Yes, we made it!

To answer Stew's question, yes, we made it over the Rockies ok. After dinner in Bozeman and a night in Butte, we made it clean through Montana to have lunch in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. We found a really cool place called Calypsos Coffee, which had great sandwiches and, well, coffee, and free wifi so that we could catch up a bit. Coeur d'Alene definitely looks like a place where we could spend some more time -- it was a beautiful sunny day and the town is centered around the lakefront. Would have loved to linger a bit, but we knew we could get to Portland that day if we pressed on.

We were able to get out of the Rockies without much fanfare -- it seems that part of the range is not very tall, at least relative to the gaps where the highway goes through, so we didn't really see any bare peaks or anything like that. Before we knew it, we were winding down the other side and out into Washington. I had never seen the eastern parts of Washington and Oregon, so I was surprised to see how dry and hot they were.

We crossed into Oregon and followed the state border along the Columbia River the whole way into Portland, where we set up for the night in a motel near the airport. The next day, Friday, we drove the short distance down to Wilsonville, our new home, met the leasing folks and got our keys, and entered our furnished apartment. It was pretty seamless!

Life near Portland has been good so far. We've been exploring the city when we can and have visited Russ & Jaci a fair amount down in Corvallis, plus had them (and Gwen) up here with us. Don't forget our town's Goat Appreciation Day and a great hike up to Multnomah Falls. This weekend is some time in Portland and an Oktoberfest down near Michelle's work.

Sorry for the late update, but we're alive and well!