theoregontrail2024

[theoregontrail2024]

Final roundup

Total trip miles: 3696.6

Days on the road: 9

Flat tires: 1

Number of times pulled over for speeding and let off with a warning: 1

States we went through: 10 (NC, TN, AR, OK, TX, NM, AZ, UT, ID, OR)

Temperature range experienced: 35F (Unity Lake overnight) to 102F (Zion mid-afternoon)

Bugs squished on windshield: innumerable (sorry everyone)

Places we would very much like to revisit in the near future: Boise, Albuquerque & Santa Fe

Main takeaways: the sheer physicality of how far Durham is from Portland, driving for long hours is stressful and tiring, there’s never enough time to see and experience everything you want to, the desert awakens a special part of the soul, and nothing beats the comforts of home.

[theoregontrail2024]

The way home:

We see the Kam Wah Chung heritage site in John Day (a thriving Chinatown once stood here!), venture to the Painted Hills, and finally arrive to Portland. Today we passed through 4 National Forests and 1 National Grassland (Wallowa-Whitman, Malheur, Ochoco, Crooked River, Mt. Hood) - from sagebrush seas to dense evergreen forest. Our beloved cat is so excited to see us, and the apartment never felt more spacious after all those hours spent in the car. We made it!!!!!

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The day we cross into Oregon:

Bye bye Utah! Idaho comes with truckloads of potatoes and onions, and a gas station chain called Stinker (skunk logo and all)! We walk along the Boise River Greenbelt and gaze wistfully at BSU undergrads zipping by on e-scooters and bikes. Could we have enjoyed going to school here? We like the pace of this town.

We take I-84 W to US 26, the road we will take through most of Oregon. Our lodgings for the night are at Unity Lake State Recreation Site (a rustic cabin with picturesque lake views) and it is a sweet sweet relief to know we’ll be home the next day.

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Notes from the land of Mormons:

The 80mph speed limit is unnerving. Lots of temples along the freeway. We arrive exhausted into SLC. The Chinatown Supermarket and hotel-adjacent Thai food boost our spirits. It’s exciting to see so many Asians! Is this what San Francisco is like? We are enthralled by the not so distant rainclouds hanging above the valley.

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Our recipe for having a good time at Grand Canyon - North Rim and Zion National Parks:

Ingredients:

Annual parks pass

One cute jellycat orange

Lots of water and sunscreen

Intrepid spirits

Moderate to severe homesickness

Directions:

Part I

Meet up with Anna and Andre (Steven’s sister and dad) in Flagstaff, who are running the Rim-to-Rim the next day.

Pack 4 people and all the necessary camping gear into one civic hatchback. It’s a tight squeeze!

Drive to North Rim campground, through 100+ degree desert temps. Stop for sightseeing at the historic Navajo Bridge over the Colorado River bridge on the way.

Pass through the scenic Kaibab Plateau, marveling at the yellow aspen groves and bison at golden hour. Quite the burn scars too (Warm Fire of 2006).

Make it to the campsite just in time to catch the most glorious sunset in the canyon.

Cook up a scrumptious camp dinner of salmon, couscous, and a salad kit, acquired from the Flagstaff Sprouts.

Stargaze, then early to bed, for Anna and Andre are starting their arduous journey before sunrise.

Part II

Greet the day early on Saturday, National Public Lands Day 2024! See off Anna and Andre at the North Kaibab trailhead, where they have ~23 miles of canyon traversing ahead.

Catch the sunrise, spread ashes, pack up camp, see an old fire tower, and drive to Zion.

Get overwhelmed by the crowds entering Zion (it is a fee-free day after all) as well as the awe-inspiring scenery. It feels like too much to take in.

Decide to skip the heat and keep pushing forward to the next campsite at Lava Point (a much quieter side of Zion NP). Enjoy the solitude, aside from curious elk and grouse(?). Check out the Lava Point viewpoint. Yet another awe-inspiring view!

Sleep 10 hours, wake up, and head out to Salt Lake City.

[theoregontrail2024]

Santa Fe was a delightful whirlwind. We started the day with a morning hike up Sun Mountain and we were definitely feeling that ~8,000ft elevation! Next stop was the Santa Fe Botanical Garden, which featured a sculpture exhibit and agave death bloom. The afternoon brought us to the tourist trappings of historic downtown. So many sights to see, and if only we had a week to spend here! Next time we will visit the cat cafe and perhaps take the train up from Albuquerque.

At nightfall we arrive in Gallup, another historic town. After that, we head for Flagstaff and stop briefly at Petrified Forest National Park on the way. The sights are so grand, and yet we miss home so much!!!

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From the heartland into the southwest:

Some historic Route 66 sights, lunch in Oklahoma City’s Asian district, and a brief stroll in the historic tree-lined Mesta Park neighborhood.

Windmills line most of the journey through oklahoma and the texas panhandle.

Our first flat tire!! A disconcerting experience. We were unfortunate enough to get punctured by some sort of screw hanging out on the freeway, and we were losing air fast. Fortunately this happened close enough to a resourced exit and the good people of K&S Tire in Clinton, OK had us back on the road in no time.

Tucumcari Mountain at sunset. Stunning.

The expansive Milky Way shines brightly above us as we venture deeper into NM. We pull over on Hwy 285 for the most lovely stargazing.

Next we explore Santa Fe!

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Our heartfelt thanks to Devil’s Den State Park for the lovely cabin!

The park is another piece of the CCC legacy. Modern furnishings included a TV, wifi, state of the art kitchen appliances, and an ultra high pressure shower. Safe to say we were very comfortable. Thunderstorms and attic rodent noises spice up the night.

A breathtakingly beautiful morning in the ozarks sees us out of Arkansas.

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farewell Tennessee

At the Parthenon and east bank of the Mississippi River:

The road persists, as do we.

It is depressing to think of all we do not see - the places, histories, and cultures that shape this land - hidden across time and space. We simply pass on by. But our own tiny corner of the universe grows ever closer!

Can you believe we’ll be in Santa Fe tomorrow?

[theoregontrail2024]

Bittersweet morning heading out, though we are excited for the adventure ahead.

Notable sights/stops from the first day on I-40:

That giant Confederate flag near Morganton - it was weirdly soothing how some things never change.

Blue Ridge Parkway Visitors Center - we hope to come back another time for peak leaf peeping

Dobra Tea on Lexington Ave in downtown Asheville - what a refreshing treat on such a toasty day! We strolled around the touristy shops and I thought that Asheville would be like if Eugene and Hood River had a baby. Something about the grunginess and gentrification.

The faintest glimmer of fall in the mountains east of Asheville

An exit called Buttermilk Rd!

A stretch break at City Lake Natural Area in Cookeville, where an urban forest champion is commemorated.

Reaching 42.8 mpg on our trusty little civic

Our first time zone change crossing into eastern TN!

Our lodgings in Nashville’s airport district in what could be perhaps best described as a ghost hotel: a deserted parking lot and abandoned lobby greet us, though the room is pleasant.

We head next to Nashville’s Rise biscuits, the Parthenon, and then Arkansas.

[theoregontrail2024]

Weekend in North Carolina!

Two full days together before embarking on the big road adventure. Saturday sights included Chapel Hill friends (both furry and human), the NC Botanical Garden’s annual sculpture exhibit, Thai food in Carrboro, and plenty of my mom’s home-cooked foods. Lovely sunny weather though a tad jungle-like to us.

Happy first day of fall on Sunday! Stevie craved a swimming hole, so we first headed to West Point on the Eno only to discover the river was running much too high and too thick with muddy mud mud. Oops! That would make sense given the abrupt heavy thundershowers overnight. We headed across town to the Farrington boat ramp access to Jordan Lake, which was delightful. Milk teas from milklab hit the spot too, as always.

Final evening at home with my parents: a fine seafood feast. We took the car out for a gas refill ($2.97/gal!!!) and explored the new elementary school in the neighborhood at dusk - it’s very fancy!

We hit the road tomorrow morning for Nashville, TN.