Day 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20. in A small but passable life.

Before we left Bend we found a Columbia Sportswear outlet having a clearance sale in a big tent outside the store. We dove into the racks. Mom found a real nice pink fleece jacket for $20. I found an Arctic Trip II Interchange Jacket. It had started out at $175.00, marked down to $150.00, and marked down again to $130.00. I got it for 60% off that last price. $50.00 and no sales tax in Oregon. This jacket will replace my fleece, my rain anorak, and my windbreaker. It has an “Omni-Heat” lining in the fleece and the fleece jacket zips out, separates from the totally waterproof shell. Oh yeah, guaranteed for life.

And then we found a REI store. Oh yeah. I’d already priced everything left on my “equipment to buy” list. First I found the Thermarest Neoair Xlite (regular length) air mattress. On Amazon they were $200. REI wanted $170. I bought it. Next were trekking poles. I found a pair of Black Diamond Fire Red (with flick-locks) for $120. The only difference between those and the carbon fiber model was 20 grams of weight and $60. I bought them. And the cashier talked me into a lifetime membership for $20, which came with a $20 credit if used before May 28th. The total was $309. I told Mom that could be my early birthday present.

We had to wait until 10am for REI to open so we got right on the road east again.

Anyone who thinks the earth is getting crowded hasn’t driven Highway 20 between Bend and Burns, Oregon. After Burns the scenery isn’t too bad, but still pretty sparsely populated.

We lost an hour entering Mountain time so we were an hour later checking into the motel than usual. We had booked two nights in Meridian, Idaho, planning to rest for a day (Tuesday) before making the final push for home.

So, Tuesday was spent mostly in the room, except for a brief outing to top off the tank and grab some McDonald’s for lunch/dinner. $13 for two meals? Really?

Wednesday we headed south on Highway 93 to Ely, Nevada. It was a beautiful drive through a landscape of almost total non-habitation by humans.

We checked into our room in Ely, using 6000 of our bonus points which brought the total cost down to $50. There was a Ridley’s supermarket next door so I walked over and bought some grub.

Thursday we headed south again on Highway 93 to Las Vegas. We found our La Quinta one block from the Las Vegas “strip”. And by now I was too tired to walk over and gawk. Too tired for even the hot tub or pool.

Friday morning we headed south once again on Highway 93 to home. Now, when going over the Colorado river at the Hoover dam you can’t see a thing. All the traffic is routed through new construction and I think, a new bridge. The bridge had high walls which blocked all view of everything except the road ahead.

We were home at 2:43pm. Finally!

I unloaded the car, put everything back outside where it belonged, turned on the water and water heater, turned the A/C thermostats down, and spent the rest of the day putting my stuff back where it belonged.

I finished up the evening with a soak in the hot tub, a float in the pool, and a long hot shower.

Final stats:

Total miles driven: 3286

Total fuel cost: $426

Highest price per gallon: $3.99 in Morro Bay, CA.

Lowest price per gallon: $2.87 here when we left, and $2.97 when we got back here.

Best mileage obtained (the last half tank): 30.25 MPG

Average MPG: 26.78

Total spent on motels: $1928.20, for an average of $113.42 per night.

So yeah, it’s nice to be home sitting in my chair once again.

Last updated May 20, 2018