Crossing Washington

We got up before 6 this morning, packed our car, had a time of prayer with Steve and then headed south toward the US border. (The route that the boys have chosen for our return journey is just over 3,000 miles long, and we are going to try to cover this in 5-6 days.) We left early this morning hoping to avoid the Vancouver and border traffic that we struggled with on Friday, and our early departure paid off as we crossed the border only one hour after leaving North Vancouver. The skies were overcast as we headed south toward Seattle, which again limited our visibility of the mountains to the east. Reaching Seattle we turned east on I-90, our route for the next 1,500 miles. The boys were quiet this morning and rested quite a bit throughout the day. I drove most of the day and was content to just quietly take in the varying scenery along our route.

Just east of Seattle we entered the foothills of the Cascade Mountain Range. The hills were dense with green foliage and very beautiful, but the tops were again shrouded with clouds, concealing the full majesty of the mountain range. At the summit we found ourselves engulfed in thick clouds and light rain showers. The Cascades have chosen to conceal themselves from us again and will remain a mystery to me. I hope the Rocky Mountains in Montana will be more cooperative!

As we eased our way down the eastern slope of the Cascades, the clouds slowly parted to reveal a blue sky that would accompany us for the rest of our journey across Washington. Leaving the mountains behind the trees quickly vanished from the rolling hills and the rich green grass turned to brown. The rugged landscape here reminded us of the high prairie in eastern Colorado.

The mural of the landscape soon changed again as we entered a rich farmland with a wide variety of grains and other crops. There were many fruit stands in this area, but we didn’t see any orchards along I-90. A short while later the farmland turned to a barren landscape of rocky soil that eventually led down to a spectacular crossing of the Columbia River.

It was amazing to see how many times the landscape changed in the 130 miles we traveled from Seattle to the Columbia River in the middle of the state. It is for this reason that I once chose to cross the country by bicycle and now choose to transverse it by auto. Out West you never know what you will see around the next bend in the road, but chances are it will be something different. Within sixty miles we went from the lush mountains to rich farmland to a barren river gorge, and the day was just beginning.

Along the way we had a good chuckle as we passed a road sign for the town of George, Washington!

As we entered the eastern part of WA the landscape turned to one of rich farmland as far as the eye could see, melting into a vast blue sky above. It seemed at times that we were looking at thousands of acres of farmland and at times there wasn’t a single dwelling in sight. Thanks to signs along the roadway we knew that we were passing fields of wheat, hay, alfalfa, corn, peas, potatoes, and more.

We began to climb again as we neared Spokane, WA, and the 200 mile journey from Spokane across Idaho to Missoula, Montana has us climbing up and down the Couer D’Alene Mountains and the Bitterroot Mountains. With peaks in the 7-8,000’ range, and mountain passes over 4,000’, these mountains are but a prelude to the Rocky Mountains that we will cross tomorrow.

We ended the day in Missoula, with 625 miles behind us. While I am writing the boys are out in town, seeking out the local Wal-Mart to buy food and drinks. Afterward they are going to get a good workout in the fitness room and then they hope to watch Myth Busters on the Discovery Channel.

I am sitting in our 4th floor room in a luxurious Best Western Hotel, watching the sun set over the mountains. There’s no question about it; I love being in this part of the USA! Crossing Washington on I-90 was a spectacular journey that I would be glad to make again someday. And perhaps I might even see those shy Cascade Mountains! Tomorrow we cross Montana and hope to end the day another 600 miles closer to home.