There and Back Again

Jennifer and I returned from a 5200 mile drive, November 3 (election day!!!) to November 22 (Thanksgiving looming!), in my trusty 2020 blue Subaru Outback. We spent the first night with Matt and CB Smith (Rylin & Soren, too!) in Helena, MT.

The next morning, we drove to Salt Lake City, UT, where we had supper with Eric and Cherine Smith. Zion National Park was our destination the next day. WOW! It was an extravaganza of fall colors!! It was our first drive-by-shooting of several parks, but it was certainly one of the highlights of the trip.

We drove to Las Vegas, NV, where we had supper and a meeting with friends and co-workers (Grace) of Jennifer. Donna Smith, my sister, joined us that night in Vegas, where we stayed at the Boulder Station Casino. For brunch, the next day, we had sourdough waffles with Jennifer’s friends again. I was given a bit of sourdough starter, carefully dried in a piece of waxed paper. Then we headed off, going over the Hoover Dam (though unable to see anything because of concrete barriers), on our way to Flagstaff, where we had supper with friends.

Bright and early, we traveled about an hour and a half, for a very blustery, snow-flaky kind of drive-by-shooting of the most famous canyon in the country. We were covered head to toe for warmth, but were still able to witness the granduer of the Grand Canyon. We didn’t stay long because snow was moving in. The road to Flagstaff wasn’t that great and more snow was predicted so we only stayed there one night, instead of two.

We spent one night in Phoenix. The next day, we motored to Casa Grande convention grounds, where we had lunch with some of Jennifer’s coworkers. Then we headed to Tucson. We were able to drive through a cactus park, which was amazing, before going to the hotel by dark. The next morning (after spending a little time in a local quilt shop), we went to the Living Desert Museum. This was a little more than a drive-by-shooting because we were able to spend several hours out there. Beautiful. A coyote ambled by. Then we saw a cute family of quail bobbing through the parking lot. This is one place I would definitely like to go back to again, to learn about desert life (although more mountainous than expected), something I know little about. We drove to Gila Bend, which was one of the more interesting nights we spent, with aliens from outerspace, helicopters, trains and trucks.

We headed west through a corner of the Sonora Desert, where we turned onto a twisting side road, leading to the new Shelter Valley Convention. Interesting place! After lunch, we drove up the WINDING pass into San Diego, where we had supper with Diem Phuc’s family, and a study with more of the Vietnamese relatives that evening; then to our hotel late.

LA JOLLA BEACH, the next morning, we walked along the water; sigh, the ocean was a sight for road-weary travelers. Lunch was at a hidden Italian restaurant, where we started the meal with crusty bread and a sun-dried tomato spread, that I won’t soon forget. I plan to someday spend time in my kitchen trying to replicate that deliciousness. We drove to Orange County, where we checked into the Avenue of the Arts; more sighing; this was probably the loveliest place I have every stayed; Artdeco to the nines, regal setting and delicious food on a firepit patio. We picked up Edith Cunningham (Bill Smith’s 104 year old aunt) and went to supper at some of the Vietnamese friends. 104!, must be her west Texas upbringing!

The following day, Jennifer had lunch with Vietnames friends and Donna and I went to a nearby shopping center, where we ate a fabulous Chinese lunch, then we drove north to Inn at the Cove, an unexpectedly rustic night, but the ocean view was spectacular. A strong and high king tide had been pounding Pismo Beach but we still enjoyed walking along the coarse sand, and I have a petrified whale bone to show for it.

Sacramento was our next destination, stopping for lunch at a large truck plaza in the middle of nowhere, where I had the best nachos, ever; nothing like the usual. In Sacramento, we had supper with Robert & Elaine Peterson. Their son Trent was there with his girlfriend. Was great to see familiar Montana-rooted friends. That evening, we drove to Auburn.

Very early the next morning, Jennifer and I motored up Donner Pass, to Reno, then to Carson City for meeting; a wonderful time of refreshing. Then we headed to Lake Tahoe for another drive-by-shooting. I hadn’t expected for there to be a good size town along the southern shore. We had tasty Argentinian Empanadas along the wharf. We drove around the west side of the lake, up a pass to the town of Donner, arriving back at Auburn for a second night.

Day 10, we took Donna to the Sacramento Airport to return to Calgary. Jennifer received word that there were too many friends sick with covid in the area we had planned to visit, so we quickly switched directions, taking 101 toward the northwestern California coast. We saw evidence of the fires that had burned through the area recently. We made it to Eureka, where we had supper in a vintage house near the bay. We spent three nights in a Best Western that had lovely landscaping and was comfy, while we waited for rainy weather to clear out of Northern California. and Oregon.

We finally headed north on Thursday, Nov 18, where we stopped for lunch in Crescent City, at the same place where we ate 5 1/2 years ago, when Nancy was with us. While the food wasn’t anything to write about, the view of the harbor and the sights and noise of the sealions were well worth the stop. Then we drove into Oregon, along the coast, with stunning views of the rocky coastline. We made it into Dexter, OR in a bit of fog and dark, where we had supper with my brother, Richard, who is staying with his son, Michael and his wife Ashley, and their three adorable sons. Was good to be with them.We stayed in nearby Eugene that night.

We only had a little fog to deal with the next day, but on the drive to Portland, the fog lowered, giving us only a few glimpses of the orchards, vineyards and fields along the way. We wound our way past Portland downtown, still lightly foggy, where we started our long drive along the Columbia River. Thankfully, the fog lifted and we were able to see the wide expanse of the mighty Columbia. It was dark when we arrived in Spokane, WA.

Eastward into Idaho, and right past Lake Coeur d’ Alene, but not on the shoreline drive I expected – I missed the turn. It is still a beautiful area. It was as if the pull to get home had settled into our weary bones. We stopped in Regis, MT for lunch and some time in their spacious gift shop, which had some of the nicest “trinkets” we saw on the trip. We arrived in Butte, MT in early evening, the last night to be spent in a hotel, the same Hampton that Bill and Donna and I also stayed in three years ago, when we were on our way to Bill’s dad’s funeral.The last day on the road; we only stopped once, to get a few groceries in Bozeman, arriving in Billings about three o’clock; nineteen days later.

Home safe and sound for all the miles we drove, Covid snapping at our heels. We were out in the yard raking mountains of leaves the next day. But as I write about the adventure, I will be forever thankful that I have many new memories; new places we visited, and some I hope to to revisit; food we ate; but mostly, the people we spent time with. And now, I have a new/old sourdough starter coming to life again, that will hopefully provide bread for a long time to come, a delicious reminder of our amazing journey………………………………………………………………………………………….

There and Back Again (Bilbo Baggins, LOTR).