Eclipse Adventures part five

[fbhjr]

Google said the drive to where we were going to watch the eclipse should take 6 hours.
But, we didn’t know what the traffic would be like.
There were all sorts of doom and gloom predictions.
Infinite traffic jams, no gas, swarms of people everywhere.

The eclipse was Monday at 10AM. So, we left Sunday 6AM to make sure we got there in time.


Seattle seems to have a lot of traffic. But, even they don’t have too much at that time Sunday morning.


When we drove to Boston to start this trip, we drove on Interstate 90 through a tunnel.

Now, on the other side of the continent we started by driving on the same interstate through a tunnel.


But, they have more scenic bridges.


And, better mountains.


It was strange for us seeing the sun come up over the mountains. Where we are the sun comes up over the sea and down inland.


Less traffic that feared, but still well away from the zone.


The mountains are very impressive, but a bit claustrophobic looming over you.


Still, a nice drive.


As we drove on, it more and more cloudy.


I didn’t like that. I picked this spot because of the odds of good weather. The weather report for the previous week had always said "sunny" for eclipse day.
Now, it said "mainly sunny".

Mainly? What’s that supposed to mean?

I worried we wouldn’t be able to see much.


But, we drove on as the mountains gave way to other terrain.



It is an interesting drive.




I’m glad the volcanoes weren’t active. I worry about these things.


I worry about this one too. We saw several hills with crosses painted on them. This one, unfinished with a white streak dropping away down the side, makes me wonder if something went terribly wrong…



Many of the roads had strange marks in the slow lane. We speculated quite a bit, but have no idea what they are for.


Eventually we reached Oregon. Still not a lot of traffic.


I had only been to the Portland area before, so this was different.


As there were rumors of gas shortages, we stopped every time we got to 3/4 tank. And, we never had trouble finding any.


Even at the rodeo stadium.


There is one point where you take a very winding road up a big hill.




I think I’ve heard about this in old westerns…


The road was going along the old Oregon Trail. If you’ve ever played the game, you know that can be trouble.


Amazing views.


Eventually we got to Baker city. Never had any traffic to speak of, so we got there just after noon, even with all the stops.


Found the hotel without problem.

Not as fancy as places I’ve paid less money for, but in the path!
And, a nice place in walking distance to a lot of nice things.