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Days 1-3Tuesday, September 5, 2000. Mount Hood wasn't going to say goodbye to me today. As I drove east out of Portland, the sun was shining, but there were enough clouds to completely obscure the mountain. By the time I reached the Dalles, though, the sky was clear and bright. And suddenly Mount Hood appeared in my rear-view mirror telling me it would be there when I return in November. Throughout the day the scenery and the weather - and the colors - kept changing: the blue-green waters of the Columbia River, the gray-green forests on an overcast day, the gold mountains on the Washington side of the river, and the black and white mountains to the south of Baker City. Although it was a long driving day, the view kept me entertained the whole way. I'm spending the night in Nampa, Idaho, between the Oregon state line and Boise. Tomorrow it is on to Utah. Wednesday, September 6, 2000. Another day on the road enjoying the changing scenery. Weather was glorious. One little sight-seeing stop at the Malad Gorge State Park near Bliss, Idaho. Tonight I'm in Brigham City, Utah. I'd hoped to make it a little farther, but I want to be well-rested when I brave the ripped up roads of Salt Lake City (they're getting ready for the Winter Olympics.) I hope I get some rest. My economical motel room has ... character. The whole width of the room - about 30 feet - is a wall of windows. There is nothing but drapes, glass and about 8 feet of sidewalk between me and a busy, 4-lane thoroughfare. Thursday, September 7, 2000. Had planned to spend the night in Grand Junction, Colorado, but I only made it as far as Green River, Utah. The scenery has been so spectacular that I wanted to enjoy it. I kept stopping and taking pictures. Also, this change in plans will give me the opportunity to drive through Arches National Park in the morning when I am refreshed. Once again I am staying in a place with lots of character. (Character can also translate as an interesting aroma.) This room has so much character it doesn't even have 3-prong outlets, so I am running my computer on the battery. For the past two nights I have been unable to get onto the internet. The dataports and other features don't work as advertised. I'll try again tonight. Wouldn't it be a hoot if I can dial in from a room where I can't even plug in the computer! (It worked!) |
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Day 4Friday, September 8, 2000. Today was a hard-driving day. I got up early and headed straight to Arches National Park. Incredible scenery. Massive natural sculptures in all directions. Even after leaving the park the scenery continued to thrill. But it was already noon and I had a long drive ahead to get to Denver. The drive got longer and harder when I reached Grand Junction, Colorado, and the sky fell in. The state was finally getting much-needed rain -- all at once. I had to slow down to avoid hydroplaning. It rained off and on much of the way to Denver. Finally reached Sandy and Holmes' house at 7:30 PM, just before nightfall. No driving for a couple of days. Just gabbing and eating and a trip to the Denver Zoo on Sunday. (No chimpanzees yet, but they do have gorillas.) |
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Day 6Sunday, September 10, 2000. Spent the day at the Denver Zoo with Sandy and her exchange student from the United Arab Emirates. We went first to primates, of course. Quite a variety of monkeys. Really liked the island exhibit for the hooded capuchins. Lots of trees and greenery. Very different from the old monkey islands that were little more than cement and sun. A pair of free-ranging golden lion tamarins in a grove of trees came very close to the public. A couple of orangutans were enjoying giant popsicles, and a family of gorillas sat inside instead of enjoying their large outdoor exhibit. The silverback was HUGE. The zoo was not at all crowded for a Sunday. We spent five hours there and saw just about everything ... well, just about everything that wanted to be seen. The sun was pretty hot, and we were all worn out by the time we headed home. I hear that I am heading toward even more heat as I go east. |
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