About the only word we could find to describe the part of Idaho we traversed is:  DESOLATE!  And we ran from the Wyoming border to within 50 miles of Boise - straight across the heart of Idaho on 2-lane highways.

From Jackson, WY, we followed the Snake River as it meandered into Idaho.  Right after we crossed the state line, we ran upon Palisades Reservoir, a huge lake some 30 miles long that was made by damming the Snake River as it dropped out of the mountains into the fertile flatlands of east Idaho.  Little did we know that for the next 50 or so miles all we'd see was wheat fields as far as we could see all the way to Idaho Falls.

        But, if we thought South Dakota was desolate, it was nothing compared to Idaho west of Idaho Falls.  Remember, we're making this trip across the US at 55mph.  So far, we've driven 2,989 miles in the RV and less than 500 of them were on interstates.  So, we've really seen everything that's behind us.  And in front of us was Idaho, desolate Idaho.

        Our goal for the day was the Craters of the Moon National Monument; so, we left Idaho Falls on US 20W.  Little did we know we were heading out through a dry desert-like landscape.  The only thing we saw for 70 miles was tumbleweed and more tumbleweed.  We drove through the Idaho National Engineering & Environmental Lab (INEEL) of the Department of Energy, a huge, open area encompassing several thousand acres.  Every exit off the highway was to an experimental station - security gates, chain link fences, guard towers; we're talking the Roswell of Idaho!

        And we came across the Big Lost River.  Because of the amount of volcanic activity in Idaho, the Snake River goes underground for about 120 miles because it can't get through the lava beds.  The Big Lost River loses all its water into sink holes underneath the lava and feeds the Snake.  When we saw it, the Big Lost was empty because its water was being diverted for irrigation, something we saw lots of all across the state.  But, when they're not diverting the water, it runs directly to the sink holes out in the 'desert'.

        While in the 'desert' around INEEL, we stopped at an information center and learned that more nuclear reactors were built in those INEEL facilities than anywhere else in the world, 50 in all!  Plus, the entire area was saturated with weather monitoring stations.  Really weird!  And out in the middle of nowhere, we ran into the little town of Arco, Idaho which has a unique distinction:

        Then, about 30 or so miles down the road, we finally got to the Craters of the Moon National monument.  We had thought the Badlands over in South Dakota were the worst terrain around.  WRONG!  At least you could traverse them, not the craters area.  This is an area of tremendous volcanic upheaval.  The earth's crust is especially thin here and every thousand or so years there's tremendous volcanic activity that turns this area into several thousand acres of molten rocks.  Stories left behind by settlers who tried to cross them tell the story: DESOLATE!  And it goes on forever.  Oh, its been 2,000 years since the last eruption.  So, another could happen any time.  They're constantly monitoring the area with seismic equipment so sensitive it can pick up earthquakes as far away as the California coast!

        And then from the craters to Mountain Home there was nothing except prairie, mountains, high winds, and rain!  But, it was all worth it.  We both decided this was one of the best days yet, the scenery was so changing in its scope.  

        But, where do they grow all the potatoes?

Day 24 (Tuesday, 11 May):  40's, Overcast w/rain showers.

        Last night we stayed at the Mountain Home Air Force Base FAMCAMP.  Its the second FAMCAMP we've visited on the trip; and again we're completely satisfied.  Once again, as we ate dinner, Jerri commented on how much more safe she felt in a FAMCAMP as compared to a commercial RV park.  That plus the sites are much larger than anywhere else we've stayed.

        After doing some cleaning in the RV, washing clothes, shopping in the commissary, we headed to Boise, about 60 miles away, to visit with bob M

        We talked MG's, Austin Healeys (Bob's an AH guy but we forgive him), kids, travel, careers, and everything else you can think of.  Being all of about the same age and background, we quickly found we had lots in common.  Dave and Marlene have driven many of the Alaska highways we're planning on driving so their input was most valuable;  Bob has a neat MGB GT with some very useful modifications - you guys need to go to his web site to read about how he solved his heater control problem as its probably the best modification I've see yet.  Sally and I had fun printing photos off my digital camera on her neat little photo printer (yes, Sally, I'm buying one when I get to Seattle!).  Before we knew it 3pm had become 10pm and we were all beat; yes, and a bit relaxed from the wine, beer, shrimp, spaghetti, etc.  Heck, Bob even got me to drink a can of Lipton's sweetened ice tea with lemon - we don't have anything like it in the South!  And we figured out that my MGB has been off the trailer in Memphis, TN, Lake of the Ozarks, MO, Leavenworth, KS, Rapid City, SD (500 miles!), Hardin, MT, and Jackson, WY

        Jerri and I walked out to the RV, crawled into bed and went to sleep parked in front of Bob's house! 

Day 25 (Wednesday, 12 May): 40's, Overcast with rain & hail.

        How do you say goodbye to people who you've come to like so well, so quickly?  You stick to your schedule, that's how!  About 8am we awoke and after saying goodbye, we headed out through a morning shower.  But not before stopping at a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop for a breakfast of hot, right off the conveyor belt doughnuts!  Then, it was on to Baker City, Oregon.

        Dave had told us about the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Baker City, OR.  Guys, go out of your way to visit that museum!  It is the best thing we've seen thus far!  With interactive displays, we followed a family of pioneers along the 2000 mile trek across the US via the Oregon Trail.  And the museum sits directly astride the trail!  You can even see the ruts made by all the wagon wheels so long ago.  Makes you respect them much more and appreciate our way of travel even more.

        Soon, however, we were having a light lunch of coffee and pie in the historic Geiser Grand Hotel where we linked up with Simon Clowes (we've entered the Pacific Time Zone so it was probably a light brunch back home).  What a neat old 1800's renovated grand hotel of the plains.  It was the third hotel west of the Mississippi to have an elevator back then!  And the entire ceiling is stained glass!  Theodore Roosevelt and the cast of "Paint Your Wagons" are just a few of the 'somebody's' who've stayed there.  And its woodwork is absolutely to be seen.

        We followed Simon to his home where we spent a most enjoyable afternoon with his wife, JoAnne, their daughters and son-in-law (there's a grandbaby on the way!).  I now know how a girl from Florida met a guy from Australia, got married and ended up in Baker City, Oregon; but, Simon will have to tell you that story himself.  We visited with 'Bonnie' and 'Clyde' his MGB and MGB GT; and Simon, his son-in-law, and I discussed their plans for turning the GT into a racer.  They're diligently converting it right now - the roll cage and racing seat will come from Brandon's old racer.

        Did you know you can't pump your own gas in Oregon?  Yep, their youngest daughter explained that state law precludes it because Oregon wanted to keep some minimum wage jobs.  So, at every filling station, there's a guy or gal who runs out to pump your gas!  Before we knew it, Jerri and I were both feeling the miles we've put behind us and were ready for an early night; so we headed down the road to an RV resort and called it a day.

        I know, I know.  I should've updated our travels back in Boise.  The only places I've not been able to get on the internet were Lake of the Ozarks, MO, Yellowstone (heck, there was NO telephone service at all there - can you hear me?), and the Baker City, OR area!  Oh well, maybe tomorrow night in Pendleton.

Day 26 (Thursday, 13 May): 60's, Sunny.

        We arrived in Pendleton in time to park the RV at Chris Roop's house, unload the MG and have lunch at the casino on the Indian reservation.  After that, we toured the museum on the reservation and wandered around, enjoying downtown Pendleton until Chris got home from school (5th grade teacher).  We visited the Pendleton mill store and saw that we wanted to go back tomorrow to tour the mill itself, though the prices in the store are no different than in any store across the US that sells Pendleton products (our 1st Pendleton let down!).

        A great evening with Chris and Jane - steaks, potato salad, asparagus, and super, local beer!  Then, it was off to bed so we could get an early start in the morning.  Oh, Verizon internet service still doesn't work in Oregon!

Day 27 (Friday, 14 May):  80's, sunny, Shorts Weather.

        We started our day with the early morning Pendleton Mills tour - don't waste your time on it!  Nine minutes after the tour guide issued us our headsets, we were turning them back in to her!  We saw a couple of machines making blankets - big deal!  You can skip the Pendleton Mill (our 2nd Pendleton letdown!).

        Then, we dropped by Chris' school were we spent 45 minutes talking with his class about our trip and other parts of the world we've visited.  They seemed enthralled and had lots of questions about the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Desert Storm - we just bounced around everywhere depending on their questions (one was poignant: "Why are you making this long trip?" From the mouths of babes!).  One thing I was impressed with, though the school is definitely poorer than any in Madison County, Alabama, was that the Indian tribe had placed a social worker in the school to monitor their students' attendance, success, and problems.  We spent the recess period talking with her about her duties and responsibilities to the 130 Indian students at the school (K-5).  Why can't I get away from classrooms?

        We, in Alabama, think our schools are poor.  NOT!  Oregon has such a financial problem that many of their schools are only in operation 4 days of the week!  As we went through Hermiston, we learned that the schools were closed on Friday as in many cities around the state.  And, in Madison County, we're busy building new schools everywhere when, in Oregon, some of the schools are older than our oldest but aren't programmed for replacement anytime in the near future.  Heck, in Chris' school we walked through the gym around lunch time and saw that it had been converted to a dining room for the little kids who were getting their meals from a temporary salad bar on the hardwood floor!

        After our school visit, we experienced the highlight of our day - the Pendleton Underground Tour!  Man, its right up there with the best of them!  Our guide for the hour and 45 minute tour was quite the storyteller which enhanced our experience.  You've gotta experience Pendleton underground during its rough and tough pre-WWII days.  Brothels, opium dens, underground speakeasies, its all there in its gritty truth.  Actually, one of the brothels was bricked up back in the early 50's and not opened until recently.  So, everything is just like it was when the town closed the madam down.  Interesting but sad; sad to really see how those ladies lived.

        We got some bad news from Chris this morning, and some good news.  The bad news was that Gary Lloyd, who we were going to spend a weekend with on Vancouver Island and who had planned a weekend drive up into the mountains near Vancouver for us, died Wednesday.  Though he fought valiantly, his cancer overpowered his gumption.  But, the good news was that Dick Price had called Chris to see if we were going through his hometown, Hermiston, OR.  Well, we quickly changed our plans and made Dick & Peggy's place a stop on 'theAutoist Tour'; and were excited to learn that they, and Chris and Jane would be meeting us in Vancouver for 'Gary's Run'!  After a super afternoon visiting them and looking their beautiful '66 MGB over, we ended up in Washington's wine country, Prosser, WA, where we're enjoying a bottle of wine while Jerri prepares dinner.

        Tomorrow?  Who knows?  We want to tour all the wineries in the area.  So, its probably gonna be an MG top down day.  All I know right now is that, after Jerri's dinner of fresh fried squash, cole slaw, potatoes cooked with ham & black eyed peas (menu for you, Jeff!) we're hitting the hot tub!

Day 28 (Saturday, 15 May):  AM: 70's, Sunny; PM: Cooler & Rain

        In addition to fruit and grapes, we also found a thriving vegetable enclave. The crop of the day was asparagus so Jerri stopped by a stand and bought a few pounds that were picked this morning which we'll have for dinner tonight.  A couple of ways they prepare asparagus around here are new to us.  One is 'french fried asparagus', the other is 'asparagus rafts'.  The first is easy to prepare, just roll asparagus in batter of choice and deep fry.  Any true Southerner can figure that out.  The second is a bit tricky, so here's the recipe (I do these for Shannon):

        From Yakima to Ellensburg where we stopped for the night, we were either climbing or dropping off high points, and none of the climbs or drops were nearly as high as when we'd crossed the Rockies - they just went on forever, 32 miles to be exact!  All-in-all, we only moved 90 miles closer to Seattle but we actually drove around 200 miles through the vineyards, etc.  But, what the heck?

        Oh, are we being gouged by the gas companies?  YES!  "How do I know?" you might ask.  Well, when we pulled into Ellensburg, the Exxon station directly at the interstate exit off-ramp was selling regular gas for $2.295 a gallon.  Two blocks into town, another Exxon was selling it for $2.179 a gallon.  The Shell across the street was $2.195, and an off-brand right beside the second Exxon was $2.169.

Day 29 (Sunday, 16 May):  50's, Cloudy w/Showers

        We've seen the Pacific!  Well, at least Puget Sound!

        As we left Ellensburg this morning for our drive over the Cascade Mountains, the rain was coming down steadily.  However, just as we began our climb into the mountains, the skies cleared and offered us a gorgeous view of - what I'd forgotten - were some of the most beautiful mountains on the West Coast.  By the time we'd reached Snoquamie Pass (EL 3022), the clouds had dipped down to touch us.  What a sight!  The greenest of greenery on either side of the highway, perfectly white clouds with holes for viewing the mountain peaks, and a little snow still on the slopes.  And, as if on schedule, the rain returned once we were near the western feet of the mountains, for just a little while and then things were clear and sunny all the way to the FAMCAMP at McChord Air Force Base.

        Finally, we had reached I-5 and the Tacoma area.  And, like clockwork, after an almost uneventful trip across the continent, one of my new car trailer tires just separated - poof!.  Why?  Who knows.  Yesterday when I did a walk-around, all the tires on the trailer and RV were fine and showed no wear whatsoever.  they've only got the mieage from home to here on them; so, I must've run over something - that or there's another problem I can't yet diagnose.  Tomorrow while we're doing maintenance on the RV, I'll have a new tire mounted.  And I'll replace the lug I broke on the side of the interstate while changing the tire.

        And I got back on the internet.  Seems the Verizon system towers in Idaho, Oregon and eastern Washington aren't set up for internet support.  I've been trying to hold off using AOL so I'm 5 days behind in my email.  376 messages!  350+ were spam!  When will we ever get rid of those predators?

        We hit the commissary and loaded up on all the things we'll need for our trip across Canada.  We'll have to buy fruits, eggs, and meat after we cross the border as they're not allowed to be imported from the US; but, that's no big deal.  The next few days are just relax time!  We're parked under a canopy formed by 60 foot high evergreen trees.  The moss is vivid green and the air smells of that fresh rain forest aroma.  The only bad thing about the park is that my satellite TV doesn't work; so, no Sopranos or Deadwood!

Day 30 (Monday, 17 May):  60's, Sunny.

        Today was a maintenance day.  We had the RV's oil and filter changed as well as some repairs completed.  We left home with 52,033 on the odometer and arrived in Tacoma, WA at 55,741 miles, 3,708 across country.  Just meandering around on 2-lane highways at 55mph.

        Back in South Dakota we ran into some horrendous winds that did a bit of damage to the RV.  The winds took out our 19' awning, shower vent and Fantastic Fan (an automatic fan in our living room that senses rain and closes if necessary).  I taped the awning down, put a bowl over the shower vent to keep the water out, and taped the Fantastic Fan down so it wouldn't flap.  We contacted USAA, our insurance company, and Camping world in Fife, WA and explained our situation.  Camping World was great and had a complete new awning, a complete shower vent, and the top for our Fantastic Fan on hand when we arrived today.  USAA sent an appraiser out to Camping World to meet with us and handle the transaction.  

        We had a 1pm appointment.  Our insurance adjuster, Jeff Pearson, met us a few minutes before our appointment, climbed on top of the RV, took photos and found that, in addition to the damage I had found, we also needed a new refrigerator vent.  He authorized the repairs; and we now have a new awning, a new shower vent, a new top for our Fantastic Fan, and a new refrigerator vent - all for our $50 deductible!   By 5pm we were back at the McChord AFB FAMCAMP.

        Oh, while we were waiting for Camping World to finish the repairs, we walked down the street to a little hamburger joint where we had the best hamburgers and fries on the trip!  I'm talking greasy hamburgers, hand cut fries, and the best shake with real strawberries I've ever had!  There was no dining room, we ate outdoors in a park-like setting and shared our fires with a band of beggar-like birds.  The line to place an order was unbelievably long and never got shorter while we were there.  I'm telling you - their strawberry milkshake was to die for!  We learned about it from the folks at Camping World; and when we told them we were walking down, they all wanted us to bring a milkshake back to them.

        And, then tonight, Jerri made Bob Muenchausen's famous spaghetti (thanks, Bob!  It was great!  But, she modified it with spicy Italian sausage) for dinner!  And we polished off a bottle of our Yakima Valley wine!  This is a chance for us to relax and rejuvenate before tackling the Alaska Highway! 

Day 31 (Tuesday, 18 May):  70's, Sunny.

        A top-down day just made for exploring the "The Narrows" area of Puget Sound!  The sun was out, a calm wind rustled the evergreens, and the ocean was a sparkling blue.

        But first: before we left home, we made a deal with our Postmistress.  When we call, she forwards all our collected first class mail to the address we provide.  I called her yesterday and gave her the General Delivery address here at McChord AFB; and today we had a big envelope of mail - the modern way to keep up-to-date with what's happening back home.  And she always sends it via overnight mail.  Bet big city post offices won't do that for you!

        But, back to today's events.  After a relaxed morning, the first thing we did was stop at one of my favorite hamburger hangouts in South Tacoma, Red Robin's, for one of their great burgers and fries lunches (Jerri of course, eating healthy, only had a bowl of onion soup.  Then, it was over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge for some sightseeing.  Gig Harbor, Fox Island and the surrounding area were our targets for the day.  With its little shops tucked into every nook and cranny, Gig Harbor almost had a California air to it; however, its quaint waterfront could've been lifted right from the New England area.  But, the lighthouse protecting the entrance to Fox Island was right off the eastern seaboard.  And the rhododendrons are the size of small trees and completely covered with blooms - in various shades and colors.

        Then, on the way back to the RV, we stopped by a Borders bookstore for some coffee and iced tea.  Their magazine selection isn't nearly as good as Books 'a Million but it kept us busy for an hour or so!  Right now, we've opened a bottle of Chardonnay and put Sleepless in Seattle in the VCR.  Jerri's on the sofa under a blanket, I'm sprawled out on the floor; and tomorrow we'll visit the floating houses, farmers market, and the lake areas of Seattle that were in the movie.  Jerri also wants to visit the Bellevue Mall - must be a Talbot's there!

Day 32 (Wednesday, 19 May):  60's, Overcast.

        Well, we had a great time today.  It was long (we just got in at 7pm) and traffic was terrible; but, Seattle is a neat city.  Parts of it reminded us of San Francisco, parts of New York, and others were definitely Seattle-unique.

        Our first stop was the Pike Place Fish Market.  The whole market area has a real carnivale feel to it.  There's a park area, the fish market itself and then a whole waterfront area of neat little shops.  Were it not for the hills, you'd think you were somewhere on the California coast what with the street musicians, jugglers, guys selling silver and watches on the street corners, and artists with their paintings hanging on fences.  The whole place was bustling with people of all persuasions.  And the first Alaska Copper River salmon of the season were on ice!

        After hanging out in the park with the freaks (oops, unique individuals) and window shopping, we wandered through the the fish market until we found Lowell's, a quaint restaurant that straddles all three floors of the building with wide views of Puget Sound and Vashon Island.  Here's the view we enjoyed as we savored our fresh Alaskan Cod.

        From downtown Seattle, we headed over to the Lake Union area of the city in search of houseboats; and, man, did we find them.  There's a whole community floating out there.  We both decided we could live that life - if the houseboats were on the Gulf Coast!

        Finally, we drove over to Bellevue through the central part of Seattle between Lake Union and Lake Washington.  Bellevue is a beautiful city on a ridge overlooking Seattle from the east.  With the greenest landscaping you've ever seen, Bellevue reminded us of Mountain Brook or other upscale communities.  When we got there, we spent a few hours in Bellevue Square, the mall Jerri wanted to visit.  After shopping (yep, Talbots!), we had dinner and made the 60-or-so mile trip home in the carpool lane.  Hey, there were 2 of us in our MG!

        Its time to head for Alaska!