A long, fun day on the road, and I'm about beat, but here's how it went down during Day 1 of the Summer of Delta Whiskey. I'm very tired, so here are the pictures(this is hyperlinked), and below is the best I can remember from the day.
The day prior to leaving I was pressing myself to get out as early as possible on saturday morning, but when Saturday morning came I realized that was a completely self-imposed deadline. I had a reservation for a hotel room in Missoula, and they had my credit card number, so there really was no reason to leave as eary as possible. I think some of that is ingrained from trips as a kid when my folks had us "Up and At 'Em" early to beat the traffic. So I chilled out a bit, took my time to pack things in my car (Tetris skills come in very handy, I knew Nintendo had a practical use) and hit the road around 10:30.
Heading east out of Seattle, it was my first time east of the Cascades and it really is amazing up there near the Pass in the summer. I got to Ellensberg around 12:30 and Annie and I got out to stretch the legs....it was uneventful other than it being 90+ and Annie overheating a bit. I made a promise to she and I that any future breaks would be near water where she could cool down and stretch those fat (excuse me, big boned) little legs of hers.
We continued heading east, and stopped in Spokane. Not knowing the city very well, I decided Gonzaga would be a good destination. After all, it is the alma mater of one of the NBA's greatest point guard, and was considered a "sister school" for my underegraduate school--DePaul. I can only dream of DePaul basketball achieving the success at Gonzaga, so I tried to soak up some inspiration for my beloved Blue Demons. Annie got a chance to take a photo with the Bulldog mascot in front of the "Kennel", the name for the Zags basketball stadium. Annie got a chance to dip in the lake on campus, and we headed east through Idaho and towards Missoula.
Idaho was a brief memory, but the idaho panhandle felt like I was in one of those TV commercials for sports cars on TV. Crazy windy roads, great scenery, and it was fun scooting around the mountains and forests of the Potato state.
I got to Montana and almost instantly the scenery changed to tons of dense forests, mountains, and just great views. With no speed limit, and very little traffic, I took my time going through and snapped a few photos along the way.
Then things got interesting. I pulled in to a tiny gas station somewhere between Missoula and Spokane. As I'm waiting to pay there's a young kid asking the ladies behind the counter if they can give him a lift to a town down the road. He sounded desparate, and after they turned him down, he asked me if I could give him a lift. At first I shot down the request, I didn't need to be a headline in the Missoulan or some such local newspaper.
I looked at the layout in the car, and told him he could ride with me, but Annie was going to have to sit on his lap. I also asked to look in his backpack, since ya never know in these parts. After seeing the kid had nothing suspect, I told him to get in and gave him a lift to a small town. I was scared out of my life to have this kid in my car, but also thought it was kind of funny and might be a way to help the kid out. His name was Colby and a high school drop out. He's a big fan of Metallica, so we listened to them for the 20 or so minutes and it was relatively uneventful. He mentioned towards the end of the lift that he was considering walking, and it can get damn chilly in these parts at night. I promise, no more hitchhikers.
I eventually got to Missoula about 9 Mountain Time and it's a great little town. A ton of old school, gritty architecture, coupled with some great mountain scenery in the background. I went out for a burger tonight (actually had two) at what seemed like a U of Montana hangout; sorta like the peach pit was in Beverly Hills 90210 for those who know the show. I chatted up a few of the guys who worked at the bar (they have no shame getting hammered on the job), and they gave me a few pointers for my time in Missoula. After I asked one guy what he'd do if he had a day to kill in Missoula, he said, "I'll probably sleep 'til 5-6 at night and just go out after that." Granted, its a 22 year old kid in a part time job, but you have to admire a guy who doesn't bat an eyelash at sleeping 'til 5 PM. Let's just say the pace in Missoula suits the laid back type very well; and as a guy who has a hard time being "laid back" I'm very at ease here.
Since I've adopted Missoula as my temporary home town, I decided I owe it at least a day here, so I'm going to stay through Monday before heading on to the next stop. I can use tomorrow (sunday) to slow down a bit, get Annie some dog time in the river, and enjoy a great smaller town (but big for these parts).
I'll check back in tomorrow (sunday) night, and will certainly have more to tell......
The day prior to leaving I was pressing myself to get out as early as possible on saturday morning, but when Saturday morning came I realized that was a completely self-imposed deadline. I had a reservation for a hotel room in Missoula, and they had my credit card number, so there really was no reason to leave as eary as possible. I think some of that is ingrained from trips as a kid when my folks had us "Up and At 'Em" early to beat the traffic. So I chilled out a bit, took my time to pack things in my car (Tetris skills come in very handy, I knew Nintendo had a practical use) and hit the road around 10:30.
Heading east out of Seattle, it was my first time east of the Cascades and it really is amazing up there near the Pass in the summer. I got to Ellensberg around 12:30 and Annie and I got out to stretch the legs....it was uneventful other than it being 90+ and Annie overheating a bit. I made a promise to she and I that any future breaks would be near water where she could cool down and stretch those fat (excuse me, big boned) little legs of hers.
We continued heading east, and stopped in Spokane. Not knowing the city very well, I decided Gonzaga would be a good destination. After all, it is the alma mater of one of the NBA's greatest point guard, and was considered a "sister school" for my underegraduate school--DePaul. I can only dream of DePaul basketball achieving the success at Gonzaga, so I tried to soak up some inspiration for my beloved Blue Demons. Annie got a chance to take a photo with the Bulldog mascot in front of the "Kennel", the name for the Zags basketball stadium. Annie got a chance to dip in the lake on campus, and we headed east through Idaho and towards Missoula.
Idaho was a brief memory, but the idaho panhandle felt like I was in one of those TV commercials for sports cars on TV. Crazy windy roads, great scenery, and it was fun scooting around the mountains and forests of the Potato state.
I got to Montana and almost instantly the scenery changed to tons of dense forests, mountains, and just great views. With no speed limit, and very little traffic, I took my time going through and snapped a few photos along the way.
Then things got interesting. I pulled in to a tiny gas station somewhere between Missoula and Spokane. As I'm waiting to pay there's a young kid asking the ladies behind the counter if they can give him a lift to a town down the road. He sounded desparate, and after they turned him down, he asked me if I could give him a lift. At first I shot down the request, I didn't need to be a headline in the Missoulan or some such local newspaper.
I looked at the layout in the car, and told him he could ride with me, but Annie was going to have to sit on his lap. I also asked to look in his backpack, since ya never know in these parts. After seeing the kid had nothing suspect, I told him to get in and gave him a lift to a small town. I was scared out of my life to have this kid in my car, but also thought it was kind of funny and might be a way to help the kid out. His name was Colby and a high school drop out. He's a big fan of Metallica, so we listened to them for the 20 or so minutes and it was relatively uneventful. He mentioned towards the end of the lift that he was considering walking, and it can get damn chilly in these parts at night. I promise, no more hitchhikers.
I eventually got to Missoula about 9 Mountain Time and it's a great little town. A ton of old school, gritty architecture, coupled with some great mountain scenery in the background. I went out for a burger tonight (actually had two) at what seemed like a U of Montana hangout; sorta like the peach pit was in Beverly Hills 90210 for those who know the show. I chatted up a few of the guys who worked at the bar (they have no shame getting hammered on the job), and they gave me a few pointers for my time in Missoula. After I asked one guy what he'd do if he had a day to kill in Missoula, he said, "I'll probably sleep 'til 5-6 at night and just go out after that." Granted, its a 22 year old kid in a part time job, but you have to admire a guy who doesn't bat an eyelash at sleeping 'til 5 PM. Let's just say the pace in Missoula suits the laid back type very well; and as a guy who has a hard time being "laid back" I'm very at ease here.
Since I've adopted Missoula as my temporary home town, I decided I owe it at least a day here, so I'm going to stay through Monday before heading on to the next stop. I can use tomorrow (sunday) to slow down a bit, get Annie some dog time in the river, and enjoy a great smaller town (but big for these parts).
I'll check back in tomorrow (sunday) night, and will certainly have more to tell......
No comments:
Post a Comment