A Long Trip

 

Columbia River Gorge: needs a tea room with the view.

I have spent the first weekend in July driving over 450 miles for a family reunion, transporting young family members from place to place. I must have driven along the Columbia River Gorge and Cascade Locks four times or more. Stan drove the distance ahead of me in another car.

Road travel:  a long time ago the roads were "not as good" but the trips were better. Little winding ascents up and around hills, accented by plains and meadows with few curves made travel interesting. There were places to stop by the side of the road for artists and picnickers. How long has it been (if ever it ocurred in your lifetime) since you have see people stopped by a pleasant little situation on a road, having tea or taking pictures of each other with a mountain or lake or a cute house in the background?

(painting: Stephen Darbishire, available to purchase online) This scene looks like some lakes I've driven by. Buy this at Allposters and online stores.)

The driving is smooth and you never see a car broken down. That is the good part, but the bad part is the SLEAZY DIVES  you have to stop at for rest or essential purposes, that aren't very clean and have three times the price in an ordinary store at home.

(Painting: Stephen Darbishire, available to  online at Allposters and other online shops)

Because I was driving for very long stretches between stopping areas, I wanted to be able to look forward to a NICE, travel friendly, clean, cheerful and interesting stop, similar to Little America. That place was truly an oasis for the traveler. The gift shops carried items related to the location and to the weary driver the restaurant was a luxury.

This scene is like the lavender farm with hills in the background, which I have seen on a car trip.

(Painting: Stephen Darbishire, from Allposters and other stores online) I drove past scenery similar to this, thinking how appealing a nice rest stop, complete with luxurious amenities. So many people have recreational vehicles and trailers these days, so they may not feel the need for travel luxury, but the car traveler needs nice stops.

I always heard that you could succeed in life by "finding a need and filling it."  Travel comfort would be a great business to create in places where there is nothing to stop for.  Sometimes I would have to drive more than 50 miles before a stopping area. I was thinking how beautiful rest stops similar to Little America would make car travel more comforting, and especially reassuring for car of the car, fuel, bathrooms or just resting an overheated car.

(Painting by Stephen Darbishire, available at Allposters and other online shops) Familiar scene from highways around here.

The stopping areas should be refined and luxurious, but not overpriced. These places should all have a beautiful appearance, complimentary  surroundings.

Stephen Darbishire painted the perfect picture of what could have been a scene from a car. This looks like some parts of Mt. Hood.

It has always been the Wild West out here so I don't expect much change but it would be a dream come true for some enterprising people. And if you could possibly, along with gas, food, a lookout point and clean restrooms, include  a tea room on the way around the mountain, the road along the coast line, in the forest, high desert, wheat fields lakes, rivers and prairie, I would appreciate it. Could you please include the option of a take-away tea for those who want to turn off on a little scenic area?

Above: familiar scenery in this Stephen Darbishire painting (available at Allposters and other online shops.) looks like something I have seen while driving.

The car traveler needs to look forward to the next nice place not so many miles ahead where they can stop and take on the scenes they are driving past, unable to photograph or record while driving. Having nice places to get out of  the car often to stretch, remove a coat, wash our hands and in general refresh ourselves really helps if we are driving a long distance.  

Stephen Darbishire painting, above looks like scenes we pass while traveling by car.  It would be such a refreshment to be able to stop in a setting like this and get some relief from the traffic noise.  This scene looks like places around here alongside the roads.

Stopping by the side of the road should be an experience to inspire artists, poets and composers.

Wooded scene depicted by Darbishire resembles roadside scenes here.

In Australia, the picnic business is a very big deal. You can buy a any meal of your choice  in a box that looks like a basket, some of them created to be reminiscent of bygone picnics and leisurely car travel.  That enterprise has not really gained much interest here but it would certainly be another opportunity for anyone keen on pursuing it.  

It would have been a welcome rest to have a place like this to stop and view the beautiful view. Instead of whizzing past, it would be a welcome stop for a weary driver. Stephen Darbishire painted scenes that look a lot like places a car traveler would drive past.  It is a loss to the senses and the mind that there is no place to stop by the side of the road and enjoy views like this.  We have the scenery. There needs to be more places to stop and rest the mind from driving.

(Find Stephen Darbyshire paintings at Allposters and other online stores)

Those who have recreational vehicles and trailers with their own comforts might not demand better stopping areas, but there are still more car travelers who need something more. We get aches and pains driving long distances and need some great rest areas that take advantage of the surrounding beauty and provide some luxury to look forward to: good water, clean facilities, comfortable and pretty places to stop and spread your own picnics to break up long distance driving time, especially to give us refreshment to be more alert on the road.

Added 7/06/17:  It appears from comments other people have the same complaints.  If only the rest areas complimented the scenery (like Darbishire paintings). We have everything in Canada and the US, from farmland to rivers and prairee, and there are areas that look like some other country in the world.  It's a cryin' shame, (yes, I said CRYIN', because it is a tragedy) the car travelled is reduced to stops even an animal would sniff and walk away from.  Like one commenter said, at least in the days back yonder you could pull off to a scenic area and lay out your own tea party or picnic, walk around and breathe in the wonderful air around a spectacular view, and get back in the car feeling revived.  

What I am saying here in this post is that while I am thinking it is 50 miles to the next halfway adequate rest stop, I am thinking how disappointing it will be, instead of something to truly look forward to. Some of you might have been to Little America when it was an oasis in the desert, a relief after many miles on the road. What a delight it was. Maybe you know the story behind it.

If I owned the series or franchise I would call it A Pretty Good Rest Stop. It would major in view, cleanliness, comfort, hot and cold drinking water, shopping, refreshment areas where a girl could comb her hair and refresh herself.  For those of us who don't have campers and motor homes, how about a place for a reclining lawn chair to stretch the legs. When I get out of a car, especially as a driver, I feel I am molded into one pose, so it would be great to have somewhere to recline for a few minutes. 

If such an enterprise where ever realized, think of the employment for young people in such a setting.  

We have great roads. We have good cars. We need better rest stops.  A woman who spoke to our tri-county chamber of commerce made a speech about how the east and west Highway 99 across the country was dotted with beautiful stops with shops. The coastal road had old coach houses tha sed to be overnight stops for coaches and horses, converted to inns.

Here are more photos taken from the car by a passenger: