May 6 - Into the Eastern Oregon Mountains

• Move from Boise, ID. to La Grande, OR.
• Route:  I-84 all the way
• Fueled (diesel) at 4.169
• Miles Today: 174
• Total Spring12 bus-house miles :  2,276
• Total Spring12 toad miles :  1,002
• Tonight's camp: Eagles Hot Lake RV Park    elevation 2,700
• Weather: morning low 33f, high 60f, mostly sunny.
• Notables: 1. Fun drive on I-84 as it winds through valleys and around hills and snow-topped mountains in Eastern Oregon.
• Link to photo album for today.

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I didn't remind Dar... but I was aware that we'd be crossing into the Pacific Time Zone today, and "gaining" an hour in the process. That way, she prepared herself and the bus-house for travel with a dash of her usual urgency... and I could be a little more relaxed than normal. As it was, we were off at 10:30am MDT (9:30am PDT) with a plan of about 175 miles today, which, even with stopping for lunch in a rest area along the highway, would get us into the La Grande area before 2pm PDT.

We stopped for fuel at a Pilot/Flying J before leaving Idaho and had breakfast at their on-site Dennys. Fuel is always expensive in Oregon and Washington, so I wanted to top off the belly tank before crossing the border.

Before long we crossed into Oregon and were climbing over ridges, winding through valleys, and were entertained by the snow-topped Elkhorn Mountains to the west and the Wallowa Mountains to the northeast. Although not as tall as the Cascades, further to the west, the mountains of Eastern Oregon are no less interesting and chock-full of places to explore... things to do. We're hoping to get up into some of those higher places in the next few days.

We have about a week before arriving in the Portland area.