Who da ho? Idaho!

Don’t blame me for the title, this was Jim’s  joke for the rest of the day. He even  posted it on Facebook. Yeeks.

Abigail poses in front of the Oregon Trail kiosk

As we pulled out of the grand city of Umatilla, we drove through a little coffee stand right at the end of the alley behind the hotel. Java Junkies rocked! They were so friendly that they gave Abby a bone and even posed with Chickie Cookie. How’s that for service with a smile? The coffee was sweet ambrosia (I think we both ordered the special of the day, which was Almond Roca or something as decadent.) It was so good, we had the barista take her photo with Chickie Cookie.

We actually made it through Oregon and hit Idaho in the daylight! Woot! It was the most exciting thing we’ve done on this trip yet (I mean, besides the whole selling everything we own and heading, willy nilly, to another state…but you know what I mean…) We took a picture of the “welcome to Idaho” sign, we were that excited. Yes, I’ve been to Idaho many times before, just this time was extra special.

We stopped at the rest stop and read all the plaques about the Oregon trail. I love touristy things. Wish we would have done a lot more, honestly, but the cats might have exploded.

Abby dug the wind at the rest stop.

Oh, and the best part? As you can see from the photos, there was SUNSHINE!!!! It was still cold as ever, but at least we got to see the sky. First time in days.

"Now, how am I ever going to get my ball back?"

We decided to slow down a bit and take some time looking at the beautiful scenery. Abby really enjoyed the view from the bridge going over the Snake River Canyon.

The wind was still pretty crazy, but we were so happy to finally be in some sunshine. Still can’t take off our sweaters and socks yet, but I can smell it coming. Warmth…any minute now.

We also decided not to do to ourselves tonight what we did last night, and settle in around 9ish no matter where we were. We’ll find a nice, cheap, pet-friendly hotel and get a good night’s sleep after a hot, healthy dinner.

We talked and sang and took in the scenery as we drove. It was getting more desert-like, but no warmer. I don’t know who needed more potty stops – Abby or Jim – but it was nice to stretch our legs at the rest stops along the way.

As the night fell, our hot, healthy dinner turned into Burger King off the freeway at the gas station, and our nice hotel turned into a scary motel named after some guy (can’t remember the name, something like Oliver or Doug) that smelled like fish and had seagulls in the walled-off empty pool. Which is odd, considering we were mid-state and nowhere near a seafood place. But, it was super cheap, had a place for Abby to do her business, a mini-fridge, and the heater worked.

Honestly, the place was so scary that we both opted out of using the shower.

We’ll leave really early in the morning. We’re only cutting across the corner of the fine state of Idaho, then straight on into to Nevada. We’re not stopping until we hit Las Vegas!

Tomorrow: Vegas or BUST!