Homeward Bound

It was with heavy hearts that we left Portland with on Friday, January first. It has been wonderful to be so close to our four children and two grandchildren for the last two months. We sure are going to miss them all!

However the weather looked good and the roads were clear so we were on the road by 8am Friday morning. It was an uneventful and beautiful drive. Along the Columbia River and eventually crossing the Columbia and driving through Eastern Washington. I am constantly amazed at just how beautiful our country is. Such diversity, from the river valley to the high plains, the landscape would change so quickly. Our destination was Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

We drove about seven hours on Friday and as we drove into Idaho it was just beautiful. They recently had a snowfall and every branch was coated with snow. It looked like a winter wonderland.

Saturday was a more exciting day as we had three passes in the Rockies to cross including the continental divide! We were once again blessed with beautiful sunny skies and clear roads. The first pass was rather icy but the other two were clear and offered beautiful vistas. Our destination on Saturday was Billings, Montana.

Sunday we had a shorter day as we were returning to Keystone, South Dakota to spend a little time with our friends at the Keystone Project. We enjoyed a third beautiful day with sightings of eagles, antelope and deer along the way. Our time in Keystone will be shorter then we would like, but we’re keeping an eye on the weather and as long as the days look clear we are going to keep on driving! Hoping to arrive back in Vermont by Thursday or Friday.

I think the key to enjoying a cross country trip is to drive 6-7 hours a day and then stop so you can have a relaxing evening and get a good nights rest. I’ve been packing our lunch’s everyday and even have a thermos of hot soup for us to enjoy at lunchtime! Hopefully the good weather will continue until we are safe in our own driveway!