We started the long trip to Spokane as planned. Just north of Idaho Falls, at mile 1922 on the odometer, we drove into the Rocky Mountains for the first time on this trip. We have paralleled the mountains and driven over foothills, but this was our arrival in the mountains. As I knew we might, we drove into winter as I-90 wound up and over the Continental Divide. When I stopped for gas I felt cold, sharp drops of rain that was almost spring snow. I dig out a wool hat and gloves.
We stopped for lunch up at a rest stop in the snowy mountains. I noticed that Tango had not eaten any of his breakfast dog food and he stuck his nose up at a fresh offering of kibble. I wondered: is he upset? Nervous? More likely, he knows that long driving days like this mean some human food for him, because I often stop at a McDonalds, either for a Sausage Biscuit at breakfast or a cheeseburger at lunch. Tango knows that this is that kind of day and he decides to hold out. However, this day I am doing a picnic lunch that includes tempeh because we are out in the middle of nowhere, on the loneliest stretch of highway I have seen in a long time. He stares at the tempeh. I stare back at him. He stares at my lunch even harder. Okay, I tell him. You are coveting soybeans. Do you really want this? He seems to say yes, so I break off a bit for him. To my surprise, Tango loved it. He gave me that longing for more look so I gave him more, and he ate it with relish. Crazy tempeh-eating dog.
Not much later, we intersected with I-90 and headed up the Clark Fork towards Missoula. This is a favorite road to a favorite town; I love an overnight stop in Missoula when I head this way. That makes the driving day tomorrow under 300 miles! Tango did get a cheeseburger when we pulled in Missoula. It was a miserable late afternoon and hiking was out, so I decided to do the past week’s laundry. I found a great place near the university that has free Wi-Fi. I added laundromats to my Wifi lookout list.
Clark Fork (of the Columbia)
Missoula, MT:
Now, we are in Spokane. I set up the pup tent in a state park and had a sunny afternoon to put seam seal on the tent seams. Good thing! By the time I got back after spending the evening with the g-baby and his parents, a soft, soothing rain had started. This is the first time in the pup tent during a steady rain and, despite rain all night, I awoke completely dry. The experience made me realize that I need to spend a good deal of time in the next week applying seam seal to the mansion tent. One small bottle did not do the job on the pup tent so I will need to make a significant investment to protect the mansion from leaking. Four bottles? Five? I decided not to scrimp because having a rain-tight tent will help so much once I am in Alaska. A leaky tent, in fact, can make or break a trip. I like having the pup tent as a back-up.
The Spokane River is running high and deep at this time of year!
Today, back to the grandbaby! Can’t wait.
After the stop in Spokane, I go to Sandpoint, ID then hang out at Grand Coulee Dam area (Roosevelt National Recreation Area on the Columbia River) before crossing into Canada next week. What may seem like a whirlwind is really a relaxing pace filled with beautiful sights and wonderful family.
