Mountains majesty

Or, the best/worst part of the trip!

Warning: this is liable to be the last of the regular update posts. Tomorrow I hit known parts, and then back home.

Yesterday and today I drove over a bunch of mountains. Some were snowy. Some had plows. But though I very carefully learned all about Doomsie’s snow and ice capabilities, I did not in the end need to use them.

At the top Lookout Pass we were at 4,725 feet, higher up than either Snoqualmie yesterday or any of the other passes today. That’s nothing to the 11,158 feet of the Eisenhower Tunnel in the Rockies, which was how I crossed the mountains westward. But it wasn’t raining and/or snowing when I went that way.

I’m going to write some wrap up posts about the big thinks and the being alone thing, so I’m going to pass on that in is post (again, I know).

A few tweets

• Doomsie took a rock to the windshield today, and it left a tiny chip. Probably not her first ding somewhere, but the first one I’ve noticed. I had to wrestle a little with my feelings about this, but in the end my usual mantra of “she’s a working girl” and I don’t mind if she gets bumps and bruises won out. Still, gonna go get it melted smooth again when I get home.
• I just remembered that Doomsie also took a glancing blow from a 2’ square piece of plywood being tossed about the highway by the Santa Ana winds in Southern California when I was down there. I need to remember to look to see if it left a mark.
• As much hay as I made above about the altitude of the passes, the drive after them all took place at roughly 4,000 feet. As I type this I’m 3,182 feet above sea level. I guess this is why they call them the high plains?
• Snoqualmie Pass yesterday marked the 4,000 mile point on this trip. I think it is going to end being longer than 5,000 miles, eh?
• Driving across the border to and from Canada, I had to explain my packing system. Both directions they asked me to lower my rear window and then blinked, and asked me what was in the boxes. I excitedly told them about my road trip and how packing in boxes was really useful because then I had a box for running, and one for hiking, and one with clean clothes and I could just bring in the box I needed… and by then both of them just shook their heads and wished me a nice day.
• While driving through Oregon I checked to see if I could go to Cannon Beach, but it would have added 2 and a half hours to my trip. But stopping at Powell’s Books only added 15 minutes. And the time it took to find and buy a few books, of course.
• I had no idea Portland was on the border of Oregon and Washington State. Technically it is not, because across the border is Vancouver, WA. Which is not at all confusing, and actually was already confusing at a previous stop where people had to explain it wasn’t *that* Vancouver.

Pictures

I know, you come for the pictures, not the words. Here you go.

It’s been great, mostly. I’ll write again soon!