Date: Tuesday, September 4, 2018
Lee and I walked over to the Wagon Wheel for breakfast.
I WAS BUMMED TO MISS THE SHEEPDOG FINALS!
THE FOOD WAS PLENTIFUL, BUT NOT AS GOOD AS THE CANYON CAFE
THE HACIENDA MOTEL WAS PRETTY COOL
We stopped at the Ace Hardware and bought another 5 gallon gas jug, a pair of side cutters and three large zip ties. Using the heavy duty zip ties, the crate with the water in it was relocated to the trailer tongue so both gas jugs would fit in the trailer.
Location: Altruas, CA
Departure Time: 10:00 am
Starting Mileage: 26,451
RT 395 N was our road out of town. It was cooler than yesterday, but sunny, it felt good.
This is cattle ranch country, really beautiful.
CA CATTLE COUNTRY
Last night Lee and I both commented on the smell in the air as we rode to Alturas. It smelled a bit like eucalyptus. Today Lee got it, wild sage, it’s everywhere.
It was roughly 50 miles to the border. Breaking free from the California vacuum was a major milestone.
Once in Oregon the terrain began to change.
LAKE ALBERT – THE WHITE IS ALKALI
Getting to Riley seemed to take forever, but it finally appeared. We turned onto RT 20 E and headed towards Burns. As we entered the town Lee said to look for a barbeque place. After the breakfast we ate, I had other ideas. A Safeway appeared and I pulled into the lot. Greek salad and grilled chicken was lunch, it was excellent. The woman gave us extra chicken.
Leaving Burns we turned onto RT 78 and rolled on until it intersected with RT 95. On RT 95 N for about 15 minutes I was suddenly hit in the face by pieces of the sidecar windshield. The wind actually held them against my face so I reached up, grabbed them and tossed them to into the air. Lee was okay, but said the wind gust from the truck that went by twisted her helmet. It was a Chinese windshield so I wasn’t saddened by its sudden departure.
Somewhere we passed a sign stating that we were entering the mountain time zone.
We passed ranches with house sized piles of hay bales. The hay is cut then bailed green. If I hadn’t seen them on Google I wouldn’t have recognized the crop circles. Seeing them up close I realized that they were grass for cattle feed.
A CROP CIRCLE WITH BEAUTIFUL SAND CLIFFS IN THE DISTANCE
Finally it appeared, the sign we should have seen yesterday.
A WELCOME SIGN!
We weren’t home yet, but had another 50 miles to get to Rampa, ID.
Again we found ourselves traveling under the cover of darkness. We turned onto RT 55 N. The last few miles were pretty nerve wracking with high traffic and limited visibility.
A Super 8 was home for the night. The entire day I was looking forward to a good sit down meal and a cold beer. We pulled in at 9:30 and the only restaurant within walking distance was the Denny’s across the street. No thanks! Instead I walked to the gas station next door and bought a premade sandwich, a bag of chips and an IPA. Living large!
Our goal for tomorrow is Jackson Wyoming.
Adventures With Bubba 