Picabo, Idaho to Burns, Oregon

Sunrise this morning at the fisherman’s camp (courtesy of the state of Idaho) where we stayed last night. The ‘camp’ is beside a river which must be good for fishing. And it’s sort of squeezed between two huge fields of something that the farmer and his helpers started reaping this morning quite early. With really noisy machinery. No matter. I let Eliot under the sleeping bag and we dozed off for another hour not arising until 8:15am. The farmer and his gang were still at it. Last night we were also treated to the carryings on of a bunch of coyotes. They yipped and yapped during the early part of the night but then decided to go elsewhere.

We were back on Highway 20 continuing west towards the coast. At Mountain Home, Idaho we had to hop on the Interstate for an hour and a half to get to Ontario, Oregon where we were able to pick up R20 again. I stopped in Mountain Home for a snack and some coffee. On our way out of town, I saw a business that specializes in RV parts and decided to ask them about the awning on the VW. It came with the van and is quite effective at repelling rain and sunshine. However, it’s as old as the van (28 years) and I always ended up cursing and swearing (hard to believe, I know) when I had to pack it up. In Nova Scotia I had added some spacers to keep it from catching on the side, sliding door. I guess my engineering know-how is not so great because my modifications caused the two little feet that sit against the body of the van to break off. Metal fatigue??

In any event, the awning was now even more annoying catching on the sliding door. As I expected, the guy I talked to said it really couldn’t be fixed. So I decided to junk it. I asked if I could throw it in their dumpster. He helped me remove it and carried it to the dumpster for me. Now that it’s gone I’m convinced that the van rides better. (I’m not suggesting that I’m being logical.) But I’m glad the damn thing’s gone. Of course, a new one might cost several hundred dollars. I think I will come up with something involving a tarp.

We stopped in Ontario, Oregon for a little travel advice and got it from the dearest little old lady at the rest stop. I said I was thinking of taking route 20 all the way to the coast and she said she thought that was a great plan. The first third of the trip has us in Burns, Oregon at a very nice RV Park where I’ve just had my first shower since Sunday.

This morning there was still a lot of smoke in the air when we headed out. By late this afternoon and a third of the way across Oregon, the sky had actually turned blue rather than the grey we’ve had the past few days.

The trip from Ontario involved a couple of mountain passes: Drinkwater Pass (at around 4,200 feet) and Stinkingwater Pass at just over 4,800 feet. Burns, Oregon is on a high, desert prairie at around 4,000 feet.