I woke up and decided that today I really was heading for Yellowstone. No more detours. I continued south into Oregon (another state that I had never been to). It was about 5 am Pacific time when I crossed the state line. I was driving through Hells Canyon when I pulled over on the side of the road to get out of my car and take a picture of the mountains.
I took a couple of pictures and went to get back into my car. Only there was a slight problem. The door was locked and my car was still running. Trying my hardest not to freak out, I went around to all the other doors to see if any of them were unlocked. Nope, not a single one.
So there I was on the side of the road at 5:20 in the morning in the no mans land of Oregon. About 5 minutes late, a white pick up truck came around the bend and I waved them down. It was an older couple who God sent to save me. There was no service to use a cell phone so I was very fortunate that the people I flagged down had a satellite phone. To make a long story short, they called the local locksmith and about 2 hours later Mike got me back in my car. It was a good thing I filled the tank the night before. So the picture you see is what I call the $50 shot because that is how much I had to pay to get back into my car after getting out to take that picture (and it didn't even turn outthat great). All I ask is that you learn from my mistake and put a spare key in your wallet, purse, or hide it somewhere on the outside of your car because I don’t want any one to go through that experience. Trust me, I wasn’t laughing at the time.
After that experience, I decided not to get out of my car no matter how beautiful that sight was. All sights were set on Yellowstone. I found my way to I-84 and headed east, never looking back. Well I would love to say that it was all smooth sailing from then on, but that wasn’t the case. The day just got worse from that point on. Everything from construction to unexpected encounters and delays to closed roads to questioning why I even decided to go on this trip.
When I finally made it to Yellowstone, I was so emotionally drained that it was hard to even enjoy where I was. I saw a lot of wild life as I drove through the park to find a campsite. When I finally found one, I did the same thing I did the night before, made dinner and went to bed.
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