https://fiveoclocktrail.com/ Airstream Adventures across the USA — Val & Keith's Airstream travel journal en-us Sat, 11 Jul 2026 19:36:24 GMT https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-38/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-38/ Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Final Oregon Trail day at Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood — Magic Mile sky ride, farewell dinner, Keith's recognition, the 2026 Nuts For Ruts gang, and Little Zigzag Falls. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-37/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-37/ Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Mt. Hood, OR — Oregon Trail kiosk at Government Camp, Cultural Center and Museum, Barlow Road wagon steps, ski town history, and a 1919 deed to Oregon. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-36/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-36/ Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Columbia River Gorge, OR — Multnomah Falls parking with the Airstream, Mt. Hood back roads, Barlow Road pioneer grave, and lunch at Trillium Lake with fellow Airstreamers. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-35/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-35/ Sun, 28 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Brunch cruise on the Columbia Gorge sternwheeler past Bonneville Dam and treaty sturgeon platforms, Vista House at Crown Point, and a fish hatchery with ancient sturgeon and rainbow trout. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-34/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-34/ Sat, 27 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Bypassing Pendleton for the Columbia Gorge: Oregon Trail rest-stop history, I-84 and the Columbia River, Hood River breweries, and two nights at KOA Cascade Locks with Bridge of the Gods views. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-33/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-33/ Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT A Pendleton day touring the underground saloons, bathhouse, ice cream parlor, meat market, gaming rooms, Stella Darby's brothel, wartime balloon-bomb history, and a good lunch downtown. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-32/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-32/ Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Whitman Mission, WA — a personal Oregon Trail day honoring Keith's connection to Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, told from Cayuse, Walla Walla, Umatilla, mission, and survivor perspectives. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-31/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-31/ Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT A full month on the road, taking the long way from Baker City to Pendleton through forest, small towns, the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site, ranch country, Wildhorse RV Park, and an evening remembering the Whitmans. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-30/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-30/ Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Baker City, OR — Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, walkable wagon ruts, wagon-packing lessons, the Trail centennial obelisk, and Wally Byam's hometown Airstream museum. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-29/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-29/ Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT An alternate-route travel day toward Baker City with Oregon Trail ruts, back-road discoveries, Fort Boise history, Snake River crossings, Narcissa Whitman quotes, and a wildfire near Vale. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-28/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-28/ Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT A Glenns Ferry day with shaded campsites, Three Island Crossing, Narcissa Whitman quotes, irrigation history, murals, fish fence art, a thoughtful museum, and Y Knot wine. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-27/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-27/ Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT A travel day across Idaho with one last look at Lava Hot Springs, early coffee, Shelley on the Snake River, the Idaho Potato Museum, Fort Hall, trail ruts, Register Rock, and an astronomy talk. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-26/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-26/ Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT A day trip from Lava Hot Springs to Chesterfield's historic townsite, a quiet reservoir for canoeing, bird watching, bison burgers, and gelato. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-25/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-25/ Thu, 18 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT No historical sights today — just rest and relaxation in the mineral pools, a sunken garden, river tubing nearby, a pretty campground, and a Dutch oven cookout with food, fire, and friendships. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-24/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-24/ Wed, 17 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT A travel day from Wyoming into Idaho: sunset moose, Eocene fossils near Kemmerer, shepherd wagons, Bear River Valley, Oregon Trail markers, bubbling springs, and the triumphant recovery of the trailer keys. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-23/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-23/ Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Our last stop in Wyoming: full hookups beside Fort Bridger, a tour through the old fort, Thornburgh the heroic dog, wagon details, enlisted quarters, a punishment horse, and dandelion wine. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-22/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-22/ Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Coffee and scones in Lander, then west across South Pass — Oregon Buttes, the Parting of the Ways, a Pony Express station on the Big Sandy, Simpson's Hollow, and a recreated ferry on the Green River. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-21/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-21/ Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Sinks Canyon's underground river, the Pioneer Museum in Lander, a tour of the Carissa Mine at South Pass City, and one of the best dinners of the trip at Cowfish. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-20/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-20/ Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Oregon Trail travel day across central Wyoming — Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, a prairie walk through Mormon history, and the ghost town of Jeffrey City. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-19/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-19/ Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Red Butte, a surprise Pony Express reenactment, pronghorn calves, bronze statues in Casper, boots at Lou Taubert's, and gin at Backwards Distillery. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-18/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-18/ Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT A museum day with the N4R group, films on westward migration and broken treaties, a bench debut at the visitor center, and wine at the Silver Fox. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-17/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-17/ Wed, 10 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT The first day in Wyoming: Fort Laramie, the Grattan story, Register Cliff with pioneer carvings, actual wagon ruts in soft stone, and 40–50 MPH winds the whole way. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-16/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-16/ Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Oatmeal with ice cream, a windy 1.6-mile downhill walk through Scotts Bluff, fur trappers and bull boats, a taxidermied sheep who just wants to be sheared, and two very important quizzes. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-15/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-15/ Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Frog's Head Bluff, a muddy drive up to Courthouse Rock, a Pony Express mural in Bridgeport, Chimney Rock up close, pioneer disease treatments that made us go 😳, and ice cream with the landmark in the background. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-14/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-14/ Sun, 07 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Two weeks on the trail. Ash Hollow, Windlass Hill, an 18-year-old bride buried along the way, a corkscrew that hasn't changed in 150 years, and boots on fenceposts. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-13/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-13/ Sat, 06 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT The world's largest rail yard from seven stories up, the Orphan Train story, Buffalo Bill's ranch and Wild West Show barn, actual bison living the good life, and a county sign that stopped us cold. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-12/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-12/ Fri, 05 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT An eclectic Pioneer Village with uranium glass, a boat named Valhalla, and Grape Nuts in a display case — then Fort Kearney where emigrants grouped up before the trail got dangerous. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-11/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-11/ Thu, 04 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT The Great Platte River Road Archway Monument spans actual Interstate 80 — 52 audio stories from wagon ruts to Lincoln Highway. Plus a soddy, Sandhill Crane habitat, a turtle, and a German nacho plate we weren't expecting. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-10/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-10/ Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Three-plus hours at Stuhr Museum: whooping crane photography, a lightning rod collection, a tractor with a sun shade, and a full replica Railroad Town with tinsmiths, milliners, and a telephone switchboard. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-9/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-9/ Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Lots of rain, a cancelled pancake breakfast, a stroll through a well-kept small town, a laundromat full of Airstreamers, a potluck, and a 1:12 scale chuckwagon that took 300 hours to build. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-8/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-8/ Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT The longest drive of the trip — 250 miles from Kansas into Nebraska. A perfect campsite facing a golf course, black squirrels in Seneca, and the Homestead National Historical Park in Beatrice. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-7/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-7/ Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT A short travel day with launch and advance crews, a wind power field up close, baby goats and goslings, the Pony Express Museum, the Missouri Riverfront — and Father's Day Stetson shopping. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-6/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-6/ Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Independence, MO — where the Oregon Trail, Santa Fe Trail, and Lewis & Clark begin. N4R group photo at the courthouse, Clinton's ice cream, Harry Truman's hometown, and fly fishing lures on a bamboo rod. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-5/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-5/ Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Laundry day, 44 quarters, a locked laundromat door, BBQ in Weston, a visit to Fort Leavenworth, and the first official caravan dinner — chicken fried steak, cinnamon biscuits, and a 2-inch-thick binder for the road ahead. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-4/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-4/ Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT A driving day with Yacht Rock on Sirius XM, three Missouri River crossings, a Star Wars truck driver, arriving at Worlds of Fun — and finding out the trailer is 240 pounds UNDER the weight limit. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-3/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-3/ Wed, 27 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Metro to the Gateway Arch, Lewis & Clark, the Dred Scott story, Budweiser Clydesdales with stained glass stalls and a 650-pound chandelier, and Michelob Ultra at the end of the tour. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-2/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-2/ Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT London yesterday, Athens today. Through the Horse Capital of the World, the Bourbon Trail, riverboats on the Mississippi, donkeys mid-transfer, Val drives two hours, and dinner at a casino with a color-changing margarita. https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-1/ https://fiveoclocktrail.com/oregon-trail/day-1/ Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Memorial Day 2026 — the Oregon Trail Airstream journey begins. North Carolina to Kentucky, breakfast in Blountville, a missing phone found, Virginia rain, and ginger beer.