On the Road – Day 1

Zen and the Art of Driving Through the Grasslands

Yesterday morning, after dive biker bar brekkie, a tearful, so long and thanks for all the fishes to eldest son Justin and fam and a quick stop at Ten's ex-father-in-law’s place (they remained close after the marriage went south), we got on the road – headed north and east.

Lemme just say this – if you’ve not been to Oregon yet GO THERE! It is spectacularly beauteous. The landscape goes from the wildly dramatic mountains and desert to the zentastic (for the first 30 minutes of driving anyway) peace of the grasslands.

OH LOOK! A tree!!!

Did you know? When you drive through the grasslands time stops. We kept drivin’ but the scenery was on a seemingly endless loop – white sky, snow covered rolling hills and vast fields.  We passed no towns or houses FOR HOURS. There was the occasional tree and the rare grain silo though. I was beginning to think that I was in Suprematist painter Malevich's White on White. (NOT to be confused with white supremacists or painters of white supremacists) Thankfully, we ran outta grasslands before my sanity vamoosed. I kept imagining being stuck out here on foot – no phone reception and days on days before I could hoof it to “civilization.” Yes, I’ve prolly seen too many fish outta water horror movies.

PRE-grasslands Oregon

Eventually we reached the Columbia River

Originally, we thought we’d stay the night in Walla Walla. Ten asked why, there’s nothing there. I like the name, makes me grin, that’s all. As it turns out, I had to give my vague notion of getting Oni a Walla Walla T-shirt a pass since it was well off our rambling but semi-focused path. Instead we’re now in Kenniwick – a place I didn’t know existed until a friend took a teaching gig at the local college.

HEY, I’ve got a friend in this middle of bloody nowhere place! Well, kinda sorta and mostly past tense. Jeff and I had known each other back in Somerville clay studio days. He’d gone on to grad school AND scored a tenured gig up here thus illustrating why I didn’t go the college teacher career route. I wanted to choose where I lived – not be stuck with the crap shoot of available tenured positions. (Bucksnort Arkansas U? ah…no. Head of the art department? Nope. Still no.)

In any case, Jeff’s gone through some hard times and disappointments. His marriage crumbled and the teaching position here, unsurprisingly, was NOT all that and a bag of chips. I’d dropped him an email which he either never received OR chose to ignore. Bummer. Thinking it’d be a hoot, I thought we could swing by his college – look him up.

It woulda been fun and funny to hook up (not THAT kind of hook up!) BUT it’s Sunday. That and yesterday took the stuffing outta both Ten and I. We’re just gonna head on down the road.

Next stop? Missoula, Montana!

Jen feels we need to rename Valhalla’s street and add a mountain in the background.
Who am I to disagree?!