What's Tony Thinking

The Great Road Trip

After church today Linda and I head to The Dalles, in the Columbia Gorge, to pick up a U Haul truck. So begins a late August cross-country journey from White Salmon, Washington to Greenville, South Carolina.

On Monday morning we will load our daughter Laura’s worldly goods into the truck and hit the road, hoping to make Boise that evening.

This won’t be a Travels with Charley (John Steinbeck) or a Blue Highways (William Least Heat Moon) venture. The focus is on getting to Greenville, South Carolina, with the truck and people in tact, by week’s end.

It will be about 2,800 miles, pretty nearly from coast to coast.

As far as blogging goes I will probably drop a few reports along the way, maybe a picture or two. But, as noted, this isn’t primarily a sight-seeing tour nor a “take the pulse of America” venture. We’ll try to love and enjoy the process, but the outcome is really the point. Apologies to my Buddhist friends.

With that in mind I welcome any intel or suggestions you readers may have about routes and highways, particularly on the relative merits of US Hwy 80 and US Hwy 70. Traveling 80 means heading from Boise to Omaha, then dropping down to Little Rock before swinging northeast to South Carolina. Traveling 70 means going via Denver to Kansas City, then on to St. Louis, and then approaching Greenville from the north.

I’ve driven across country quite a few times, but not in many years. When I was a kid my family did the trip a bunch, as we came out from the D.C. where we lived to Oregon to see our relatives. My parents idea of how to do it was to load my sister and I, still sleeping, into the back seat at about 4:30 a.m., then hit the road. For us kids the big deal was if that night’s motel had a swimming pool.

So — on the road — that’s where we will be next week. As I said, any route/ road suggestions or information is welcome. You can email me direct at anthonybrobinson@comcast.net or use the contact form on this site.

Here in the Wallowas fall is in the air. Nighttime temps were down in the low 40’s last night. When I got up at 6:00 there were two red foxes playing among the trees below our cabin. A happy sight. The Kokanee Salmon (right) are just starting their run up the Wallowa River to spawn, another sign of the season’s change. School opened last week here. Footballs are in the air.

Prayers for travelers also welcome. I’ll keep you posted.