West Coast Road Trip ’09- The Last Leg…
The impetus for our journey was our friends Yi-Jau and Brenda’s wedding in Portland at the end of June. So, once we reached our destination, we knew we had reached the climax of our journey and only the denoument was left to wrap it up. So, we figured we better have a rockin’ good time, which we did.
We arrived in Portland on Last Thursday on Alberta Street, which was just an amazing raucous celebration of creativity, ingenuity and fun. Since we were there before the street was closed to cars, we meandered very slowly along the sidewalk checking out the bounty of wild artistry. Electric gutars made out of cigar boxes, burlesque bands with homemade bag pipes, people singing Salt n’ Pepper’s classic “Push It” in a random attempt to sell bananas. I mainly just remember how whelmed we were by the whole thing. I can only imagine what my toddler in the stroller ahead of me was thinking of all the crazy, funny adults. Later that evening as we met friends for dinner, she was upset by the transvestites holding a conversation next to our table. I tried coming up with words to explain them like, “colorful” or “pretty,” but I think Brenda calmed her the best by calling them “silly.”
It was a kid-free wedding and though at first I was nervous having never left my daughter alone with a stranger, another friend shared the babysitter with us and it ended up being a great thing. The two girls were already playing by the time we were out the door. Finally, a real night on the town, laughing and dancing, drinking and laughing, without worrying where my kid had run off to. Still, by the end of the night, I wished she was awake so I could hear her little laugh.
From there, we headed to Silverton where my uncle lives and my sister and her family drove down from Ana Cortes to join us. We had a great few days together and it was a nice respite from the road. We all went for a hike down the road at Silver Falls where you could walk behind the waterfalls.
Walking behind North Falls
We left before the 4th of July weekend and, after driving through the gorgeous Cascades, spent our Independence Day at a little out of the way Crystal Crane Hot Springs Resort and, in some little po’dunk town, watched fireworks on the hood of the car while our daughter slept inside.
The rest of our journey was all territory we had already been through at other times in our life, so we whizzed by it. We were passing around a stomach virus and that made us even more anxious to get home. Still, it was a great drive. Idaho was pretty, but a scorching 100 degrees. Utah is one of the most beautiful states I have ever visited. The Wasatch Mountains are gorgeous. In the south, the red rock canyons are striking. People tend to think Mormons when they think Utah, but I think Moab. I could learn to love Mormons.
Then through the Western Rocky region, with a sidetrip to Telluride, before hitting Durango. As we neared home, passing through Abiquiu, New Mexico on the way, I realized I live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. We had just spent five weeks in California and Oregon, both famous for their natural beauty, but to me, they just can’t compare to the southwest. It’s good to be home.
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