Real Life, by Chris Leong
Thursday, February 5, 2004

"So how was your weekend?" "Oh, I went to Idaho."

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You might want to get out a map for this one. Particularly one that highlights Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. If you have a road map, that's even better.

As expected, the plan (and a vague plan at that) was laid out to set out in the early morning, drive to Pendleton, a town in eastern Oregon, and drive back. Definitely sounded doable. Plus, there would be some nice scenery along the Columbia River.

So Saturday morning came, and I was woken up about 6:30...a time I'm not usually up on Saturday mornings. We were able to leave just before 7, and started driving due east. After not too long, we ended up at Multnomah Falls, part of The Dalles along the Columbia. It's a very impressive waterfall. It's also cold when you're that close to the waterfall that early in the morning. Oh well. From here, we continued along the highway until we reached a place called Mitchell Point. There isn't much too it, really. Just a nice view of the river and the hills on the Washington side of the river. We also went climbing around a bit. I think I can let the pictures explain that. From Mitchell Point, we continued eastward until we did indeed reach Pendleton. We stopped at a Burger King, not only to acquire sustenance, but also to re-examine the map.

It was then that Matt hit upon his big idea.

With that tell-tale look on his face and that excited tone in his voice, he proclaimed that we could make it across the border of Idaho and make it all the way back before the day was through.

But that wasn't all. Looking at the map, I half-realized and half-remembered that Pullman, Washington was right near the Washington-Idaho border. One of my best friends attends Washington State University, which is in Pullman. Matt agreed and said we could definitely make it.

So after stopping in some nearby stores to try and find Pendleton souvenirs (we were visiting from western Oregon, after all), we got back on the highway, this time heading north with Walla Walla, Washington in our sights. From there, we headed east (and, compressing 3 or 4 hours of driving into a single sentence), and headed straight for the Washington-Idaho border. After passing through Clarkston, Washington, we crossed the Snake River and crossed into Lewiston, Idaho. (Lewis and Clark, get it?)

At this point--about 2:30 pm--we were able to take a much-needed break and walk around on some Idaho soil. It was great. We took pictures. We called people and told them where we were.

From Lewiston, we turned north and headed for Moscow, Idaho, where we would then turn back to the west to cross back into Washington. Along the way, we stopped at a lookout point called Lewiston Hill. Look at the pictures. It was beautiful. You can see Washington. You can see Idaho. You can see the Snake River. You can see the Blue Mountains. Yeah. I obviously have no better words to describe the view.

Before we knew it, it was about 4:00 or so. We were in Pullman and arrived at the area's main attraction, Washington State University. Only two problems left: (1) finding my friend Kyle's dorm, and (2) making sure that he would actually be there. It turned out not to be a problem at all, since I knew he doesn't often venture out around the campus. It was a hilarious sight...here were Matt and I sitting in the lobby of Orton Hall at WSU, when Kyle comes through the door with the most surprised look I have ever seen. I mean, how often do I visit from Portland, right? So we stayed for about a couple hours, mostly just chatting. Kyle is the one who's also into cars, so we didn't run out of conversation material.

So it was about 6:15 when we left (and in this time, the sky had gone from completely bright to completely dark), and already a long drive back was ahead. After heading out from Pullman, we spent some time determining the best way back. Eventually, we decided to go back the same way we came. It was safest, and the least complex. (If you still have your map, just go back the way we came.) Back into Idaho for a bit, then back into Washington again. En route to Walla Walla, we encountered snow. A lot of snow. Not only was it falling at a brisk rate, but combined with the forward motion of the car, we were literally driving into the snowfall. For a while, we could only depend on the car in front for direction.

Once we made it to Walla Walla, we continued on the same highway instead of driving back down to Pendleton. By staying on this highway, it would lead us right to the Columbia River...where the weather conditions would not be so drastic. After a stop at Umatilla, a small town just on the Oregon side of the Columbia, it was a straight shot back to Oregon along the 84, the same highway that had brought us so far in the morning.

It was about 1:45 in the morning when we returned to campus, making it about a 19-hour trip total.

But we both agree it was well worth it!