Nebraska, Iowa and Pieta

Rainy, rainy day

Twin Falls, ID

Oregon --> Idaho

 I didn't make it very far my first day driving back to Maine. I ended up spending the night in Pendleton, OR.

Finally, I came upon the Snake River in Hell's Canyon! The left picture was what I saw first. Then, I drove about another 1/2 mile around a bend and saw the real Snake River!

Surprising terrain hiding all sorts of beauty throughout North America! It really is a stunning country.

Starting my trip back to the Northeast

Yesterday I started back to Maine. It was really hard saying goodbye to family over the last few days, especially Evan. Don't know when I'll see him again.
I didn't get very far, though, because I was delayed by an accident on the highway through the Columbia River Gorge, which is as beautiful as ever (sorry, no photos taken!). I was in standstill traffic for about 1 hr. When I finally was able to pass the site of the accident, the firemen were cleaning off the road and there was a burnt out hull of a truck next to the road. I found out later that the truck was carrying 42,000 apples and it caught fire! See http://kxl.com/2014/09/27/semi-truck-fire-closes-i-84/ for a picture of the truck and apples before they were totally gone, which is when I drove past.
Spent the night in Pendleton, OR and am now heading off to Idaho. It is probably going to be raining by the time I get there. Not real interested in spending the night in rain, so I might stay in a hotel. I hope the weather improves as I head across the country!

Oregon

Driving into Oregon was so exciting! I had never entered from the East before, so I got to see the Oregon Plateau before heading into the Cascades, which are not the mountains in the background of the picture below. The Cascades are several hundred miles further west.

I also happened upon a strange tree along the Oregon Trail. What kind of "fruit" does this tree bear?

Idaho

 Crossing Idaho felt rather long. I was getting pretty tired of driving so I ended up stopping several times. One place that I stopped was called Craters of the Moon, which was exposed region of lava flows within the plains. Here is a region that they call Devil's Garden because of the twisted trees amongst the lava rock.