North Dakota was all windswept roads and damaged trucks oddly parked sideways and upside down in ditches and medians.
Montana had shockingly good pastries and a sky so grand that Amy and I debated if it was truly grander than other places or if we are just susceptible to ideas implanted by state slogans? We had some pseudo scientific discussions about the arc of visible sky and how, if you were on a high plateau or mountain, the horizon would be lower all around and how, maybe this vantage point would make the sweep of visible sky “bigger.” Amy soon tired of this ill informed nerdy blathering and put on some David Byrne.
Idaho is beautiful and weird, grand one minute and depressing the next. We traversed some of the longest and straightest roads I’ve encountered outside of Nevada.
The last 100 miles of the journey were a fairytale as we descended off the Central Oregon Plateau and tucked in between towering cliffs of pines along the river.
The temps were about 35 degrees warmer than when we left Minneapolis and the fall colors, although well past peak, were vibrant to eyes already addled by early midwestern winter.
I know, I know. The rain will come.
We’re staying with Amy’s aunt Ellen in SW Portland. I set up my workstation on her ping pong table in the basement and promptly slept for 10 hours. This self inflicted life upheaval is exhausting.
I took a quick “run” over lunch yesterday. Actually it was more of a labored trot up to Council Crest, which I’ve learned is one of the highest points of the Tualatin Mountains and the highest point in the city of Portland. These hills are gonna kick this flatlander’s ass for awhile.
Amy’s been furiously buzzing around town looking at rentals and interviewing for jobs while I work. We’re looking forward to landing and having a place to call our own. This will let us slow down a bit and allow us to actually explore the city which we now call home.