Marsing, Idaho

Sunday, June 9, 2002

I left Princeton the same way I came, north on OR-205 at more or less the same speeds... past warp speed, past light speed... I went to plaid! I could see time unfolding in reverse as flowers closed their petals, receded into the ground and became seeds. Okay, maybe it just seemed that fast. In no time I was back in Burns and headed more re less east on US-20.

This leg of my journey was a bit of a make-up trip. You see, the last time I was out this far east (see Riggins), I was unable to reach Marsing before the checkpoint closed. I had forgotten that these parts observe Mountain Time and that it was really an hour later than my Pacific Time brain had anticipated. I had made my calculations correctly this time around and crossed the Oregon/Idaho border with plenty room to spare.

It had begun to rain again and as far as I could tell this was a "first" rain, the kind that picks up and redistributes all of the accumulated road oil. The road (along US-95) in Parma was awash in white foamy stuff. Cars would occasionally loose traction when starting out and, even less often, the drivers of those cars would catch on to the problem. I kept a respectful distance.

The town of Marsing is situated along the Snake river. The rain had abated and there, nestled between the railroad tracks and the west bank of the Snake, I found the Sandbar River Restaurant.

The restaurant features beautiful views of the water (not of the railroad tracks.) I picked up my stamp but was unable to face yet another meal a mere few hours after the meal at my previous checkpoint. With apologies, I left the establishment but took time to walk around a while and enjoy the sights. ...and then it started raining again. Perhaps I should have stayed for a cup of soup?

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