Road Diaries Day 2: Up in Washington

Hello from Spokane, Washington! We are staying with my aunt and cousin at their place in the country- quite a contrast to Portland (where we were living across the street from a pub, by the way). Later we're heading across the border into Idaho to visit my cousins at Sand Point. But for now, I'm hanging out with my cousin Lily and eating breakfast.

In A Nutshell: Overview of Day 2

Route: Portland, OR to Spokane, WA
Miles Traveled: 357 today; 950 total.
Hours in the Car: 6.5 today; 17 total
Coffee Consumed: Caitlin: 4 cups total. Cortney: 1 cup total. Combined: 5 cups
Food Highlight of the Day: Pancakes at Slappy Cakes! I made vegan pancakes with fresh blueberries, toasted almonds, and fresh made strawberry syrup. Caitlin made buttermilk cheddar ones.


Quote of the Day: Aunt Tanya (talking about baseball). "We have season tickets, and our seats are there by the dugout where you can see the guys practicing, and swinging the bat, and bending over..." (followed by much giggling among us).

Our Journey to Spokane



The Historic Highway

   Day 2 was definitely as much about the journey as the destination. Upon leaving Portland, we entered the Columbia River Gorge- perhaps one of the most beautiful regions of the United States. Massive cliffs and hills and bluffs surround the wide Columbia River, and the area immediately East of Portland on I-84 is lush and green. Caitlin and I pondered whether or not it would qualify as a temperate rainforest. Curious as to whether we could stop to take pictures anywhere, we pulled off on the Historic Columbia River Highway and stopped in at a teeny tiny old Post Office that has served Bridal Veil, OR for exactly 120 years and 3 weeks. While Caitlin took photos of wildflowers, I walked into the one room shingled building, where I was greeting by a cute little fox terrier type dog on the counter. The lady working in the post office informed me that if we took the old Highway for the next 7 miles, we would encounter several waterfalls. So that is what we did. 

Water plummets 225 feet from a clifftop
at Multnomah Falls.

   First came Wahkeena Falls, and then Multnomah just a half mile later. A few miles past Multnomah Falls is Horsetail Falls. I savored the mist on my face- in the still, humid forest air the cool water felt wonderful.

Midway up Wakheena Falls

We got a glimpse back at the gorge from Mitchell Point before continuing onward. I'm glad we took our time through all the nice green parts because the climate and topography soon changed dramatically- for miles and miles the Columbia River Gorge is yellow and dry. When we finally left the river to cut Northeast across Washington, we crossed seemingly endless dry yellow fields and passed 3 wildfires- some frighteningly close. This is the beginning of America's vast wheat-growing regions. In fact, right now, sitting at my Aunt's house, I can see a big red combine harvesting the wheat that grows on her 10 acres here. It's harvesting time for miles around.

     We spent last night sitting on the deck of my Aunt and Uncle's three-story house, looking out at the sunset over the wheat fields and talking about cute baseball players and banking and traveling and how my cousin Lily is nervous about starting high school this coming Fall. So different than dancing in downtown Portland, and so perfect. This is what road trips are about.