Finally, we were on the road, heading west! The little covered-wagon marker hanging on the signs indicates that this follows the path of the old Oregon Trail. For much of our journey, we followed in the path of pioneers. Steve's brother, Greg, recommended this route to us for winter, since the mountain passes are the easiest option for a northern journey. We figured if covered wagons could make it, so could our Ford Escort. And Greg was right — the Rockies where we cut through were more like hills than twisty cliffs with drop-offs. The only sticky parts of the trip were Wyoming, with iced roads and high winds, where we sat motionless on the highway for hours one evening, waiting for we never figured out what, and Washington, where we avoided the snowy Cascades by cutting along the southern edge and coming up through Portland and rain along the coast. We were very grateful for the mild winter!
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