Today was full of many exciting crossings. We crossed the 45th parallel, which is halfway between the North Pole and the equator, we crossed into Mountain Time, and we crossed from Oregon into Idaho. I'd never been to Idaho before until today! Which is rather shameful, considering I've lived in either Oregon or Washington my entire life.
We started the day with a wandering tour through 'Historic Baker City'. The buildings were so amazing, all brick, with neat little finishing touches. I keep thinking I need to learn more architectural terms so that I can describe the buildings I really like in terms besides 'cool' and 'neat stuff on them'. One day.
After discovering that the bakery we'd been looking for had closed, we found a Safeway where we foraged for breakfast and then made it to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center by 10am. The center was very well done, and it had a lot of very interesting exhibits. One activity that the girls really liked was a miniature wagon with a bunch of blocks that were labelled with different things the pioneers might have wanted to take. They wouldn't all fit, so which should be taken? I couldn't do it. There was no way I could choose to leave the trunk of heirloom items behind! But the bacon, and the flour! And we'd definitely need the chest of warmer clothes.
I was totally feeling their pain, too, because I had to stand on the bumper of the car and bounce up and down on the trunk today in order to get it to close. I took everything out this morning too, and thought I was packing it more efficiently than I did yesterday morning, but I guess yesterday's configuration was better.
After walking through the center we watched a show by 'Buffalo Bill'. He played several different instruments and sang a bunch of songs. While it sounds like it could be cheesy, it wasn't. Two adorable little girls who must have been around four were sitting in the front row with us and one of them would spontaneously start dancing every now and then.
He sang one song about Lewis and Clark, and the way he described them, I was totally thinking 'sitcom!' Take two guys, one native american single mother, one cute kid nicknamed 'little pomp', put them all together in the wilderness and add a one-eyed guy who is, get this, the hunter for the group. In one episode, the hunter shoots one of the lead characters in the rear end. Hilarity ensues.
After leaving the center, we continued to drive down I-84, which goes through a lot of hills that look like they started out as piles of junk and then someone threw a big brown tablecloth over them and tucked it all in really well. And, for effect, tossed on a random tree here and there.
We stopped for lunch in Ontario, Oregon, which I was looking forward to because it was the first place we could eat at Sonic, whose cherry limeades and tater tots I quickly grew addicted to while in Texas last year. I even found it, and was v. proud of myself for navigating through a town I didn't know at all to find the correct address.
Then, it was closed. (Do you see a theme to the day, here?)
So we ate at the little hamburger stand across the street, which was good, and then were on our way to Idaho.
Comments from the girls when we crossed into Idaho: "Yay, we're in Idaho!"
Comments from me when we crossed into Idaho: "Yay, I can go 75!" Oregon's limit is only 65, so that was a nice change.
We used the AAA books to find our campground for the night, which has a pool, so the kids swam after dinner. It's really windy here, which made putting up our tent was quite exciting. I had to have the girls hold down the corners while I strung the poles through, and then the ground was really hard, so Abby borrowed a hammer from the neighbors so I could pound the stakes in. Usually, I wouldn't bother if it was that difficult, but I figured our tent would get to Utah before we did if I didn't.
Now the girls are done swimming, and we're in the tent with the wind blowing all around, debating about if we're going to go shower tonight or not. I think at this rate, we'll wait until morning. We're all feeling sort of settled in for the night at this point.
Posted by Rachel at June 25, 2004 10:32 PM