Looking North to Walla Walla. Siri got us lost.
Still lost, but having fun. We even forgot to bring our good cameras.
On Friday, Ann scheduled a VA appointment in Walla Walla. Making the 45 minute trip there usually entails lunch, a visit to the Bread Company, and then a drive home. However, since I’d never been to Milton-Freewater, Oregon, we decided to extend the trip to include a drive into our neighboring state and return home along the Columbia River.
This is an overview of our route
This is a more detailed look at it.
All was going well, until I asked SIRI to guide us from Walla Walla to Milton-Freewater. While I generally knew that MF was to the south of us, I didn’t know exactly where. So, I gave SIRI a chance to shine. At first she seemed confident, ordering us right, then left, then right, then left, until we were heading south on some rural roads toward the hills.
Soon, we were climbing, first on paved roads, then on gravel roads, then on rocky roads. Yet, SIRI didn’t give up. She continued to have a path mapped out. We assumed it was some kind of short cut. Thankfully, Henry (the jeep) surmounted every obstacle in his path.
As we climbed higher, the rocky surface turned to ruts, requiring some focused driving. However, the steep hills didn’t stop us, as our lust for adventure took over. We frequently stopped for photos to capture the beautiful day.
After about a half hour, we began to suspect SIRI had no idea where she was taking us. When we arrived at one particular Y, I wasn’t sure whether to turn right or left. That’s when SIRI stopped navigating us altogether. It was as if she was saying, “Happy April Fools suckers!” We were not amused.
Do we turn left or right? We didn’t know and SIRI abandoned us right here.
So, I shut off SIRI and we took an educated guess and went right at the Y. Soon we were down the rocky slopes and exploring remote canyons until we arrived at our destination: Milton-Freewater. We didn’t stay long, as we’d wasted more time than planned in the hills.
The remainder of our trip consisted of beautiful two lane roads that meandered through the eastern rolling hills of Oregon. Our last goal, before heading home, was to visit Hat Rock State Park. After the state park, we headed back to Pasco.
Hat Rock State Park, Oregon
So much this corner territory, where the states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho meet is remote, with gravel and 4WD roads all over, that I can’t wait to spend some time camping and exploring it over the next few years!
One of many fields we drove past.
The mostly forgotten town of Helix, Oregon.
I think i would have freaked out on that one wagon wheel looking road. Then my survival list would have went off—do have enough water, food matches etc.
Great picture of Ann and you. What an adventure! I hope the VA was open after all that (govt shutdown and all). Joel and I trailered the 1944 I got in Rio Verde out to Butcher Jones on Thursday to take my son and his bride trail riding; only for all roads into Tonto National Forrest to be barricaded closed ;-(
Siri is a fickle devil!!! Never trust her!
dave – nice hat!
Wayne: Actually, we were running on a 1/4 tank of gas, no water, a loaf of bread, and chocolate (which we’d just bought at the bakery). As I said, we hadn’t planned on driving into the hinterlands!
Joe: Sorry to hear that. The VA was open and surprisingly efficient. But then, the Walla Walla is far better than the Richland VA (the closest one to us), which has horrible . . . horrible customer service. Ann’s primary care provider left almost a year ago. She’s been trying to get another primary provider, but all they’ll say is that one is hired, but not working there yet. Meanwhile, when she need medical attention they send her to an unsupervised Physician’s Assistant who literally reads stuff off the internet if he doesn’t know the answer. He tried to do that with Huntington’s and she scolded him, saying never to give the information he provided to her to a real Huntington’s patient (she lost her father and sister to the disease, so knows it all too well).
Brandon: SIRI is certainly misguided!
Dave,
The first couple of pics remind me a lot of the Swartland region in the Western Cape! I honestly thought you arrived in S. Africa? 🙂
Claus: knowing SIRI, that is altogether a possible event!
I am so excited to be moving out that way! I will gladly take those accidental Jeep trips
Dennis: Where will you be based?
Astoria Oregon. Going to drive my 2a there too. moving from Ohio.
That’s a pretty area, but can be cloudy and gray. Fortunately, you are only a couple hours away from sunshine east of the mountains. Good luck!
proudly ” Canadian “; wearing that shirt.
Need I state the obvious? Of course Siri got you lost….. SHE can’t help it. =)