Breakaway: “a departure or break from routine” Welcome to our Wedding Anniversary Celebration / 2022 Spring Break-Away Blog! Inspired by Serge and Ashleigh’s Spring 2021 trip to the Arches National Park!

Day 1 Our road trip began as most do: taking care of last minute errands and purchases before finally hitting the road. It was drizzling outside as we pulled into the Fred Meyer to purchase some dry ice for the cooler. As Joe chatted with the store clerk and revealed the purpose for the purchase the clerk joked “I hope you take the rain with you.” Turned out not to be such a jest afterall..... On the first part of the journey we traveled through the familiar as we headed west along highway 84 through the great canyon of the Columbia River Gorge. Low clouds draped the cliff tops and occasional cascades of white water ran down the dark cliffs where evergreens clung to the rocks, silhouetted with wisps of mist. A beautiful if not unfamiliar terrain to start our two day drive to Moab, Utah. Eventually we left the high cliffs of the gorge behind for the more rolling terrain of the Columbia Plateau. Yet here too outcrops of dark rock broke through the green hills as the highway took us east beneath the gray blanket spread out over us and before us forming a dark wall on the horizon where a couple flashes of lightning foreshadowed the storms to come. As we entered the Blue Mountains region the landscape gradually climbed to meet and then enter the clouds. As we navigated the winding road through the mountains our SUV was assaulted with rain, sleet and hail, visibility dropping to mere yards as we passed cars and trucks seeming to struggle to make the climb. Our break suddenly felt more winter than spring as fresh and old snow clung to the landscape. Not for the last time! We dropped again beneath the cloud cover as we progressed to La Grande for refueling and an attempted stop to take a look at the iconic Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church, which unfortunately was closed. A wrong turn as we attempted a drive-by of Eastern Oregon University led us to a dead end street where serendipitously five or six mule deer casually lingered in someone’s yard. We circled the downtown area looking for the Shell Station promised on our Google Maps only to find it converted to a natural food store. After finding other services we were back on the road again with Boise, Idaho in our sights for the evening’s destination. Over the next couple hours we made steady progress through the gray and snow-highlighted landscape and the on-again-off-again rain. We pulled into Boise at dusk, checked into our accommodations - the Downtown Hyatt Place - and immediately ventured out to find a meal before retiring for the night. The downtown district where we were staying seemed completely new and rebuilt around various anchor historical and government buildings - like the State House. Our wanderings took us to the nearby “Freak Alley” - a European-style pedestrian-friendly walkway stretching for several blocks closed to motor traffic and lined with restaurants, small shops and boutiques and decorated with street art, sculptures and light displays. Everything looked fresh, clean and welcoming as we walked among crowds of young people out leisurely enjoying a Saturday evening. Tired from our long day on the road we settled for Chinese takeout and returned to our room to eat and relax before bed. So ended our first day.