Home Again!

Well, we did it. We made it home! We spent the morning exploring Pendleton, which is a lovely little town. We visited Hamley & Co. Saddlery, drove past the Round-Up grounds and stopped at D & B Supply, where you can buy stuff for your ranch or farm (as well as the coolest Western duds around).

Yesterday, we drove from Tremonton, UT to Pendleton, OR. I'm so glad we picked Pendleton! The last fifty miles or so, I was repeating in my mind "The Pendleton Round-Up is in September". Frankly, I had no clue when the Round-Up actually is, but I didn't want a repeat of Sturgis with scarce rooms and inflated prices. And you know what? It worked! The Round-Up actually IS in September, and our hotel had plenty of rooms. We found a Super 8 hotel in our trusty coupon book (expect a whole post on that), with our three requirements: free Continental Breakfast, free High-Speed Internet, and a pool open during our stay. We got our room arranged, brought in our bags and then headed over to Big John's Pizza (yes, I know where this link goes, fyi interest for The Secret fans) for some dinner. Great pizza and reasonably priced with our room key's $5.00 off discount. Then, back to the hotel for a leisurely swim.

Breakfast the next morning was the usual--cold cereal, bagels & bread to toast, orange or apple juice and coffee. No fresh fruit, a disappointment. But, there were some tasty donuts. The coffee was actually not too bad for one of these breakfasts. You may wonder why we insist on breakfast when it's just really nothing to write home about. Well, it gets us out the door sooner, and does save money. So, still always worth it.

We enjoyed wandering the town. And then, we got back on the freeway and headed for home. I-84 to I-82 to I-90 and all of a sudden we were retracing our first hours on the road. Back in the lovely mountains, with the low clouds, the mist, the fresh green of the trees. Back home.