Pendleton, Oregon to Boise, Idaho - August 14

Today was our last day for the driving through Idaho, Washington, and Oregon.  We followed Interstate 84 southeast from Pendleton, Oregon, to Boise, Idaho, with a few exceptions.  The part we drove today followed part of the historic Oregon Trail where between 1840 and 1869 some 500,000 pioneers in about 50,000 covered wagons migrated west for a better life.  The trail stretched about 2000 miles from Independence, Kansas, to the Willamette Valley around the present day Portland, Oregon.  

We started out from Pendleton going through the Blue Mountains.  At times the land would be treeless mountains just covered with brown grass.  Then we would climb over a mountain pass into lush green evergreen forests.  Then we would reverse the scenery once again.  But we didn’t pass any agricultural areas today until we approached Boise.

At the town of La Grande we cut off to the little town of Union as I had read that there were several Victorian houses there.  We saw two.  And the town wasn’t so large that we would have missed them.  So while the side trip was a bit of a waste, the scenery was pleasant and it didn’t take us out of the way for long.

Near Baker City we stopped to visit the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center which is run by the Bureau of Land Management.  We thought this center had one of the best historic displays we have seen in a long time.  We were there over an hour but could have spent most of a day there.  Outside the center was an area with the actual trail ruts that we could walk on.

Next we drove into Baker City, a pleasant town with several historic houses and hotels.  We had a good lunch at the Corner Brick Bar and Grill and each downed a beer from Enterprise, Oregon, called Terminal Gravity ESG (Extra Special Gold) that quenched our thirst.  After lunch we walked to Charley’s Ice Cream Parlor where we each had a dish of cold ice cream.  Then it was time to hit the road again.

We followed Interstate 84 all the way to Boise, losing an hour as we re-entered Mountain Time.  We checked into our hotel then drove into Boise to see the Capitol Building.  We also parked the car and walked around downtown which was fairly quiet as it was a week day evening.  We called it a day as tomorrow we fly to Alaska.