Cross Country Road-Trip Day 2-3 (July 3 and 4):

Burns, OR to Idaho Falls, ID.

 

          We got an early start on our second day since we had a long way to go.  We washed up, packed up the trailer and had a hearty breakfast at the local diner.  We continued on Highway 20 with the 9,845ft. Wallowa Mountains to our north and 9,733ft. Steens Mountain to our south.  We could sense we were gaining elevation as we passed through the Eastern Oregon Desert into the Blue Mountain high country.  We started off at an elevation of about 4200 feet at Burns and went up and down several ridges until we reached the Snake River basin.  It started off hot and got even hotter during our drive through the desert.  It was over 100° for most of the drive and the temperature topped off at 105°C.  Luckily we had air conditioning.

          After 130miles of driving, we reached I-85.  Once on I-85 I tried to keep the speed below 60mph since I can get 10MPG at 60 mph and am lucky to get 8mpg at 65 or 70mph, but we were getting hopelessly behind schedule.  I sped it up a bit and called my friend Mike Higgins to tell him we would be about an hour late.  The drive took us about 10 hours including our stops, and we were in Idaho Falls for a late dinner downtown by the river.  We ate at a nice outdoor brew-pub, and drove a few miles upstream to Mike and Linda’s house where we set up the camper.  We traveled 465 miles to reach Idaho Falls, and spent a total of $212.00 on gas on this day’s drive (51.79gallons at two fill-ups at $4.099/gallon).  Luckily gas prices were a little better in Idaho than in Burns.

          We spent July 4th at Mike and Linda’s on the river, which gave Nate a chance to fish.  Regretfully, the flow in the river was too high for Nate to have a hope of catching anything.  We did enjoy hanging out with our friends and watching the 4th of July fireworks in Idaho Falls, however.  Although Mike and Linda’s place was on the Snake River in Idaho, you would think you were in Santa Fe, New Mexico from the décor.   They had done a great job decorating and remodeling the place with a southwestern flair.

     

 Brian and Nate in Desert                  Eastern Oregon High Country

 

 

 

 

 

More Eastern Oregon High Country         Mike and Linda’s        

 

Leaving our Beloved Oregon           Entering Idaho