Travelogue: Back to the Pacific Northwest

Well, folks - I've played the part of lazy dude lately - as far as my Blog and other creative writing pursuits are concerned.  But after my rejuvenating trip to the Northwest (August 1st through 9th) I think I'm ready to share a little snippet of the finer things. 

Trips are great for me, because I'm reminded of all my dreams and goals in life, and that I've got to work hard to get more of these types of trips accomplished in the future (i.e. making and saving cash, finding time off, and reading about new destinations, etc.).  When I get back from a trip I try to hit the ground running, as far as study for furthering my career goes: work hard and play (travel) now and later, that's my motto as of late.

Oh, and by the way, there should be a little bit of 'Three Discouses on Imagined Occasions" to be wrapped up here in the next few weeks.  It seems that since I lost the book, I also lost my fuel for writing anything... so I guess its nice to have my magic Dumbo feather back - of sorts.  Treading through some late summer cleaning, I found the worthy publication hiding behind several bits of outdoor gear on a shelf (used for temporary storage) from my Teton trip on February.

Its time to put on my typing boots and pack away the camping gear....

Tuesday, I landed in Spokane, WA late in the morning... and enjoyed the winding drive down to Moscow, ID - a delightful little College town nestled amidst rolling farm hills and bulbous, picturesqe lower mountains.  There my friends Sean and Jess (with son Peter) and I made preliminary Trip plans throughout the rest of the day... discussing proposals over a scrumptious late Lunch at Swillys in Pullman, WA; followed by grabbing some gourmet cheese and sweet stuffs (idea food) at a local cheese and ice cream factory.  That evening we booked campsites and hotel rooms on plush couches in the cigar room a family owned coffee shop, followed by a clever supplies run to the local CO-OP (micro-Whole Foods store)... ending the evening with personal pizzas roasted over Sean's back porch grill.  Who can beat that type of trip planning???

Early Wednesday morning we catapulted ourselves over the Bitteroot Mountains into Montana, and worked our way through two-lane roads (with several construction stops) all the way up to Kalispell... a nice area of a western Montana valley, full of lakes, golf courses, tourist traps, and great vistas (we had lunch at 'Norm's News' - an old style Soda Fountain spot with lots of bulk candy bins for the kid at heart [recommended by of Veronica K.]).  By mid-afternoon we'd made it to Glacier National Park - where we found several patches of scenic beauty (after making our way up and over 'the road to the sun') that one might call Paradise.  The temperature up in the those mountains was at least in the upper 50s that August afternoon, which made the whole venture utterly worthwhile, even though there were some fires in the North-Eastern portion of the park which had to cut our planned circumnaviagation of the park short.  As the sun passed on to the distant Pacific coast, we made our way down to Missoula to visit Jess's sister and her husband: Kim and Dave.

Thursday we wound our way back through the lower Bitteroot Mountains back into Idaho via the Lost River (Mountain) Range... crossing over to the Sawtooth Mountains.  Missoula, MT was a nice budding town that had a fresh, intelligent feel.  We lunched at a small bistro in lovely Sun Valley (Bruce Willis territory), and jetted down to Boise via a large grassland fire...   We dumped our goods at the local Holiday Inn and walked around town through the Basque District, and other night spots; ending with varied Salmon dishes and local beer brews.  Boise is bustling, clean, attractive town with lots of places to find jobs - and lots of things to do (especially outdoors); its on my list of places to move. 

Friday afternoon we bounded towards the curvacious upper Columbia River areas of Central Washington... winding down with an outdoor dinner at 'the Depot' (a restored train depot building - now a night spot) in Yakima, WA... followed by a final leg of road to our camp destination in Ellensburg, WA. 

Seattle was in view at around 9am on Saturday; where we drove to the heart of the downtown/wharf district and hopped the Bainbridge Island/Olympic Penninsula ferry for destinations superb.  We made our way to Port Angeles around noon, where we also hopped the Coho Ferry to Victoria, BC - Canada - staying at the Royal Scott Hotel (I think I spelled that right) - which was a great spot: both by its instant walk to the harbor, and by its comfort and ease.  We toured the downtain area, had High Tea at the Empress Hotel, and later grabbed a Taxi to Oak Bay area to eat at the wonderful dinner bistro - 'Paprika.' 

We decided to stay an extra day in Victoria, which turned out to be 'BC Day' (British Columbia) - which was kind of like a 4th of July celebration witnessed in the states.  After another tour of the city, and an afternoon local brew, we finished the evening with fireworks and an outdoor concert in Victoria Harbor (1812 Overture). 

Monday we grabbed a tasty breakfast at the Swans Hotel restauraunt, and then took the ferry back over to Port Angeles: the gateway to Olympic National Park.  By early mid-afternoon we were on 'Third Beach' within the park boundary... spending a few hours climbing on rock crags, playing in the surf, or just chillin.  By late afternoon we were touring the Hoh Rain Forest - Hall of Mosses - a pleasant place to wind down into an evening.

Tuesday we were back in Seattle (via the Bainbridge Island ferry again - how we do love to ride the ferrys), and had a seafood lunch at Ivars (on the Wharf)... followed by a quick T-shirt trip to the Patagonia store, and a short stop at the R.E.I. Seattle Flagship store.  By 3:30 PM we were on our way out of town to pass through the Cascade Mountain range, followed by a short 'looking over' of the German-esque town of Leavenworth, WA... meandering our way to an overnight stay in Wenatchee, WA.  There we had found the fabulous 'Cloud 9' Ice Cream Parlour... where your dessert starts in liquid form, and is frozen by liqued nitrogen/gas techniques in just a few seconds; any flavor you want: fresh and sumptuous.

Wednesday we crossed the Columbia River again, past orchards of many flavors, into the wheat fields of the western Spokane region... We toured the Spokane heart to see the falls, the outdoor parks-and-integrated-shopping-mall-area while munching on yet another Whole Foods type picnic lunch ('Rocket' something or other market, a small old time gas station turned CO-OP/Whole Foods style grocery).  There we said our goodbyes, and I was off to the Salt Lake and eventual Dallas/Fort Worth airports... and the trip had come to an end... or did it?  - Because I was quite lazy (other than working the very next several days) at home, and did indulge in a few more good meals here in TX - because I was too un-inspired to cook anything after being on the road again for so long. 

Comments

[David Downey]

See more Pics and my fellow travel companion's blog: http://web.mac.com/salmndr/iWeb/temp/blah%28g%29/5E5BB111-D3D4-4183-B50F-96B5F087E853.html
(I think I need to clean my camera lense, though the Glacier NP area was hazy due to fires in the areaa)

[Professor Xavier]

So... when are you going to post something again... Cat got your toungue or something? What a let down...

[Professor Xavier]

Oh, I like the pics though... but jeez dude, what happened?

[The Dave]

So you're willing to be a patron to keep this thing going (i.e. road trip fuel)?

[Professor Xavier]

Look 'Dude' - if you don't start writing something soon... I'll have to 'Huff... and Puff' and hack into your site... and play Ghost Writer! And you don't want that bub.

[Professor Xavier]

I was studying your pics of Boise, do you think they have enough stop lights on that traffic pole?