road trip, the fifth and final installment

It's been too long. I need to conclude this drawn-out saga before we embark on our next road trip---which just happens to be this Friday---and get buried under an even bigger pile of pictures and stories.

So where were we? The 4th of July, Missoula-style. Let me just say it didn't disappoint. There were meat smokers and wine pulleys, jello shots and monkeyballs, but oddly enough no fireworks. No matter. We had an epic time getting rowdy in Kevin's backyard:






The next day, we packed up our stuff at a comfortable hour and hit the road westward...in Butterball. We were feeling lucky, I guess, especially with Ken & Shawn at our backs. So we set out for Oregon, planning to camp at the best available spot before dark. We found a sparse and surprisingly unpopulated campsite on the banks of the Columbia River, a mere 4 hours from home. We were in the clear! The next day, seemingly invincible to a breakdown, we even found time to visit Stonehenge and a Columbia Valley winery:




Did you know there was an actual-size replica of Stonehenge in Washington, built to the exacting specifications of the original? Yeah, neither did we.

All in all, it was quite a trip---eight days of cavorting and caravaning around the northwest with a great group of peeps. I could have lasted eight more. We were in no hurry to get home, despite the fact that our engine could bust up into a churning mess of metal at any moment. But it never did. Butterball made Bend, albeit noisily. As of this writing, she's in the shop for a rebuild and that four figures worth of work I declined in Montana. Oh well, she earned it.

Next up? The Fuckaroos 5.5 crew (PAWS UP!!) reunites in Joseph, OR this Friday for Labor Day weekend. I'm pretty sure Joseph's not ready for this...