Lewiston, MT - 740 miles from home

A loooonnnnnnngggg day. Left Seattle at 0500 and watched the sun rise over Cle Elum. We've certainly driven this route a lot - Trina and Ross both went to Central, and there were a lot of trips back and forth. I don't remember any of these wind farms back in the early 90's, though - obviously, Ellensburg is getting green!



One of my favorite places in Washington state is Vantage. (My kids are all laughing right now - because they know, as I do, that there is NOTHING in Vantage. Nothing.) Every time we'd get one of these non-summers (much like this year) I'd forget how much I disliked the heat of the Midwest and start to whine about wanting some sun. I always wanted to come to Vantage. For you non-Washingtonians, Vantage is about in the middle of the state. As you pass through the state, once you've crossed the mountain passes, you've entered arid country (especially on I-90). This is horse country....and the Yakima Nation. It's mile after mile of dry, dusty hills, covered with sagebrush and dirt. Rattlesnakes, rabbits and hawks. (Besides the cowboys) It's hot and dry. Picture in your mind an old western movie. The camera pans over the hills and there are about a hundred Indians in war paint, atop a hill, watching the luckless wagon train down in the valley below - that's east-central Washington. After about an hour of this scenery, though, you begin to drop down a long, long hill. You turn a corner, and BAM - there's Vantage. It's nothing more than a wide spot in the highway with a bridge over the Columbia River. That's it. Once you've crossed the river, you're right back in the heat and dry hills. I love Vantage.

I was really interested to see the name "Hiawatha" about 4 or 5 times through Washington and Idaho. Ummm, Hiawatha was an Iroquois chief - I'm wondering how he got to the Northwest.....Oh, well, perhaps readers of Wordsworth or Longfellow (I can never remember which one wrote "Hiawatha") moved across on one of those wagon trains.

After 2 1/2 hours in eastern Washington, entering the lush Idaho forests was really refreshing. Northern Idaho and western Montana are really beautiful - the Bitteroot Range is just so pretty....on the down side, however, we got stuck in an hour's worth of single-lane traffic, with 35-45 mph speed limits. Yuk.



We took a new route today....going up north from Missoula to Great Falls. This route takes you through a bunch of tiny little towns - Bonner, MT, has hit hard times...half the houses are boarded up. BUT - hang on, Bonner! The Testicle Festival is coming! (I am NOT making this up. I'd have taken a picture of the poster but I didn't get the camera out fast enough.) Surely that'll bring in the tourist trade!

After 12 hours of driving, we finally arrived here in Lewiston, MT. We've never been here before. It's easy to miss - matter of fact, we DID miss it. Drove right by and had to turn back and come to the motel. Right across the street is the premier dining establishment in town: Doc's OK Korral. :)

No, I didn't play Bingo.