Idaho Trip 2007 Episode 1
It was February 18, 2007. I embarked on the longest (with regard to the fourth dimension) solo trip of my life thereto.
It was a journey to Caldwell, Idaho, to the famous Caine Veterinary Teaching Center. But before proceeding far I desired to attend a concert by the Russian group Con Anima. (See a picture of the people here.) My brother, my Goertzen friends, and my friend JB were all in attendance. There was only one other young person in the audience. I think I "decided" that he must be the interim pastor's son -- I think also that is not true.
The singers in Con Anima all graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory. They sang religious and folk music, and did it very well. The love song(s) were particularly amusing. I was certainly happy to have gone.
On I travelled, heading east along the gorge, heading east toward the darkness. I stopped once in Boardman to refuel, but otherwise pressed onward without ceasing. I met with snow between La Grande and Baker City, dry snow that blew across the road in the great darkness. There was no need to chain up -- good thing, since I have new chains which I have never used.
I arrived in Caldwell around 11 pm Mountain Time, give or take. I found the Veterinary Center, no problem, and found the hidden house key, no problem. Fine and dandy. However, I returned to the intersection where I expected to find the student house, and the situation was more confusing than I had expected. There were TWO houses on the south-western corner, and the house parallel to 10th Street, the orientation I expected the house to be in, appeared uninhabited, complete with screen door ajar. I mustered the courage to try my key in the lock, and it didn't work. The other house, well, it was logically clear that it was the one. But I didn't know for sure, and there were vehicles there, and I didn't want to be waking people up or scaring them unnecessarily. And at 11-12 pm, I wasn't thinking my clearest or running at my peak of confidence. So I zipped around the neighborhood, trying to decide if there was some other probable house. And then I drove down to a nearby gas station/mini mart and looked in a map and asked the sleepy-eyed gas station attendant what he thought. He didn't pay much attention at first, but eventually understood what I was getting at and tried to help me. A tall, moderately overweight bearded customer was very considerate and attempted to help... he even called back after leaving the establishment to see if I knew the address of the place... which, er, I did not.
I left with no positive answer, and have never set foot in the building since (no need for them to see the crazy Mennonite lady again).
I pondered my plight, and pondered the pros and cons of my various sleeping options. I.e., sleeping in a motel (pretty much bottom on the list), sleeping in my car in a store parking lot, sleeping in the house on the corner, sleeping in my car in the gravel lot on the corner. I settled for the latter -- it involved the least money/confrontation with others. I was a little worried about being seen in my car from the road, or about some policeman stopping by to ask me what in the world I was doing there... and around 2 am I heard voices out in the parking lot and worried my time had come. The voices went away, and all was well.
It was a bit frigid, sleeping there in an unheated car. I left before 6 am to decrease the chances of being seen by the house occupants, and headed to Boise. I washed up in an Albertson's, reminding myself of the time when Dad was on a trip and tried to wash his hair in a gas station bathroom. He ended up being driven out with suds remaining.
Of all things, I had left my stethoscope at the vet school before heading to Idaho... so I needed to buy another, and I wanted a battery charger for my digital camera, and a couple office items for clinics. I bought a cheepo but kinda snazzy black Omron Sprague-Rappaport stethoscope. You see, my other stethoscope is a single-tube, single head scope and I had thought it would be fun to have the double headed type. The double tube makes it extra unique, and it works amazingly well for the price I paid.
I dinked around Boise, buying the charger and office stuff at OfficeMax, some yarn and needles at Michael's, and wandering around in the REI looking at snowshoes, etc. I was tempted to enter the Cabela's, but restrained myself.
It was a journey to Caldwell, Idaho, to the famous Caine Veterinary Teaching Center. But before proceeding far I desired to attend a concert by the Russian group Con Anima. (See a picture of the people here.) My brother, my Goertzen friends, and my friend JB were all in attendance. There was only one other young person in the audience. I think I "decided" that he must be the interim pastor's son -- I think also that is not true.
The singers in Con Anima all graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory. They sang religious and folk music, and did it very well. The love song(s) were particularly amusing. I was certainly happy to have gone.
On I travelled, heading east along the gorge, heading east toward the darkness. I stopped once in Boardman to refuel, but otherwise pressed onward without ceasing. I met with snow between La Grande and Baker City, dry snow that blew across the road in the great darkness. There was no need to chain up -- good thing, since I have new chains which I have never used.
I arrived in Caldwell around 11 pm Mountain Time, give or take. I found the Veterinary Center, no problem, and found the hidden house key, no problem. Fine and dandy. However, I returned to the intersection where I expected to find the student house, and the situation was more confusing than I had expected. There were TWO houses on the south-western corner, and the house parallel to 10th Street, the orientation I expected the house to be in, appeared uninhabited, complete with screen door ajar. I mustered the courage to try my key in the lock, and it didn't work. The other house, well, it was logically clear that it was the one. But I didn't know for sure, and there were vehicles there, and I didn't want to be waking people up or scaring them unnecessarily. And at 11-12 pm, I wasn't thinking my clearest or running at my peak of confidence. So I zipped around the neighborhood, trying to decide if there was some other probable house. And then I drove down to a nearby gas station/mini mart and looked in a map and asked the sleepy-eyed gas station attendant what he thought. He didn't pay much attention at first, but eventually understood what I was getting at and tried to help me. A tall, moderately overweight bearded customer was very considerate and attempted to help... he even called back after leaving the establishment to see if I knew the address of the place... which, er, I did not.
I left with no positive answer, and have never set foot in the building since (no need for them to see the crazy Mennonite lady again).
I pondered my plight, and pondered the pros and cons of my various sleeping options. I.e., sleeping in a motel (pretty much bottom on the list), sleeping in my car in a store parking lot, sleeping in the house on the corner, sleeping in my car in the gravel lot on the corner. I settled for the latter -- it involved the least money/confrontation with others. I was a little worried about being seen in my car from the road, or about some policeman stopping by to ask me what in the world I was doing there... and around 2 am I heard voices out in the parking lot and worried my time had come. The voices went away, and all was well.
It was a bit frigid, sleeping there in an unheated car. I left before 6 am to decrease the chances of being seen by the house occupants, and headed to Boise. I washed up in an Albertson's, reminding myself of the time when Dad was on a trip and tried to wash his hair in a gas station bathroom. He ended up being driven out with suds remaining.
Of all things, I had left my stethoscope at the vet school before heading to Idaho... so I needed to buy another, and I wanted a battery charger for my digital camera, and a couple office items for clinics. I bought a cheepo but kinda snazzy black Omron Sprague-Rappaport stethoscope. You see, my other stethoscope is a single-tube, single head scope and I had thought it would be fun to have the double headed type. The double tube makes it extra unique, and it works amazingly well for the price I paid.
I dinked around Boise, buying the charger and office stuff at OfficeMax, some yarn and needles at Michael's, and wandering around in the REI looking at snowshoes, etc. I was tempted to enter the Cabela's, but restrained myself.
posted by Claire at 19:32
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