On the Road Again

I spent the last three days driving a woman's car from Seattle to Denver. She's relocating to Vale, CO but didn't want to drive there, so she hired me to transport her car. Being the somewhat adventurous woman that I am, I figured it'd be a bit of a gas. I'd see some parts of the country I hadn't seen before and it'd be an interesting experience. I didn't plan how many miles I'd drive each day exactly, or where I'd stay each night. I barely plan my life, why would I plan a three day car trip. I knew I needed to be at the Denver airport at 11.00 a.m. on Friday. What more did I need to plan?

Somewhere between Pendelton, OR and Ogdan, UT I began to realize there was a reason I hadn't been to this neck of the woods til now. After half a day driving through the desolate sage brush country of Eastern Washington, I landed in Pendelton ready for a comfortable bed, a hot meal and some exploration. It was nearing on 7.00 when I rode into town and the entire place was buttoned up tight as a drum by then. I found a cheap, yet comfortable motel, "America's Best Value Inn," and wandered out to find that hot meal. After a satisfying Mexican meal I asked the waitress if there was a grocery or drug store nearby I could walk to. She explained that her town only had a Safeway and a Walmart and they were both very far. I could not walk there. I decided to take a meander around myself. I needed the exercise after all day driving and the Mexican food needed a chance to settle. It wasn't all that far before I ran into an Albertson's.

The next day I headed out in good weather toward La Grande, pronouncing it in my head with a Mexican accent, trilling the 'r' a bit and emphasising the 'e'. I hit some serious fog going over "Dead Man's Pass". The truckers and I were creeping along gripping the steering wheel. Well, I was gripping mine, I can't speak for the experienced truckers. I caught a glimpse of a sign that read "View Point" and had a tinge of annoyance. Sure, I finally come across something worth viewing and I can't even see the hood of my car. The creeping went on for what seemed like hours, but it was probably only about 45 minutes or so. When we get out of the fog and back into daylight, I drive into La Grande for refueling and a latte. I'm actually in search of a Starbucks which I find a bit humorous considering the size of these towns. Unlike good 'ol Seattle with a Starbucks, Tully's or Seattle's Best on every corner, the rest of the country pretty much serves coffee from a pot that's been on the burner far too long.

While entering the town, I switch the radio station to an audible one and hear the announcer talking about La Grande and he's pronouncing it like, well...a hill billy. La Grand- with a real emphasize on the AND. I laugh a little at my assumption of how the town would be called. And I laugh a little more when I find a Starbucks. Yes, inside the Safeway store. Yea! Pumpkin Spice Latte and hit the road.

Approximately five hundred miles of brown sage brush and rolling lifeless hills of McCain Country later, I land in Ogdan, UT. For some reason I had the idea this would be an actual town. It was a suburb at best with a couple of four lane roads lined with fast food joints and chain restaurants. My slumber choices were Motel 6 or The Royal Inn. Believe it or not the Motel 6 looked the least seedy. I was starving by now and wanted a hot sit down meal before crashing for the night. Clearly there was to be no nightlife or exploration in this town. My sit down dining choices consisted of Chili's or Applebee's. I flipped a mental coin and chose Applebee's. I'd never actually eaten at either. It was about how I'd expected. Dark green carpet, chairs with wheels on them, those hanging stained glass lamps over every table and a lot of poor food choices. I ordered off the "Weight Watcher's" menu and had a grilled chicken, roasted potatoes and broccoli. It was hot and filled me up. Except for the satisfying part, mission accomplished.

I then headed on to my Motel 6 experience. The last time I stayed at a Motel 6 I think I was about 18 when I snuck off with my boyfriend. Not much has changed except the price. Instead of $13.99 the room rate was $43.99 plus tax. I paid the extra $2.99 for internet, but then it didn't work, so got a refund. Upon taking stock of the room, I realized what I got at the "Value Inn" for an extra $20.00- shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, coffee, microwave, refrigerator, king sized bed, hair dryer, and internet connection. It was my feeling that Motel 6 prided themselves on a clean sparse environment for which to sleep, shower and leave promptly in the a.m. No problem since that was my plan anyway. I actually slept quite well. But then after 9 hours in the car anyone should sleep well.

Next day consisted of 8-9 hours of ...you guessed it, more sage brush, more brown fields of nothing as far as the eye could see. By now I'm hoping my 'employer' doesn't have an Obama sticker on the back bumper or I'm going to get shot for sure. I'm starting to get a bit rummy by this point. Other than my one proper meal per day at dinner time, I've been sustaining on a diet of car snacks: cheese and crackers, trail mix, a couple of apples and some supposedly healthy fruit snack moms guiltlessly feed their children that are really nothing more than candy. I've listened to more country music and Christian stations than I ever knew existed. I think we might have one of each in Seattle. I heard young country, fresh country, old country, best country. It was getting to the point where I actually knew the words to some of the songs by this point and was singing along. I was also making up stories about my fellow drivers. Each day you'd get into a clump and drive with the same people all day long. I'd pass Ms. Florida, then stop at a rest stop, get back on the freeway and Ms. Florida would soon pass me. It would go on like this all day. Where is Ms. Florida headed? She has a mattress in the backseat. Is she moving back to Florida? Oh, there goes Mr. and Mrs. Utah for the third time today. They are going east. For Thanksgiving maybe? See the grand kids? Then, of course, there are the truckers hauling who knows what in those trailers. More stories to invent. Oh, here's my favorite country song, yet again.

I arrived in Golden, outside of Denver Thursday night and stayed at my cousin's house before meeting my car's owner at the airport in the a.m. It was a good drive. The roads were clear, the weather optimal and I got here safely. Would I do it again? You betcha.