Summer 2025 - Driving to Oregon

 April 10 - 13, 2025

Matthew had already driven to Oregon in the RV with David Robinson as his travel companion. He has already been working as a volunteer at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area. I got on the road by 9:30 and headed north. 

The winds were incredibly strong, and the kayaks were buffeting around on the roof, so I stopped in St Joe and got some shelf liner to try to keep the foam blocks from moving and tighten things down more. Saw tons of sandhill cranes in a cornfield outside Kearney Nebraska but was unable to stop to take a picture. Here is one from the internet that shows some of what I saw, although there were no less than 60 in the field I saw.

Winds continued to be difficult throughout the drive across Nebraska, finally abating a bit as I pulled into Ogallala for the night. Spent the night at Travelodge - what a seedy place. The room was dirty, with a sticky drink ring on the bedside table and a brown ring in the toilet. The advertised breakfast was non-existent and there was no staff in the morning to be found. Grabbed an egg mcmuffin at McDonalds and headed off. 

Friday's drive was not any easier. At some point in Wyoming the car began to shake at high speeds and it steadily got worse. Thinking I had a tire out of balance, I pulled into a truck tire place outside of Rawlins. They didn't have the equipment to balance and referred me to places in Rawlins, but none could fit me in in a timely manner, so I drove another 100+ miles to Rock Springs where the mechanic at Les Schwab told me that the rear driver tire's tread was separating and needed to be replaced. A new tire and all 4 balanced and I was back on the road. Next gas stop I realized it had been a while since I checked my oil, and sure enough I was down. Added a quart and headed off again. No sooner had I exited the on ramp and reached highway speed than the car started to chime and the temp gauge was edging near the red. I quickly pulled over and waited a bit. Seeing no steam I limped to a truck rest stop and let the engine cool. Fortunately the air was also cooling and I was soon able to drive on to the next service area, which was a stressful 27 miles away. A gallon of coolant later, I was back on the road. Wyoming is gorgeous!

Unfortunately these car challenges slowed me down so the drive through the beautiful canyons to Ogden were traversed in the dark. Had a lovely room at the SleepInn in Ogden. 

After a good hot breakfast at the hotel I got an early start back in the road. 

View from the hotel in Ogden

Winds picked up again on the way to Boise but tightening the kayaks down again helped keep everything stable. 

The harvested fields were so bright against the darker backdrop, it almost hurt to look at it

The western part of Oregon is not like anything when imaging the NW. It was a desolate drive through high desert.

and then you get to the the Bend/Sisters area and things change into alpine loveliness

Mt Washington - on the opposite side of the continent from the Mt Washington I know in New Hampshire

McKenzie Highway

At Matthew's urging I imposed on Nate and Rux and spent the night at their place in Springfield rather than tackle the twisty roads over the hills to the coast. It wasn't much of a visit because I was rather ffried at that point, but it was lovely to see them nonetheless.