make lots of room for a bed and storage.  I ultimately didn't buy it because I would have had to trade in my car, and when I came back from the trip I wasn't sure I wanted to have this van as my primary vehicle.  It is not an AWD vehicle.  I live in the mountains and need AWD in Reno.

The next progression was the idea of hauling a teardrop or small hiker trailer. 

I drove an hour and a half to Nevada City, CA to check out a place that rents teardrop trailers.  It was a windy, picturesque drive and the town is definitely worth a visit.  Here's a panorama overlook from that drive:

I didn't choose this trailer option because I would have had to install a trailer hitch on my car for about $600.  The trailer was going to rent at about $1500/month.  I decided that during the times I'm solo on my trip, the trailer would be difficult to maneuver by myself (parking, backing up, hitching).  I also didn't want to have my gas mileage go way down.  I wondered, too, if hauling something would put a lot of wear and tear on my car.  I also felt like the sleeping quarters were a bit claustrophobic.  And, it could break down by getting a flat tire.

Next, I got all psyched about a roof top tent for my car.  I found a place in Soquel called Tepui.  I went and visited the showroom.

                         

 

These roof top tents come in soft and hard shell varieties.  The hard shell ones are lower profile and sleeker when collapsed.  The soft shells have a high profile on your roof when collapsed.  They range in price from $1000 - $5000 depending on how fancy.  A major drawback for me was the fact that the tent has to stay on your roof for the whole season, it's not meant to be taken on and off.  When it's off the roof (during the winter season) it will have to find a place in my garage.

I also felt a bit claustrophobic in this tent, too.  And the ladder has to stay in place even when you are in the tent, so it's really not any safer from intruders than a regular tent on the ground.  And what if I needed to get a dog in this tent, how would she get in there?  The salesperson said I could put a blanket on my front hood and let the dog climb in from the windshield.  Really?  I guess some dogs would be up for that, but others may flat out refuse.

Entering and exiting via the ladder for humans also seemed a bit cumbersome.  What about those late night trips to the potty?  Could be dangerous.  I still think it's a very cool idea, however, and maybe someday I'll test one out for fun.

So after all that research while driving my dear friends and relatives crazy with my indecisiveness, I settled on a good old-fashioned, two-plus person tent from REI.

The last time I put up a tent was...never?  My ex husband used to handle that.  I did help him set up the tents, however, and it's so neat how the tent technology has improved from fifteen years ago.  I asked the long-haired, long-bearded REI dude to show me how to set the tent up in the store and then I came home and assembled it in less than seven minutes.  Yay!

After my first leg of the trip I may be wishing I had that roof top tent, RV, or tear drop trailer, but for now I'm happy with my decision.  I can't beat the price.  For under $500 I got a tent, 2 sleeping bags, 2 air mattresses and some camping kit.

Many of my retired yoga students come back from their camping trips in their Pop-Ups and RVs and say, "It sure beats tent camping."  I may have that attidude too, someday.  Heck, that day may be sooner than later, but for now, let the adventure begin...with a tent.  And, I reserve the right to stay in a hotel anytime I need a real bed and real shower.

Trekking Across America In My Crosstrek

The thought of a road trip across the country to visit family and friends and to see popular sites has fascinated me for a long time. I imagined doing this years ago with someone I was dating at that time who was a real outdoorsy, rugged, camper type. He was resourceful, adventurous, strong and fun. I pictured us in an RV traveling together, meeting up with friends and family, exploring gorgeous places and enjoying each other’s company along the way. And a dog. Maybe a dog was in this picture, too.

Fast forward to now and I still want to take this trip. But now I want to do it alone or maybe with just the dog. Well, not really alone, I want to invite friends and relatives to meet me in both wonderful and dull places or takes legs of the trip with me to keep me conversant, help me remember what I see and experience, and to keep me out of my own head a bit.

Why do the trip?

Because I can!

How many times have you promised yourself, “Someday I’ll take that amazing road trip and see all these people from my past I want to reconnect with?”

Well, I decided that day will be in September, 2018.

I found an old Atlas (remember those?), ripped out 2 pages of the entire USA, scotch-taped them together, added a 4” paper border and started plotting. I went through all my digital contacts (this was a good way to get rid of people I no longer am in touch with, to de-clutter electronically). I started making purple “x’s” on all the towns and cities where my people live. (This was another good exercise in the Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 friends and relatives weeding out process.)

Then I drew a pencil line from the purple “x” to the border, wrote names and places on the border and just sat back and soaked it all in. Ahhhh, this is kind of like FaceBook come to life. I get to actually GO to all these places I see my friends living in, but in Real Life. Remember that, real life?

While I’m away I want to write. I’m developing a theme to write about and discuss with people I meet across the country. It will become my writing project. Maybe it will be a short lived blog. Maybe a short novel? Maybe really long journal entries. Who knows? But I do know writing is a part of this trip. It’s therapeutic, it helps me remember my experiences, it’s good for my brain and it feels purposeful to me and my soul.

I’m giving myself two months for the adventure, but allowing that timeframe to change if needed. I am a yogi and this trip is really about living the yogi life and embracing each day, each moment as it appears on this journey.

And I do realize that each day in one’s everyday life is a journey and it’s a continual practice to try to live in the present. One doesn’t have to take a cross country road trip to do this, I’m just fortunate enough to have the opportunity to practice my yoga off the mat and on the open road for a few short months this fall.