Random Connections

Kansas City seems like a nice city.  St. Louis seems like a nice city.  So what happened in between?  I’ve been none too impressed with what I’ve seen along I-70.  Blue Springs seemed like a loud, rude town, and it seemed like this attitude continued eastward.  We saw more billboards along this route, particularly for … Read More “Last Night on the Trail” »

If some railroad official hadn’t driven a spike into a railroad tie 140 years ago about 600 miles west of here, we might have gotten more sleep last night.  Our motel seems to be right across the road from the Transcontinental Railroad.  We had seen lots of trains yesterday, bu we heard even more during … Read More “Flat as a…” »

If the settlement of the West had been left up to yuppies in fancy convertibles, the Sioux, Apache, Shoshone, and others would have had little to fear.  Planning to make a life in, or ever crossing this harsh environment, must have taken a determination I can scarcely fathom.  Today our route took us along more … Read More “Fly Over States” »

Our last meal in Washington State last night as at Chuckanut Manor.  This scenic B&B overlooks Samish Bay, and as we feasted on local seafood, orioles, humming birds, and red-wing blackbirds feasted on seed just outside our window. (Laura just pointed out that the previous sentence sounds like we were eating seafood AND birds.  Oh … Read More “On the Oregon Trail (Going the Opposite Direction)” »

I wonder if I’ll ever be able to take a vacation without contacting or being contacted by work.  I guess I could leave the cell phone and laptop at home. Our plan was to catch a ferry to the San Juan Islands today.  Plans change.  Laura woke up with a terrible pain in her back, … Read More “Lone Roaming” »

Today is the Summer Solstice.  Seems we missed out on the real fun, which was taking place down in Fremont, home of Adobe Software and neighbor to the University of Washington.  They had a parade celebrating the solstice, and it seems some of the participants thought it was clothing-optional – about 50 bicyclists, to be … Read More “Summer Solstice and Mid-Journey Reflection” »

We’re not planning to drive anywhere today.  It will just be a lazy day relaxing on the island.  I’ve taken the time to make some changes to this web page.  The comments are now visible on this page without having to click on an additional link.  You will see them in italics below the log … Read More “Holding Still” »

We awoke this morning much later than any other day on our trip.  I guess knowing that we don’t have that far to go has made us slow down a bit.  The day was clear and beautiful, and we could hear the low hum of milions of megawatts of power being generated just across the … Read More “Crossing the Cascades” »

For the past three days we have been without Internet access. This evening we’re staying at a place with free high-speed Internet, so I’ll catch up on a few things. Thanks for your patience.

Last night it struck us that we have to drive back.  With that realization, we decided that we wanted to stay still as long as possible, so we decided to stick to the interstates and get to Samish Island a day earlier. We headed north out of West Yellowstone at 7:00 AM.  The road briefly … Read More “Grand Coulee” »