51 F/ 11 C

Heading west with two 
more days to go - then I can
sleep in my own bed

~carliewired

I left Twin Falls, Idaho about 9 AM, At this point I got onto the Interstate 84 going west. It is a busy route at high speed with many transport vehicles to contend with. I was soon out of Idaho and into Oregon. 

My surprise today was as I was passing a transport truck. I came up nose to nose with the big truck to suddenly have a pickup there in front of the transport and right beside me! The pickup had illegally passed the transport on the wrong side using the outside margin as a lane. I was so shocked that I didn't get the license plate number of the pickup. I hope the transport truck driver got it and passed it on. That driver deserves a ticket! 

The landscape today was rolling hills nearby with snowy mountains in the distance. There was farmland and open range beside the highway. The day started with sunshine, but became cloudy, then rain showers were added. 

I arrived in Baker City, Oregon at lunch time. I'd hoped to visit the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in the afternoon, but it is closed for renovations until the summer. I took a little tour of the old historic downtown of Baker City instead. I parked across from the museum to admire their longhorn with the patchwork colours. Rain clouds blew in so I made a retreat to my car. I did the rest of the tour from inside. 

There are many vintage houses with some now serving as commercial buildings. There are many brick buildings and stone churches which tell me this was an affluent town in its origins. Baker City played an important role in the story of the Oregon Trail, the gold rush and the cattle drives. 

The rain soon turned to hail so I continued taking photos from my car. I gassed up my car where I found a pair of dinosaurs this time. One was still wearing its green St. Patrick's Day hat.

Being Sunday, most everything was closed. I picked up a coffee in a drive-thru and parked near the main route through town. I watched a little band of sparrows gleaning on the sidewalk. 

I checked into my motel at 3 PM. A large bank of daffodils there reminded me it is spring even at the 3, 451 foot level here.