The road from Jackson, WY to Spokane, WA was a long one. Really long. I guess it became longer because of our journey through Yellowstone National Park. We were excited to take the road through this national wonder to see some of the great sights along the way.
The Grand Tetons towered to the west as we traveled north at 30-55 mph. The road through the park was snowy and slick. Good thing Aaron is used to driving in those conditions. We went through a few park entrances with no tolls to pay. “Guess we’ll just keep on going!”
We drove two hours north of Jackson through the national park until we literally couldn’t go any further. The gate across the only road north was barred: “Road Closed.” Okay, uh, guess we’ll turn back around.
When we looked at the map, we realized we had to take that same road all the way back down plus 30 miles south of Jackson. We looked at each other through crooked grins, shaking our heads. What else could we do? At least the view was great, and now we got to see it through the other side of the car window. Good thing we were on vacation!
Thirteen hours later we made it up to Missoula, MT, after passing through Idaho. There, in the frosty air, we checked in to a Motel 6, slept, got up and kept driving in the morning the last three hours to Spokane. Ahh, safe and sound at my little brother’s place.
Our second night there, we got to experience some big city night life: bouncers at the doors, girls all decked out in little outfits and high heels, hip hop music pounding over a disco lit floor and shelves of booze up to the ceiling. I ordered a Talisker single malt scotch just to see what the bartender had to climb up to get it. They have step ladders. It was so worth it.
The next day, mostly in the dark, we traveled southwest to Portland, OR. I-84 along the Columbia River really is a beautiful drive, but, like I said, it was dark, so we could really only see the silhouettes of the gorge looming above.
And today in Portland, moisture drizzles from the sky. My sister said it will do that until April. I tell ya, 20 degrees colder, and it would be snow! Here’s to the St. John Bridge... and the microbrews... and the bikes... and my sister!
No comments:
Post a Comment