LA or Bust - 2009 Trip - Day 1

Start Location: Everett, WA
Ending Location: Ontario, OR
Miles Today: 474
Trip Miles: 474
States Visited: 2
Provinces Visited: 0
Low Temp: 49.3° F
High Temp: 83.6° F
Min Elevation: 21'
Max Elevation: 4201'

Route Map:

Well we had a rather inauspicious beginning to our trip today.  First of all we hit the road around 8:30 and we started in the rain - no big surprise there.  However, when Linda put on her rain gear, she found $23 in the pocket. Surprise! Secondly we got about a mile down the road and I realized that I had forgotten my wallet, so we turn around and head back to the house.  It could have been much worse, we could have been much further when I realized what I had done.

Actually the hardest rain was in the first 15 minutes and then we just had off and on light drizzle until we got over the pass.  Although it was a little cool going over the pass, we had on our vests and rain gear - although we didn't have to plug in the vests.  After the pass, the sun came out and it got gradually warmer as the day progressed.

We actually got much further than we thought we would today.  We figured about 350 to 400 miles instead of the 474 miles we actually made.  We have made this trip numerous times so we didn't bother to take any pictures.  We just got a shot of the bike before we left and then tried to get a shot of the Welcome to Oregon sign although, as you can see, it sort of snuck up on us so the shot was a little blurred - okay maybe a lot blurred but we can only improve from now on.  Hopefully, we'll get some more scenic opportunities in Utah tomorrow.

Speaking of which, we are tentatively planning on following I-84 again tomorrow and then I-15 through Utah as far as Nephi.  From there we'll follow route 50 and see what that's like.  Although it follows I-70 part of the time - it's still listed as a scenic highway and our experience is that any road in Utah is a good road.  This is one of our favorite states.