The journey begins:

People who know us know not to set our place at the dinner table until they see the whites of our eyes.......we just fly by the seat of our pants. That's just the way we roll.
So we blew off the wedding we were supposed to go to on Saturday (sorry, Angela and Jerry, happy nuptials), we will miss our daughter's FAA exam for her private pilot's license, and I was supposed to take my car in to get the oil changed......but Dan decided we should leave Portland a couple of days early to allow for "slop." You know, those unpredictable problems that arise out of no where.....like flat tires, or forest fires that make you detour your planned route.
Wednesday was a beautiful day to begin our journey. We drove past Mt. Hood, through Shaniko, Antelope (where the Rashneeshi's used to hang out), to Fossil, to John Day. (This is a highlighted scenic route in the Harley atlas!) It was rather hot, up to 100 degrees, which I gather we should get used to as we cross the country in August during "global warming."

After spending a rather unrestful night in the tent (think: graveyard shift truckers on the highway 40 yards away, a gassy skunk, crack of dawn roosters, and well, yes, menopausal night sweats) we awoke to a glorious morning only to discover that neither one of us had packed the camp coffee pot. SCHEESH!

Day two was just as hot but we managed to find some shade at a tree along the highway in Unity, Oregon where Dan could join his conference call at 10:00 a.m. Between Unity and Vale there is a lot of empty space and spots where the road lays out ahead like .....well, like I imagine it will do in Nebraska. It was too tempting and so we let the throttle loose and I actually hit 80mph. But the wind didn't get any cooler no matter how fast it blew through my open visor. There was a farm (ranch?) near Pole Creek Reservoir on the south side of hwy 26 and 400 miles later I am STILL kicking myself for not stopping to take a photo! The owner had splurged on a 30 ft flagpole and the hugest American flag that could be seen (was in fact ALL that could be seen) from miles around. And that is what this trip is all about.....I need to stop and "smell the roses" and photo the things that stand out to us as representing honor in this country.
We "landed" on day two at our cabin in Donnelly, Idaho. So two days down and one and a half states under our belts. Today is Dan's birthday so we will stay here for a rest day (huckleberry picking!)
Here is a little (very boring) video of day one. I warned you....it is boring.