I am on my way to Ohio.   Many people I know have had life-sized shake-ups in the past month, and I am among them.   My father had an accident at home---he’s out of the hospital and doing well---but he and my mother now have limited mobility and need some help.  I’m not sure how long I’ll be there. 

So here’s my third cross-country trip, and I’ll be trying to take photos as I go.  Today’s heat was brutal, and I wanted to gauge time and miles, so I didn’t do much sightseeing.  It did take me all day to get through Oregon, which is a huge state.   I ended up taking 26 from the coast to Interstate 84 out of Portland, across and down into Boise, ID this evening.  Somewhere around The Dalles, the lush, green of the rainy west changes to dry, rocky shades of brown.  The Columbia River has cut through the mountains and now pushes its way through dams on its way to the Pacific.  Scruffy bushes and pale yellow grasses struggle in the dirt.  I realized how opposite eastern and western Oregon are today. 

The Coast is temperate.  Though we set records these past couple of days, generally we hover in the 50’s and 60’s a good part of the year with, yes, a little rain.  Okay, a lot of rain.  But it makes everything green and rich and fresh. 

Eastern Oregon is extreme---basically high desert—arid and hot (101 degrees in Pendleton today) in the summer and bitter cold with blowing snow in the winter.  All along the road were “chain up” areas for the required tire chains during bad weather---that is when they keep the Interstate open.  It looks like harsh country.

I noticed a difference in culture, too, as evidenced in a few “subtle” things.   Flip flops out;  cowboy hats in.   Large spread horse and cattle ranches, rather than small farms.   Ah, and the radio commercials:  one for a children’s shooting contest (they provide guns, ammo and ear and eye protection—adults welcome) and another for “Jailbreak Bonds,” for when “you get into a little trouble,” and if you’re not sure how much trouble you’re in, they’ll do a “warrant check” for FREE.   If you feel like getting INTO some trouble, you can stop in Cowgirls Saloon:  bachelor parties, bachelorette parties, drinking, dancing.  No doubt the guy who had “Show me your boobs” painted on the tailgate of his pick-up has been there.

I also crossed over into Mountain Time, so it’s an hour later, according to my phone.  Time to get some rest and see what tomorrow brings.  (Many of the shots were taken through my car windows.  So the color may be slightly off.  Also sorry about the bug guts—too tired to Photoshop them out.)