Day 9: ID to ID, trust me

I woke up early again and left my hotel in Idaho. Keeping one eye on the malfunction light, I drove through Lewiston, Idaho, and into Clarkston, Washington (get it?). I knew my target would probably not be open on a Sunday and I was right...




Still, I wish it had been as this was a haunted bowling alley/casino/putt-putt course. How awesome would that have been? I pulled into a car wash across the street and opted for the bug blaster (not that the effect lasted long). I felt better after having my car washed. My GPS recommended a kind of roundabout way to Oregon and I agreed.

When I stopped there for gas I discovered that Oregon and New Jersey are the two states that absolutely will not let you pump your own gas. Boo. Also, the lady at the station was kind of a jerk.

I made it to Ontario, Oregon and kind of guessed my way towards the Malheur Butte (apparently it means bad luck in French). This is as close as I got...




I just couldn't figure out how to get up to it. Plus, it is just a butte, not sure what I could have done there anyway. I wasn't convinced I should count that as a failure but I did.

Then I drove back through Idaho, passing Twin Falls (for all you Built to Spill fans) and (for maybe the only time on the trip) making it to my hotel before I made it to my last destination. I checked in and then drove to the "ghost town" of Albion. Now, I had to pass through a town called Declo first that had 338 people in it. Albion has 236. Why is Declo not considered a ghost town also? Albion had a post office and shops with electric lights working. There were houses and cars parked beside churches. It seemed like a normal town, is what I'm saying. Just not a booming metropolis. I was picturing weeds overtaking the streets and shop fronts abandoned. No such luck. I took many pics but only this one came out decently...



I drove back to the hotel, picking up some food on the way, updated my blog and fell asleep.

Josh