Scenic drive along the Columbia River

Once we get on the road, with no particular desire to see the sights along the way, we get where we need to be without interruption. When we left Montana, after saying goodbye to friends, we drove about 6 hours to get to the Cabelas's store in Post Falls, Idaho.

When we're not in a hurry we prefer the 2-2-2 travel plan -- drive 2 hours, arrive by 2 PM and stay 2 nights. It is so convenient and comfortable to travel in our motorhome that before we knew it 6 hours had passed. Not all of our homeward trip will be so intense or non-stop. It is easy to find a rest stop or scenic overlook and stop for lunch or a short break.

Cabela's is very generous with their large parking lot for overnight parking for RVs and trucks, along with dump stations and water. We've also found they provide dog kennels and horse corrals for those travelling with animals. In addition, we always seem to find something in the store that we need. The displays of taxidermy animals, aquariums full of live fish, fly tying materials, fishing equipment, clothing, and their restaurant could keep us entertained for hours.

While at Cabela's we spoke with a man about our planned trip and he said "Oh no! Interstate 84 is only a 2 lane road with lots of curves, switchbacks and hills. You don't want to take that road with a motorhome." I looked at Rick, the navigator, with raised eyebrows and I was thinking "What do you have planned for us Rick?" The man then admitted that he hadn't been on the road for 20 years. Boy, am I glad we took that highway!



On the second day of our road trip we travelled 8 hours along beautiful Interstate 84, following the Oregon/Washington border, and the path of the Columbia River for hours. Having been recently separated from our summer river, it was delightful to see that much water again. Boy, I'm glad that Rick is the on-board navigator and mobile photographer. Without him I wouldn't have these photos or been on this highway.

Not as enjoyable as the rest of the trip were the direct routes through downtown Spokane and Portland. The traffic was heavy (rush hour!), but worse than the number of vehicles were the deeply rutted roads through the heart of the cities. During the 2 days we were frequently on the Lewis & Clark Trail and the Oregon Trail. I told Rick that it seemed they had simply paved over the deeply rutted roads formed by the pioneer wagons. Rick laughed that they had paved the Oregon Trail. When I got the motorhome to track properly in the ruts, the Honda toad wanted to do something different, weaving just enough to pull the motorhome tires out of the ruts. Our weaving duo kept the cars away from our sides. It's nice when the surrounding cars give us a wide berth.



Although in the dry desert of Oregon, it was fascinating to see the large Columbia River, the tall sharp cliffs, the barges pushed by tugs transporting goods, the personal fishing boats, and a number of dams generating power. The weather was clear, but I bet it can be an extremely windy gorge. The tall surrounding cliffs are sprouting the large turbine windmills, but they were mostly listless. If we were travelling with only the car there were many pull-outs and small parks I would have liked to have stopped for. If you get a chance to travel on Interstate 84, take it. We think you'd like it.