THE TRIP HOME

We headed out from Surprise, AZ at 7:20 a.m. on March 31 and it set the standard for early starts for us on the trip.  We drove through Las Vegas (pretty much have to do that no matter which route you take) and then west on highway 95, retracing part of the route we took in the fall. 

Clowns beside us on the Interstate through Las Vegas

At Tonopah, we continued west on 95 to Hawthorne, NV which is a small town with a military base but not much else.  It is a dry, desolate type of landscape along the way.

We stayed in a budget motel and ate at the local Mexican restaurant which was just fine as we really like Mexican food.  Up early the next morning for a breakfast at McDonald’s and we were on the road again before sunrise at 6:30.  

We drove past Walker Lake which is one of the few lakes in Nevada.

 The weather was sunny and dry for the most part so we kept driving (switching drivers every few hours) and made it all the way to Pendleton, OR.  That was a 10 hour day and we drove 1002 km.  It was nice to get that far on the second day, not only for the shorter distance to home, but the warmer night temperatures and clearer skies than eastern Oregon.

Storm clouds near La Grande, OR

We were on our way at 7:30 a.m. the last day and we stopped at Costco on our way through Spokane for meat and dairy products to take home.  We bought the usual stuff and merrily headed off to the border crossing.  Well, did we get a surprise there!!  We hadn’t heard about the avian flu problems in the northern US states so we had purchased $75 worth of chicken and eggs.  The border agents told us that we could take it back to where we bought it (not going to drive 2 hours back to Spokane) or give it to them for disposal.  Bye bye chicken and eggs!!  Not a good welcome home at all.

Everything at the house was fine and Stuart was happy to celebrate his birthday at home.  His present this year was a 20 gauge shotgun that just arrived yesterday.  He is looking forward to trying it out.

Harrington & Richardson 20 Gauge Tamer

 We’re already back in the routine here and have done some yard work, including thatching the lawn.  That is always a big and messy job, glad to get it done.  We are not in a hurry for the rest of the yard work as it is still freezing at night.  It’s great to be home with a comfortable bed and a large shower.  Yay!!