Nor Was A Pony -- August 11, 2020

 

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For The Archives
Overview: Grapevine, TX to Portland, OR to Flathead Lake, MT
July 28, 2020 - August 10, 2020

So, two weeks ago I began my two-week trip to the Pacific northwest to see my wife, daughter/son-in-law, and the two new twins, now four months old.

On Tuesday, July 28, 2020, at 9:00 p.m. (late evening), I departed Grapevine, TX, in the Dallas-Ft Worth area, I drove northwest to Albuquerque, NM, via Amarillo, TX.

Somewhere between Amarillo and Albuquerque I caught a couple of hours of sleep. Until this trip I did not know that I have been mis-pronouncing Amarillo and armadillo all these years. They are pronounced as if they end in an "a" rather than an "o." 

It takes about twelve hours to get from our home in Grapevine, TX, to Albuquerque.

Traveling northwest from Albuquerque, I arrived in the four corners area around noon, I suppose. I drove through Farmington, west to Shiprock, and then north towards Aztec, Colorado. There was road construction south of Aztec, and after waiting about 30 minutes in a line that was getting longer and longer, I turned around, drove south back towards Shiprock and then took back roads west into Arizona, and turned north into Utah: Blanding, Monticello, and then Moab before passing Arches National Park. 

Up to I-70 which I took for a few miles west before turning north at Green River, taking a state highway, to catch I-15 in the Salt Lake City area, which was smooth sailing all the way to I-84, near Tremonton, Utah, and then west to Boise, Idaho, and then, all the way to my destination, Portland, OR.

The following Tuesday, August 4, 2020, I departed Portland, OR, at 4:00 a.m. (early in the morning), driving east on I-84. About two-thirds across the state of Oregon, I turned north toward Kennewick, Washington, where I caught I- 82 (for a short few miles) and then I-90, toward Spokane.

Of the entire two-week cross-country trip, the only somewhat-boring segment was from Kennewick to Spokane. Even that, however, was a nice drive. But then after Spokane, incredibly beautiful all the way to Lakeside, Montana, on Flathead Lake.

From Spokane, I drove to St Regis, on I-90, where I turned north, taking some Montana back toads north and east to Flathead Lake, hitting MT highway 93 and then turning north to Lakeside, MT. I arrived at Lakeside, at 3:00 p.m., Tuesday, the same day I departed Portland, earlier that morning.

I arrived in Portland, OR, early in the afternoon on Thursday, July 30, 2020.

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Car Rental

I always rent from a neighborhood Enterprise, if possible, We have an Enterprise about five minutes from where we live in Grapevine. I had reserved my car some days earlier and would be picking it up at the end of the day for a late evening departure. They had had a busy day and the only two options I had was a Ford Fiesta and a pick-up truck. Needless to say, I wasn't going to take the pick-up truck. I had reserved a bigger car and was somewhat disappointed being offered the Ford Fiesta.

Wow, was I pleasantly surprised. I loved it. It feels smaller than a Honda Civic but for me the Fiesta was perfect. It seemed to get great gas mileage (which one would expect) -- I will do the calculations later. Speed was not a problem. It cruised at 80 mph with no difficulty. At 80 mph, 3,000 rpm. In my Honda Civic, I generally run at 2,000 rpm but generally drive my car a bit slower. 

In the future, I would not select a Ford Fiesta as my first choice, but would have no problem if that was what I was offered.