I got a lazy start to packing up at the Rocky Mtn Roll. It wasn’t just laziness on my part, but also practicality, since I was pretty much blocked in by tent campers where I ended up parking. But they were all packing and leaving, too, so by late morning I was able to maneuver onto even ground, load the bike, and go. This gave me a good chance to say “see you down the road” to people and swap contact info to keep in touch.
The first leg of the trip took me back to Missoula, which I’d ridden the previous day. In fact, I even pulled in at the same parking area we’d stopped to put on rain gear so I could make some lunch. I didn’t realize until after I was halfway done that a truck inspection officer was there doing his thing, weighing and inspecting trucks that came by, but his friendly hello told me it was no problem that I was there.
Missoula traffic was miserable. There’s no direct route to I-90, so everybody gets jammed up at a zillion traffic lights on city streets. It felt like it took as long to cross the five miles to I-90 as it did to make the drive from Corvallis to Missoula. But eventually I got onto 90 and had a wonderful drive across the rest of western Montana.
I was a little slow over the mountain passes, sticking to the speed limits or a little less the whole way. The van kept the gears low and the engine RPM high, but we had no trouble getting over the remainder of the Rocky Mountains, which had been my main concern about getting the non-turbo V6.
I fell victim to some tourist trap billboards and stopped in St. Regis to try a huckleberry milkshake, of all things. It was delicious!
Idaho
As soon as I crossed into Idaho, I drove into clouds, and soon rain. It’s amazing how fast the weather can change in the mountains. I crossed the skinny part of Idaho, which was mostly National Forest until I approached Coeur d’Alene, where I stopped for gas.
I had to visit three gas stations before finding one where my card worked at the pump. The problem was on their end, not mine. It was a built-up area with a lot of traffic, plus drivers blocking the left turns I needed to make. It wasn’t easy with the trailer, but I made it work.
My originally planned destination for the evening was Cracker Barrel in Coeur d’Alene. The problem was that thanks to the time change as I crossed into the Pacific time zone, it was only 2:30 pm. I felt like I could make better use of my time, plus Lister would get antsy being locked up in the van since he can’t freely wander a parking lot. The problem is that eastern Washington is a vast area with nowhere to legally park overnight. I’d planned the short day to Coeur d’Alene so that I could make the leap through this area the next day.
I did a bit more digging through my apps, and iOverlander showed a recently added listing for the gravel parking lot behind Country Mercantile, which was right along my route on US 395. It seemed to split the difference of the two routes nicely, and would end up getting me to my friends’ place earlier than expected. So I went for it.
Washington
It’s amazing how quickly the landscape transformed from mountains to high plains. Unfortunately, this is where the wind picked up, tossing me around the road. I had to slow down quite a bit so I could be sure I could stay in my lane, not to mention not tip the van or the trailer over. Ever since a sudden wind gust blew over a friend’s cargo trailer similar to mine, I’ve been paranoid about such things. (I have no pictures of this leg because I was concentrating on keeping the rubber side down.) This delayed my arrival time even more than not going the 70-75 mph speed limit did.
It got a bit easier once I pulled off I-90 onto US 395. It wasn’t as busy so I wasn’t holding up traffic, and my nose pointed into the wind in this direction. I was still running in seventh or eighth gear (out of ten) just to do 60 mph on flat ground, but at least I wasn’t getting pushed around as much. It was still tiring, though. Not only was the drive taking longer than I expected, the extra concentration required was wearing on me, too.
Around dinner time, I pulled into Country Mercantile. I went inside to check it out, and found all kinds of fresh produce and amazing snooty chocolates. I knew that if I bought any, they’d be gone way too fast, so I resisted. But I did take advantage of the deli counter to get an enchilada platter for dinner.
The food and the break from driving helped me a lot. I felt much better afterward. I tried to settle down to relax for the night, but my internet connection was so slow that it was virtually unusable. This was a situation where I’d normally just toss my Starlink antenna on the roof, but that’s not an option right now, which is precisely why I’m cannonballing to Oregon in the first place. It wasn’t just for my entertainment, but also to work the following morning. I checked my route, and the Walmart in Hood River, Oregon was only two more hours away. The wind had died down, and I was feeling refreshed. I decided to go for it, and give myself a short drive the next day.
At another gas stop in Pasco, I remembered how much more expensive gas is on the west coast. $3.99 a gallon was already much more than I’d paid back east, but $4.79 is pretty ridiculous. Still, all I have to do is get there, and then I can hop on my much more efficient bike to get around.
The next portion of the drive was quite pleasant, with no wind and little traffic. Before I knew it, I crossed the Columbia River into Oregon.
Oregon
I-82 soon brought me to I-84, a highway I’d always dreaded on its eastern end. It goes through Connecticut, straight through Hartford, and the big mess of New York City suburbs. The western end of I-84 is the complete opposite. I set the cruise control at 65 and enjoyed the sunset over the Columbia River Gorge, which I-84 winds along the southern side of. At times, Mount Hood towered in the distance, the first point on the west coast that I’ve seen before during last year’s visit to the Pacific Northwest.
I’ve also visited the Columbia River Gorge before, during last year’s stay in the Pacific Northwest. While I’m not quite back to specific places I’ve been before, I’m back in the general area. My final leg of this trip will bring me back to places I’ve already seen, completing the third leg of the Big Loop and my second cross country drive this year.
Suddenly, the wind picked up again, a headwind coming in from the west. I was so close to my overnight stop, but I had to drop my speed yet again and push my arrival time even later. I didn’t get to enjoy the drive through The Dalles and the rest of the gorge as much. While I would’ve normally enjoyed the sections where the westbound lanes of I-84 went literally into the middle of the river, I hated them now, because it took away any cover I might have had from the strong winds. Still, eventually I took the Hood River exit, found a Walmart parking lot filled with other vans and RVs, and called it a night.
I don’t enjoy putting down big miles like this. It’s tiring, sometimes stressful, and I miss almost everything along the way. The only reason I’m doing it now is because I’m on a mission to get to Cottage Grove and make a whole bunch of repairs and upgrades. Now that I’ve reached my second day’s destination on the first day, I’ll have a short drive to truly finish this leg of the trip, and can get started on my fixes, as well as catching up with my friends out that way.
I slept well, woke up early because of the time change, and found a local park to hang out at for a while. It’s a much more pleasant place to sit while I work than the Walmart parking lot. Lister deserved a break from riding in the van, too, so I took him for a walk. This shot has to go into next year’s calendar!
Smokey Da Van 