The Adventures of Nellie and Doris: The One With the Roadtrip

It all started when I graduated with my Bachelor's Degree from Portland State University. I graduated with a degree in Speech Communication, in Sociology, and a minor in Journalism. I was an over achiever....

Not long afterwards, my long-time partner left me. In my devastation, I immediately cut my hair--why do women always cut their hair?--and tried to think what I could do to start over with my life. The same-ole same-ole just didn't sit well. I needed to get away and start over, bringing my sons along with me to our new lives.

Nellie and I talked over what I could do and we came up with a real change for my life. I could move to Southern Oregon and live as a free-lance journalist. I had been working as a columnist for a local paper, ghost writer for a local political figure, as well as a news journalist for the Vanguard. I was offered a house rent-free (for tending the house) on the Klamath Indian Reservation. I thought I could do it. So, Nellie and I decided to drive down to Sprague River to see the house and meet the neighbors.

As we both worked at Candy's Kwik Shop on the weekends, we were granted permission by Bill and Candy to take the weekend off. We grabbed the kids, tossed them into the back of the truck camper-shell, packed up some food, and took off.  Nellie's brother Dan wanted to come along, so the three adults crammed into the cab. Off we headed out the 278 miles.

At about 45 miles south, the truck started acting up. We pulled into a gas station in Salem to see what was the problem.  Oooops! It was the radiator! To repair, it would be an overnight wait. What to do. What to do.

Nellie and I looked at one another, looked at the truck, looked back at one another and said in unison, "Well, we are already almost half way there...let's hit the road!" And off the truck-load of people went, continuing the trip south.

We did okay along I-5. If needed, we would pull off the freeway and get water at a gas station, then roll back onto the freeway.  A few miles south of Eugene, we exited the freeway onto Highway 58, also known as Willamette Highway.  This route runs southeast to Klamath Falls, a "short-cut from driving I-5 all the way down the Willamette Valley and turning east: more like an "L". Hwy 58 just by-passes all the main towns as it gently moves across the mountains. It is a scenic roadway will goes over the Cascade Range, past beautiful alpine lakes and sparkling reservoirs, and through two national forests. 

We headed across Oregon along this gorgeous road. As a side note, Dan'l was quite the mischievous guy. I loved Dan so much. He always made me laugh and was simply full of life.  But he had a little trouble with the law.... In the cab of the truck, we sat with Nellie driving, me in the middle, and Dan'l shotgun. When he'd see a car heading toward us, he'd duck down just in case it was a cop and that cop could catch a glimpse of Dan, recognize him (both cars going 65 mph), and turn around to arrest him.  For what? Who knows. So Dan'l would duck down to hide, leaving Nellie and I to look like romantic partners. Yeah, it was a game, right? We all laughed a lot on this trip.

Now, the radiator.... It didn't heal itself and here we were on a gorgeous scenic route going through two national forests.... Yes, the truck heated over and what could we do? Well, lookie here! There was fresh snow on the side of the highway! So, we'd pull over and everyone would jump out--adults from the cab and all four kids from the back camper-shell. And we'd search for trash with which we could pick up snow. We found a couple cans, a plastic sandwich container, and maybe a cup or two. And everyone would grab up what snow we could and that was how we cooled off the radiator. Every few miles. We'd simply pull over and the circus would start up again, us looking a bit like the Keystone Cops.

We were all still laughing when we hit Klamath Falls--Nellie and Dan's parents lived there--and immediately took the truck to the repair place. After dinner with their family, we all settled in for the night.

The next day we went to the reservation for a tour. It was a grand place. The house was a simple mid-century model, one level. The yard opened up to the rest of the homes. It would be a good place to start over.

The trip home was uneventful. Dan'l stayed down in Klamath Falls, so no drama with approaching cars and possible cops. The radiator was repaired, so no snow bunnies hopping along gathering snow. We arrived back in Portland, unloaded the truck, and went back to our everyday lives.

As another side note, my sons did not want to move from their home and their father sued me for custody. The process was much too painful for my sons, so I decided to stay where we were and simply move through the dramas in my life. And we all lived happily ever after.

My beloved friend, my wonderful Nellie. I will always miss your grace and quiet humor, your desire to go along with whatever I said we could do, your laughter. Your beautiful soul. And our adventures will live on always in my heart.

 

and so it goes
peace~~~