Which Way to Washington

Today, special guest blogger Josh, is coming to you live from Bellingham, Washington. That sounds stupid but give me a break I have been driving for 4 straight days and well, as it says I am kinda "special". So, Beth asked me to post about my travels and provide some pics. I took a bunch of photos as I went, mostly through my windshield so don't judge my talent, I was focused on making my driving goals each day. That being said; below is an abbreviated account of how things went down.

I actually got started on my journey around 10AM Saturday morning. Oklahoma flew past and before I knew it I was in North Texas hill country. I missed a good photo opportunity as right after the Welcome to Texas sign there was a "Don't mess with Texas, littering $1000 fine" sign. The weather was beautiful and I made good time. After cutting across the Northern part of TX I made my way through most of New Mexico. I visited Red Rocks, NM before calling it quits for the day in Gallup, just shy of the Arizona border. New Mexico was stunning, and possessed an austere beauty I did not expect.

Day 2 started with me crossing into Arizona shortly before sunrise.

I stopped by the Petrified Forest, it was closed. That saddened me but I pushed on making great time through the eastern desert. The landscape was much the same as NM until I climbed into the mountains around Flagstaff. In the higher elevations there was a lot of snow.

I was impressed by Flagstaff and the surrounding area. I took some time there to remember my late Grandmother Walter who grew up around there and used to tell stories of the hundreds of stairs she had to climb each day to go to school, I didn't believe her at the time, I do now. After descending the roughly 6000 ft back down to the desert I drove westward toward the California border. Due to holiday traffic, I skipped the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam and crossed the Colorado River into California and another new time zone buying me an extra hour of driving time. After successfully negotiating the California Agricultural inspection station I made my way through the Mojave Desert.

I was surprised by the amount of life there, while at the same time given the impression of solitary desolace. I don't know if that makes any sense, but anyway, it was a long haul through there. I finished day 2 in Fresno, and yes I had my first In and Out burger (It was not as impressive as I had been led to believe by certain people, but the people were very friendly, so I was satisfied).

Day 3 was supposed to be my easy driving day. I say supposed to because I woke up to severe weather warnings on the radio, they sounded like the bad stuff was supposed to hit South of where I was so I saddled up and pressed on. My first stop was Modesto, CA to visit the parents of my friend Jim, and let me tell you it was a stop worth making. Mama S. cooked up a meal for me that was fantastic (chicken apple sausages, scrambled eggs with diced peppers and onions, toast with butter and pomegranate jelly, and fresh coffee, delicious). We had a nice visit and it was good to have some one to talk to for awhile. I set out from there rejuvenated and with the goal of making it to Oregon by nightfall. The weather caught up to me in the Sierra Nevadas, north of Sacramento. There was some rain on top of recent snowfall, fog, and snow flurries combined with gusting winds, which made for a bit of white knuckle driving before getting through the pass and starting the descent into the central Oregon valley. (insert snowy day 3 photo) I finished the day about 30 miles into Oregon at Medford.

Day 4 was largely uneventful. I had no specific stops planned, and made good time through Oregon. The countryside was beautiful, like something out of a fairytale, not at all like the Oregon Trail computer game I used to play in school. I made my way to Portland and crossed the Columbia River into Washington. It rained on and off till I hit Washington, then it just rained. WA is, I'm sure, a beautiful state, however heading straight up route 5, it gave me the impression of dreariness. Traffic was terrible from Tacoma until about 20miles North of Seattle. On the whole, the drive went well and I arrived in Bellingham shortly before 5PM, 2 days ahead of schedule.

Updates to future travel plans: I was able to switch my ferry bookings, so I will be landing in Whittier, AK (70miles out side of Anchorage), instead of Haines, AK (700miles from AK). I will take the ferry on the 20th to Juneau, spend a day there then catch the ferry to Whittier, landing some time around the 27th a good day or 2 before my report date of 1 MAR.
All told, the trip was 2,387 miles. I am glad that most of the driving is behind me, and I am sure Beth will keep you updated as I start the next leg.