Idaho and Oregon

We spent about 5 weeks in Idaho. Our solar and battery system is complete now and we also got some body work done on the truck.

**Full disclosure**

Unfortunately, we had a mishap hooking up when we were leaving Anaconda, MT. We did a pull test and things were fine, but when we started to actually pull forward, the pin on the fifth wheel was not seated all the way into our hitch. The fifth wheel came off the hitch and dropped onto the bed rails of our truck and also wreaked havoc with our tailgate. Thankfully, neither of us were hurt. I guess also thankfully, this happened while we were still stationary! We chalked it up to a newbie mistake and have learned what to watch for moving forward. "I guess that's why we have insurance" was the quote for the day/week/month. The body work is what held us in Caldwell, ID while the work was being completed in Boise. Good news is that the truck looks and operates well, and we moved on!

The next leg of our adventure led us into Oregon. Getting to every state is a bucket list item of mine, so we are getting a few knocked off already!

Currently, we are in a tiny town called Heppner. Population: 1266. There is a grocery store in town and across the street is the all-in-one Pharmacy/Boutique/Liquor Store/Coffee Shop! Groceries in small towns are definitely more expensive. I paid $4.49 for a pack of hamburger buns! Oh my gosh. I sound like my mom. We have taken the approach that we are supporting the local businesses by our shopping, so we are helping the economy on our adventures. Not a bad way of looking at things?

We also visited the metropolis of Lexington last weekend. Population: 236. They had a Fall Harvest celebration; we got a couple Octoberfest beers, listened to live music, and bought some hand crafted soap and sourdough bread while we were there. Not too shabby of a day! Then we found ourselves at Bucknum's Tavern in Heppner for burgers and beer. Yum.

I'll leave you with a pic of "what we thought Oregon would look like." The All Trails app helped us find a nice hike to do last weekend (credit goes to Chad on finding it). Willow Creek Trail No. 3063 was on the edge of Umatilla National Forest. We could have gone for a long time, but settled on a 2 mile excursion since we haven't been out for awhile. It really was nice. It's amazing what some fresh air can do. Happy Trails :)