Summer 2021, Day 14

It’s really hard to believe that the halfway point of this trip has been reached! I’m in Twin Falls ID with just over 4,500 miles in the bag, but the second half of the trip will probably just be another 3,600 or so. Time-wise, though, this is half done.

I started off from Eugene OR this morning with the temps in the low 50s and ended in Twin Falls ID with 95º at 7pm, having passed through 100º on the highway as well as many miles of what I’m sure was smoke from the Bigfoot Fire in Oregon, but not seen until I was on I-84 in Idaho.

Oregon scenery is quite varied, from the coastline and forests you saw yesterday to mountain lakes (unfortunately, without photos today) and then coming out of the hills but still seeing mountains in the distance.

When I passed a “High Desert Museum,” I wondered whether I was mis-reading the sign. But no, there’s a lot of Oregon that fits that description, sitting at ~3,500′ and with really interesting hills and vegetation. In a couple of these photos, you can see high mountains with snow in the distance to the west.

The “dirt” there feels a lot like sand, very dry and shifting underfoot.

Further east, I went through winding valleys flanked by hills that had layers of rock high above the road. This terrain continued for probably a couple of hundred miles and provided a constant variation that kept the drive interesting (not to say, race-track like!).

That photo was taken on a very tame section of the road, but it does show the band of rock slanting up and to the right.

As I drove into Twin Falls, I missed a turnoff with outrageously scenic views of the Snake River valley. I’ll try to stop there on my way out of here in the morning and get some good shots – it was quite the view and completely unexpected.

Tomorrow, I pass back through Salt Lake City on my way to Grand Junction CO.