We rolled into smokey Bend, where we had Rhonda's fuel filter replaced and oil changed. We also had a bit of an issue at Bank of America as we were trying to deposit wedding money. Too much at once and we jammed the ATM machine util it spit our money back out but kept some for itself. Soon enough though we were back on our adventure, heading east.
We drove through the only strange town for miles....
until we couldnt drive anymore....
When Rhonda gave up smack dab in the middle of nowhere...
We waited for someone to pass for help because we were out of cell service.
On the road again! Complete with a detailed tour of the barren land through which the tow truck driver spent his lifetime.
And this little pig was tooting the whole way.... If youve never heard a pug fart, God bless you.
This endeavor took us to the mechanic in a very small "town." Where the tow truck driver proceeded to work on the truck. We skipped across the street to a peaceful little park that just so happened to be totally empty and a perfect place to let the pups frolic.
or pass out.
And so the time-passing began
Once we were able to regain Rhonda, we traveled into the night, stopping only at a Safeway to revamp our food supply. We bundled up and hopped back in the rig. This part of the adventure has seemingly lost photograph documentation, due to the stressful nature of the next several hours.
We departed into Hells Canyon as the sun was setting and our cell phones once again lost service. This was a 35-45 mph windy road with a river running along its side and the full moon lighting up enough of the canyon to imagine the landscape as we drove.
There was absolutely no trace of civilization and we began to loose hope on a campground.
Small towns approached and then in a blink of an eye were gone again without even a motel or gas station to speak of.
The smoke was thickening as we passed fire camps where lights shown little groups of white tents full of firefighters and volunteers.
Soon pines and evergreens of all kinds began to line the winding road as we lifted out of the canyon. The air was cooler yet dense with smoke.
I saw my first bear as it galloped alongside the road in my headlights,
and as ten o'clock rolled by we found the entrance to the campsite we were hopeful to set up camp in.
To my dismay the road was a long 4 miles of gravel. There was not another car in site. The actual campground was eerie with bright red bushes overgrowing into each site. The smoke was thicker than ever, and the reviews online described an encounter of a campers dog taken by a pack of wolves....
I felt a terrible feeling that would not let us get out of the car, unpack, and try to sleep in the forest fire.
So I begged Ben to let me drive, even if he wanted to sleep.
And he did.
So we drove further relying only on the prospect of hope.
The last town on the map for miles was coming into site. And a sweet miracle- two hotels! We stopped at the first. A large old house decorated with strange trinkets..
It looked surprisingly full. After ringing the front bell which promised service after hours, we gave up. The next one was almost immediately repelling with the "truckers and hunters welcome" banner. We were too tired to even give it a whirl. So I reluctantly hopped back in the drivers seat unsure of when i would sleep next.
And at a rest stop after a few miles of delirious bickering we slowed to a stop, reclined the truck seats as far as they would go without squishing Heizy in the back and "fell asleep", with two dogs on my stomach, and a street light in my face. The freezing cold is actually what kept me awake. And finally, I didnt care what time it was, I couldn't sit still in the truck another minute. So I woke Ben. Who was not at all on board. It was fortunately, technically morning at 5:30 am. So after begrudgingly awaking, Ben drove us to the next town.
Winding through what seemed like an entire state of canyon we crossed a large dam and saw other campgrounds. Soon we approached a sweet little mountain town and stopped at the gas station for anything to entice our trip forward. Everywhere you turned runners were crowding the sidewalks. It was freezing and these people were in barely anything.
We sipped on our reheated crap water until the sun was finally beginning to make a presence in our scene.
In the next town we stopped at a park to make a game plan and to let the pups stretch there wee little legs.
But we fell asleep almost immediately after turning the engine off. We were startled awake by the dogs growling at a woman and her dog in the parking spot next to us, and realized we had fallen asleep. We let the dogs run as the sun rose. It was a beautiful morning.
We drove through several other very small, hardly there towns filled with mining relics from the past. We stopped at a beautiful wide river that meandered around the grassy backyards of a few lucky property owners. We scrambled a few eggs while the pups sipped the fresh water and played in the cool morning air. To Idaho!
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