Are we there yet?

Okay up before 5:00 A.M and on the road by 6:00......this has shades of family vacations with Dad written all over it.  Everybody up and dressed before he would take off....weird...we are going to lay on the beds in the camper and fall back asleep as soon as he takes off?  Now, I'm so happy I had those extra moments with him even if I didn't appreciate them then.  So thanks Dad  I thought of you as soon as I looked at the clock :-)

Fairly quick trip to Portland, the Portland I was so excited to see since I had never been there.  The traffic in Portland was horrible!! Made my San Diego traffic seem like small town traffic....boy was I disappointed. Don't get me wrong, no nasty e-mails etc.... it was beautiful there, and I am sure it has a lot to offer and I could see has some really awesome areas.....I just could not take that traffic.  So, lets see....my favorite things about Portland?  One you can see beautiful Mount Hood which you can see in the background of the photo !  Two, they have a Trader Joe's :-) I've included a photo but you have to really look between the trees to see it.  Both of my sons work for Trader Joe's so its fun to keep track of where they are.....I got a photo of one in Monterey CA when we were there.  They will appreciate the photos!

It was a beautiful drive from Portland to Spokane.... Oregon is much greener than the particular part of Washington we were in....and temps were again in the mid 90's.  Idaho was a welcome sight....back to green!  Coeur D'Alene Idaho is especially pretty...would love to someday make a point to actually spend some time there around the Lake rather than just drive through.


We are attempting to get to Belgrade Montana near my birthplace Bozeman, for my second cousin Lindsay's wedding reception tomorrow.  Bob has been a trooper trying to make sure we make it in time :-) thanks Bob-O..  I was hoping to tell you I am sleeping in the Big Sky Country of Montana tonight but we just ran out of energy and it was time to get a bite to eat so we stopped tonight in Wallace Idaho.  Really a great little town and I do mean little.  Staying at The Wallace Inn, kinda expected to run into  Mel Gibson but of course that didn't happen :-)  Surrounded on all sides by mountains covered in pine trees, doesn' get much better than that for me :-)

No photos of crooked roads today, I'm sure your disappointed :-)  But I did go through another tunnel :-0

As tired as I am tonight, the excitement of being in Montana tomorrow morning is growing inside of me.  I will be in the presence of so many family members  and that always makes me happy.
Hugs!