I think leaving Corvallis was one of the hardest things I've done lately... it didn't help that my leaving was questioned by everyone we told! I tell you, it's an amazing, amazing (need a word that means even more amazing than amazing) place.
After some lunch (guess where!) and some great company, we hit the road at just after 2pm pst, Tuesday. Hayden had not yet gone to sleep but his mood was refreshingly upbeat! He was asleep before we hit the Solyent Green factory (actually Georgia Pacific Paper plant, but it looks creepily like SG!) on the way to Portland.
I didn't take the shortcut Jon mentioned- silly me!- so we were stuck in traffic for a while and I got to practice my breathing and take a long last look around...
Our route was funny, I didn't want to do any treacherous mountain paths like the trip out, so I had to drive all the way to Spokane, WA
to hook up with I-90, which will take us all the way home to Sioux Falls. I'd never been to that part of the world, so I appreciated the view and the vibe and I sprinkled Hannah all over the place. There was a Mitchell Point and Wild Mountains :) I took my first little nap (~3 hours) in a beautiful, wooded reststop just outside of Coeur d'Alene, ID. Hayden woke me up and we hit the road again. We sprinkled Hannah in the Panhandle National Forest (who knew?). At about 5am, just across the border into Montana, we stopped for breakfast and were treated to great entertainment by the one man show in a little cafe. He warned us we were between storms and should get back on the road in a hurry, so we did. On the mountains just past him, we ran into our first signs of winter weather! There was only a few miles of icy mountain roads, a bit scary but breathing and gently braking got us through without a hitch. By the time we were in Butte, the snow was far behind us and forgotten! I called my dad then, to see how much farther we had to go and he told me about a shortcut... I was skeptical, I didn't want us to get stuck anywhere, but then we lost service. Somewhere in here was the Crazy Mountain Range -- ooooh, yeah, we spread some Hannah love there, too! When we got to Bozeman, I was in serious need of another nap! Hayden rode his scooter 'round the rest area while I napped in the car for a couple of hours. It was 60+ degrees and sunny, perfect for us both. When I woke up, we went to Target, on our eternal quest for a claw machine (or a "scam machine" as Hayden says!) -- nope! But we had a great visit anyway... When it was time to eat, I found Taco John's; Hayden had been missing his TJs the whole time we were gone, so I was back to being Mom of the Year! Dad got ahold of me again and told me exactly how to do his shortcut (212 E veers off of I-90 near Billings, MT and rejoins it S. of Belle Fourche, SD, cutting 150 miles from the trip!!); it was clear and beautiful. AND it took us just past Little Bighorn - again. This time, Hayden was awake and we decided to check out the park. Lucky for us, we had 5 minutes before they closed!! AND admission is free after 3:30 pm! It's a powerful place, that park... I could feel it the first time I drove by and I was smacked with it when we entered... 
The first view is the military cemetery... the thousands of soldiers who (yet another example) died for an unjust cause, in the name of American Stupidity and Greed. I wandered around the visitor center, to see the gravesites on the hill, the graves of those First Peoples who died for their right to exist... I was stopped by the ranger who wanted to go home (it was already past their 4:30 closing time and he wanted us to leave so he could close up)... I know I was not meant to go there, I just looked and I cried. Hayden took a picture for me, knowing how sad I was to miss going up there.
I had some Hannah in my hand and I wanted to put her up there and not down there with the soldiers, but I guess that was where she was needed! I left her there with a prayer of forgiveness to those folks who acted out of ignorance and a misplaced sense of patriotism. I don't know if we'll ever go there again, it really hurt my heart, but I think we just might... just to pay homage to all of the Souls who met their human demise there.
We followed Ed's shortcut and fondly remembered our combined family trip to Idaho a few years ago, to see Gramma Lambert. Hannah had been here with us; it was comforting and inspiring. We rolled into Belle Fourche (bell foooosh) before 7pm pst and arrived at Karen and Johns in Rapid City near 7:45!!
They're taking off tomorrow morning for a many-month stint in SoCal, following John's construction job... Hayden was once torn between family today or friends today... I gave him great space and enough time; he decided we'll leave here tomorrow, when they do. He really needed some Saylor time. Soaking up some Karen/John/Stone/Sage love doesn't suck for me, either :)
After some lunch (guess where!) and some great company, we hit the road at just after 2pm pst, Tuesday. Hayden had not yet gone to sleep but his mood was refreshingly upbeat! He was asleep before we hit the Solyent Green factory (actually Georgia Pacific Paper plant, but it looks creepily like SG!) on the way to Portland.
I didn't take the shortcut Jon mentioned- silly me!- so we were stuck in traffic for a while and I got to practice my breathing and take a long last look around...Our route was funny, I didn't want to do any treacherous mountain paths like the trip out, so I had to drive all the way to Spokane, WA
to hook up with I-90, which will take us all the way home to Sioux Falls. I'd never been to that part of the world, so I appreciated the view and the vibe and I sprinkled Hannah all over the place. There was a Mitchell Point and Wild Mountains :) I took my first little nap (~3 hours) in a beautiful, wooded reststop just outside of Coeur d'Alene, ID. Hayden woke me up and we hit the road again. We sprinkled Hannah in the Panhandle National Forest (who knew?). At about 5am, just across the border into Montana, we stopped for breakfast and were treated to great entertainment by the one man show in a little cafe. He warned us we were between storms and should get back on the road in a hurry, so we did. On the mountains just past him, we ran into our first signs of winter weather! There was only a few miles of icy mountain roads, a bit scary but breathing and gently braking got us through without a hitch. By the time we were in Butte, the snow was far behind us and forgotten! I called my dad then, to see how much farther we had to go and he told me about a shortcut... I was skeptical, I didn't want us to get stuck anywhere, but then we lost service. Somewhere in here was the Crazy Mountain Range -- ooooh, yeah, we spread some Hannah love there, too! When we got to Bozeman, I was in serious need of another nap! Hayden rode his scooter 'round the rest area while I napped in the car for a couple of hours. It was 60+ degrees and sunny, perfect for us both. When I woke up, we went to Target, on our eternal quest for a claw machine (or a "scam machine" as Hayden says!) -- nope! But we had a great visit anyway... When it was time to eat, I found Taco John's; Hayden had been missing his TJs the whole time we were gone, so I was back to being Mom of the Year! Dad got ahold of me again and told me exactly how to do his shortcut (212 E veers off of I-90 near Billings, MT and rejoins it S. of Belle Fourche, SD, cutting 150 miles from the trip!!); it was clear and beautiful. AND it took us just past Little Bighorn - again. This time, Hayden was awake and we decided to check out the park. Lucky for us, we had 5 minutes before they closed!! AND admission is free after 3:30 pm! It's a powerful place, that park... I could feel it the first time I drove by and I was smacked with it when we entered... The first view is the military cemetery... the thousands of soldiers who (yet another example) died for an unjust cause, in the name of American Stupidity and Greed. I wandered around the visitor center, to see the gravesites on the hill, the graves of those First Peoples who died for their right to exist... I was stopped by the ranger who wanted to go home (it was already past their 4:30 closing time and he wanted us to leave so he could close up)... I know I was not meant to go there, I just looked and I cried. Hayden took a picture for me, knowing how sad I was to miss going up there. I had some Hannah in my hand and I wanted to put her up there and not down there with the soldiers, but I guess that was where she was needed! I left her there with a prayer of forgiveness to those folks who acted out of ignorance and a misplaced sense of patriotism. I don't know if we'll ever go there again, it really hurt my heart, but I think we just might... just to pay homage to all of the Souls who met their human demise there.We followed Ed's shortcut and fondly remembered our combined family trip to Idaho a few years ago, to see Gramma Lambert. Hannah had been here with us; it was comforting and inspiring. We rolled into Belle Fourche (bell foooosh) before 7pm pst and arrived at Karen and Johns in Rapid City near 7:45!!
They're taking off tomorrow morning for a many-month stint in SoCal, following John's construction job... Hayden was once torn between family today or friends today... I gave him great space and enough time; he decided we'll leave here tomorrow, when they do. He really needed some Saylor time. Soaking up some Karen/John/Stone/Sage love doesn't suck for me, either :)
