Westward We Be

The Great ‘Back to Texas’ Western Migration by Way of Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Washington, Oregon, Utah, and Colorado has begun!

Our first day on the road was thankfully uneventful, Miss Biggie ran like the champion that she (presently 😊) is. It’s a good thing that we had all of that AC work done as the temps were in the 90’s and with our big, clear, “Greenhouse Effect” front window in full sun all day makes for some uncomfortable temps inside our version of the Space Shuttle. We have definitely come to realize that products are made for averages and when one gets to the extremes of the ranges from which those averages are extracted….. well, let’s just say that the design envelopes tend to stretch a tad and things can be a bit dicey. I cannot report that it was cold in there. Maybe just tolerable?

            But just in time our Walmart of Oregon (Ohio) came into view and our chosen spot for the night had some fortuitously placed trees that helped to shade us as the sun went lower on the horizon.

So Don, why ‘Oregon’ in Ohio?

I’m glad you asked that Cartography Class!

                        Here’s my theory….. back in the day, Leroy loaded up the Conestoga Wagon with the missus, Abigail. The rest of his family, Jeremiah (his oldest), Hank, Clara, Daphne, Lucas, and his youngest, Tillie, piled in after her except Jeremiah whose job it was to herd the little livestock they brought with them along the way.

                        Leroy was a dreamer and ever since he had heard of the West and all of the adventures that could be theirs for the taking, he had that migration mantra plastered in his brain, Oregon or Bust!

                        Well, let’s just say that the rest of the family did not really share Leroy’s enthusiasm for this adventure, but like the good, obedient family that they were, they followed him out of the yard, down the road and hit the trail westward.

Now Leroy lived in northern New Jersey and according to Google Maps it takes 44 days and 16 hours to walk from there to Pacific City, Oregon. That’s without stopping to sleep, eat, or take numerous ‘Go behind the bushes’ breaks. Then add in the herding of the sometimes-errant critters that were accompanying them and the occasional stops for repairing a wagon wheel, fighting off bears and villainous waylayers, and of course, Interstate 80 was still a hundred-plus years in the future.

                        So it was no surprise that after just two weeks on the trail with everyone asking, “Are we there yet?” (especially little Tillie) that Leroy, in exasperation, finally gave up when they hit this section of Ohio, turned to his dragged-along family and shouted, “Yes! This is Oregon! And looking out across what was Lake Erie added, “See! There’s the Pacific Ocean! We are here!”

                        Everyone cheered (except Tillie who was napping) and was happy.  Leroy opened a General Store along this route and quickly named the place Oregon so as to stake his claim that they did, in fact, get to Oregon anyway.

                        Eventually the General Store expanded, added a line of clothing and household goods, some frozen foods and a shop where you could have your wagon wheels changed. This enterprise was eventually re-named Wall-Mart by Lucas (who followed his father into the business) because they had built a wall around their little compound to thwart evildoers.

                        That is where were are presently staying the night.

                                    The End.

                        Today we should be pulling into Sault Ste. Marie (pronounced Soo Saint Marie) way up on the tippy-top of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Excursions to hopefully include a trip to (Bucket List!) Mackinac (Mackinaw) Island where the Grand Hotel (!!!) (of Somewhere in Time) along with some great local State Parks on the shores of Lake Superior. Plus, our campsite is directly across from the Soo Locks which all of the giant ore freighters use on their way to and from the “mills in Wisconsin” (Ballad of the Edmund Fitzgerald). To sweeten this trip, we get to visit Darla and Sandra who we met on the World Cruise. The live in Sault Ste Marie.

                                    More to follow as the Adventures continue!