Ready to Travel

Ready to Travel

Monday, February 20, 2012

On the west coast at last

First off, my apologies to everyone who was concerned when they didn't receive a blog post on Sunday night. After an interesting drive i arrived at my b&b hosted by a lovely couple. They have internet access but had no clue what the password was that allows guests to log on.
We'll turn the clock back one day and show you what Coeur d'Alene Idaho looked like on Sunday morning at 7:30 a.m.


I was staying at the Super8 and so, apparently, were a bunch of re-enactors. I was walking down the hallway to the lobby when a couple came out of their room. He was dressed like a mountain main from the 1800's. They were in town for some type of memorabilia show. I didn't have my camera with me, unfortunately.
Sunday morning I headed out and within 40 minutes left all the snow behind me and found myself driving through desert. There were chamisa bushes growing on the roadside, just like in New Mexico. There were miles and miles of hay fields with large signs along the roadside identifying what crop was growing...mostly alfalfa and timothy. Spotted a pheasant scrabbling in the corn stubble when I went into a rest area.


The Columbia River gorge was spectacular but too twisty to take a lot of photos. There was a sign posted before entering the bridge that spanned the river "Warning, severe crosswinds". There were whitecaps on the river. Climbed up the other side and at the summit.....windmills.

Next event - crossing the Snoqualmie Pass. Travel advisory lights flashing..checked the road report - snow patches and ice. Total time to traverse the pass estimated at 65 minutes. The Washington Department of Transport does an incredible job of cleaning and sanding the roads. The winds were fierce, the sleet was not fun but the roads were good. It was like driving in a winter wonderland. The trees are incredibly tall, growing right beside the highway and coated with snow. It was a shame I couldn't take more pictures.



Once through the pass it was time for a break. I turned off the highway and found a gas station with the most amazing bbq place inside. Spicy pulled pork and a wee helping of Monterey Pepperjack mac and cheese. Heavenly.



Then on toward Seattle. I didn't actually drive through Seattle, stayed on the eastern edge and took I-5 North toward Tacoma. The temperature was 7 degrees celsius and everything looked wet and green. Arrived at the border at Blaine and it took almost an hour to cross. The border crossing itself was beautiful. The Pacific ocean on the left and beautiful buildings and landscaping...it reminded me a bit of the gardens at Niagara Falls. Arrived at the b&b, unpacked and headed out for sushi about 5 minutes down the road. Miso soup, 5 nice pieces of vegetables in tempura batter and 8 California rolls..........for $7.99. Another little dose of heaven.

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