Long-ass drive thru Wyoming. Trying to get to Cheyenne.

Out of Oregon (Sad Face)

Jo and I have landed in Boise, ID. Not much else to say there, so I'll recap the last few days.

On Friday, we re-routed our trip back towards our favorite place, Portland. We saw a whole other part of the city, including a Saturday Market which consists of great food, music, and local artists. There was so much to see, and I especially liked the glasswork and jewelry stands. I did some serious damage there. Even my cat got something.

On Sunday, we drove 3 1/2 hours east, to Tumalo Campgrounds. This site was about 5 minutes outside of Bend. It was our first camping since the Clam Beach/Tobeeeeeeeyyy Fiasco. What a difference at state and a place make! The weather was warm and dry. The grounds were clean. And the people around us were normal...like us. I had one of my best night's sleeping on this trip here.

Bend, in itself, is a cute town. It has one main street and 5 cross streets. It's got some serious money too. Jo and I walked the dogs around the town's park and then went to Deschutes Brew Pub for dinner. My favorite beer of all-time (that I discovered on this trip through Oregon), "Deschutes Black Butte", was being served..and I bought a 6-pack to go.*

*By the way, I realize I'm writing a lot about drinking. To be fair, I don't do this often, but I do appreciate good wine and good beer. Oregon's nickname is "Beervana", so it seems fitting I bring home the right souvenir for myself.

Jo and I both loved Oregon. In retrospect, I would've blown Vancouver off the map(if you work for National Security, I mean that figuratively) and spent more time exploring Oregon. It has so much to offer: coastline, metropolitan areas, wine country, high-desert...

I hope to return to Oregon someday soon.

In the meantime, Jo and I have just landed in Boise. I think it'll be a "night in" for us....we have beer in the fridge. (See * above.) Tomorrow, Jo and I hope to make good time and land in southwest Wyoming (for our last tent-night), near the Colorado border.

Joanna dropping cash like it's nobody's business, in Portland.


Heading towards Bend, we passed miles upon miles of burnt forest. The fire was in 2003 and burned 90,000 acres of the Deschutes National Forest.


Camping near Bend, OR.


This is what happens when you park your car under a tree overnight in OR.


Eastern Oregon

Boise, ID. Springhill Suites.

Setting up camp near Bend, OR. Gorgeous place!

Back in Portland, OR!

Jo and I made it to Portland last night around 7pm. What was supposed to be a 6 hr trip, ended up being almost 9 hours. We spent an hour at the US/Canadian border and then I-5 South in Washington State was backed up for 2 hours. The interstate was a parking lot. The only thing that kept us sane and from killing each other was the fact that we were going back to Portland.

Jo and I love this city. And to convince us even more, we had the most amazing dinner last night at a restaurant called VQ. Jo had a scallop plate (the scallops were the size of fists) and I had a Nicoise salad. I would've taken pictures, but it almost seemed insulting to photograph such beauty.

This morning, we're going to check out the Saturday markets, the Powell Bookstore, and then some local restaurants and breweries.

Tomorrow, onto Bend, OR for some camping.

Vancouver: The only thing wrong is all the Canadians.*

*We kid, we kid.

Some pics from Vancouver. Beautiful city. However, the traffic, over-priced amusements, bad coffee, (and did I mention mosquito bites?) wasn't what we were expecting.

Boat Houses


Downtown Vancouver


Mountains and Ocean surround the city


Can we go now?


Totem Poles


View from the Capilano Bridge


"Smile! You just paid $30 for this!"

USA! USA! USA!

We're going ROGUE*!

Here's our Vancouver experience:

$10 for Internet Access (at a 4-star hotel)
$15 hotel martini
$21 Nachos
$25 Breakfast (with crappy coffee) at a local bistro
$30 Capilano Bridge ticket (which was about $25 overpriced)
And lots of traffic and a crammed city vibe.

So, CHANGE IN PLANS. We're re-routing our trip and going back through Portland. ('Cause it's not only the journey, it's also the destination.)


Fri/Sat - Portland, OR
Sun - Bend, OR
Mon - Boise, ID
Tues - Green River, WY
Wed/Thurs - Denver, CO

*As I type, Jo and I are sipping down some Rogue Microbrews we got from Portland.