4/10/2023: The Drive

As I was dreaming about the new sights and smells here in Washington, a phone alarm woke me up. It wasn’t the alarm that made me mad, it was the time the alarm went off, 4 in the morning. Why??!!?

We needed to take the car to Prineville, OR today to get the final piece put into place to be able to legally tow the car. The piece was ordered and delivered this past Friday. We were told to be there first thing today, and they would install it.

From where we are staying, Prineville is roughly 3 and a half hours away. To be there “first thing,” we needed to be out the door at 4:30.

Andy was excited because he’d get to check out the pass we’d be driving the RV over on Sunday. I was excited about another road trip.

It’s been raining nonstop for the last 2 days here. Trying to take care of my business in the pouring rain just isn’t fun, so I was hoping that when we got there, the weather would be a bit better.

It rained for the first 2 hours of our ride. Once we got to the top of the pass, I saw snow. A LOT of snow. The roads were dry, and the driving was quite easy.

When we arrived, we found out that although a part did come in, it was the wrong one. They’re going to have the correct part overnighted. The shop manager felt horrible because we drove as far as we did for nothing.

We made the best of our day. The weather over there was incredible! In Battle Ground, it was 42 and dumping rain. In Prineville, it was 64 and sunny. Looking at a map, we found the Prineville Reservoir was about 20 minutes away. What a great spot! We didn’t see another person there. While we were there, we got to see 5 pelicans. Thinking we were only going to get the car fixed, Andy didn’t bring his good camera. I’ll bet he won’t make that mistake again.

On the trip back, we took a different route to check out a different pass. There was no snow on this one, but the road is much more narrow. When we made it to the Columbia River, the rain started again. There were rivers of water coming across the highway! We will be taking the snow-covered pass route on Sunday.

Here are three interesting facts about Prineville Reservoir:

1. Prineville Reservoir is a popular spot for fishing. It is home to a variety of fish species, including rainbow trout, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, and catfish.
2. The reservoir was created in 1961 when a dam was constructed on the Crooked River. The dam is 237 feet high and 1,791 feet long, and it can hold up to 362,000 acre-feet of water.
3. In addition to fishing, Prineville Reservoir is a popular spot for water sports such as boating, water skiing, and swimming. The reservoir has several boat ramps and two campgrounds for visitors who want to stay overnight.