Beaverton, Oregon, United States
So, somehow I slept until 7 am at the Travelodge in Ritzville, and got on the road by 8:30 am. I thought I had a strategy. I headed west on I-90 until I hit I-82 heading toward Yakima WA. When I looked at the map, it seemed like a good route, but it was extra hazy, then rainy, so the first part of the trip on I-82 though hills, gullies and ups and downs on winding roads with huge tractor trailer trucks proved to be white-knuckle driving as I was forced to pass bunches of these trucks going up hills. I was worried about the car, but it seemed to do better in the cooler, wetter weather and charged up the hills without major problems. I had stopped at a lookout point early on and seen a gorge with alternative energy generation. It had nice rocks and some nice views.
I was glad to turn off onto the smaller Rt 97 through the Yakima Indian Reservation with no services for 40 some miles. This seemed barren and stark in the beginning but then became more wooded and scenic. I didn't see much habitation until the end when it was no longer part of a reservation.
At the end, I came to Maryhill which I had visited with Serge. I headed west on rt14 which was a two--lane road. I felt much more comfortable, even though there were still people behind me wanting to go much faster than 60 mph and I would have to pull over occasionally and let them pass. I saw the big Stonehenge rocks I visited with Candae and the turn-off to the Bridge of the Gods, then later the turnoff to the Dalles. I tried to go that way to hook-up with an interstate highway to get to Beaverton faster, but it was closed because of the fires in the Columbia Gorge. So I continued all the way to Vancouver WA by way of rt 14. I found it to be glorious because of the rain darkening the colors - the deep gold of the grass and chocolate brown of the mud and rocks. Very artistic!
Oh, a long time before I got here, I made a stop at the Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park in Central Washington and went through the Interpretive Center and bought a few souvenirs. There were gorgeous examples of various kinds of petrified wood in addition to the ginkgos.
I checked out the specimens outside the interpretive center as well as the view of the Columbia below. I was about to go to the trail but then abandoned the idea to save time and get to Beaverton. That was a good decision in retrospect because I barely got to Serge's before dark.
I had emailed Serge and Candae and was aiming to try to get to Candae's in her window between approx 4 and 5 pm. Because of the rain and having to go slower and find my way when the GPS seemed to go haywire (I think it was only trying to reroute me because of the closures due to the firers), it was taking me longer. I didn't want to rush and be careless so I went on as best I could. I engaged the GPS again and it took me through Portland. Of course, this was now rush hour so I was slowed somewhat, but the traffic heading east seemed heavier than that heading west. I went on I-5, then 217, then 26. I was almost to Serge's went I took the a turn where I wasn't supposed to even though I knew the intersection, but I was in the wrong lane and couldn't maneuver into the right one, but eventually I made it.
It was good to see everyone. I wore my mask when I came in, but then Nikki suggested that I wouldn't need to wear it. We had pizza for dinner, I brought in my remaining Big Sky IPAs and shared with Serge. Candae and I communicated and miscommunicated and I ended up spending the night at Serge's. I stayed up watching StarTrek with Serge but was really falling asleep. It was a long day of hard driving.
2025-05-22