Hitchhikers, Breakdowns and Portland

Exit Yellowstone. Enter Grand Tetons. I’ve used the word “beautiful” so much this summer to describe what we’ve seen but it’s not really the right adjective for these mountains. The Grand Tetons are indeed stunning yet there’s something so inaccessible and harsh about them at the same time. We wanted to hike within the park but the backcountry trails were taken or the snowed in, even though it’s July.

On we went to Jackson, a small tourist town, where we stopped to look for vegetable oil. Unfortunately, a local had a monopoly on most of the restaurants since he runs on the veg as well, so we skipped on out of there. The second night was spent outside of Boise next to a refreshing little creek under the almost full moon. Matt and I sat next to our first campfire of the summer until it got late.

The next day was when it started to really get interesting. We’ve been very lucky as far as having only minor car problems on this trip, but starting in Ontario, OR, things went downhill fast. We noticed that the car was leaking antifreeze, so Matt spent some time trying to patch it. Then we picked up three hitchhikers by the names of Nikki, Stash and Gonzo. If anyone has seen us in our car so far, you wouldn’t believe we could even fit one extra person in the back, let alone three. Yet somehow we managed.

With their giant, dirty drums sitting on their laps we drove farther North into Oregon. Repeatedly we made stops as the car overheated and we attempted to again patch the antifreeze tube. After dropping off our passengers, we limped into Portland where the car now lies, possibly dead.

Matt and I don’t know if Portland will be the final resting place for the Mercedes as well as our road trip, but time will tell. We have to talk to some mechanics today and if the repairs are too expensive, Matt will have to sell the car. If that’s the case, we’ve had a good run. Next question: How will we get home?

In the mean time, Portland is fabulous. We went on a fourteen mile bike ride yesterday around the city, have gone to Saturday Market and Powell’s is on our list of destinations. Pictures will be coming soon.