I'm really blown away by the amount of distance it's possible to cover when you're in a vehicle powered by fossil fuel rather than by good honest muscle, sweat, and food. I did what for me is marathon driving today. I covered 7 miles on the bike, and 463 in the car. I considered following my planned cycling route, but I opted for the interstates because I think it's easier driving. I've been in four states today - the western edge of Montana, the panhandle of Idaho, the southeast corner of Washington, and northern Oregon. Those are just political boundaries, but there were physical changes too. Montana hills (mountains) and wide valleys followed me to the Idaho border - truly "big sky" country. Lookout Pass marked the transition from Montana to Idaho, with heavily forested steep hills and a narrow valley. It stayed green through Idaho but changed to brown as I passed into eastern Washington. The parts of Washington and Oregon that I passed through today were both very brown and dry. There were many fields that had been harvested and replowed - and there were whirlwinds of dust over some of them. It looked more like the dustbowl than the part of western Kansas and eastern Colorado that bears that name. There was even one area in Washington where some of the fields looked and smelled like they had been burned. It was a small area that didn't seem to be a "natural" fire. The scenery kept changing, and it was all gorgeous.
I ended the day driving to the west along the Columbia River. This is someplace I've wanted to see for a while so there's something good that comes of my change in route. Of course I'm not riding it - but that's a good thing today. I got out of the car at one point, and I could barely open the door against the wind. It was very difficult to stand up too. I think if I'd been riding west I would have been going backwards. I've got to hand it to Greg O'Shea for riding along this river against the wind - see his "Around Mt. Hood" journal for the details.
I was driving south on US 395 when I saw a sign for fresh cherries, so of course I had to stop. It was a funky market - they had fresh local produce, chocolate, and tourist stuff. I bought a pound of Rainier cherries - a real treat - and a few pieces of dark chocolate covered raspberry jellies. That was a good rest stop!
Toward the end of the day Mount Hood was just hanging in the sky in front of me. It is absolutely beautiful. I think the mountains of the Cascades like to play photo hide & seek. It was really hazy, and the mountain just blended in with the sky - not good picture-taking conditions. Maybe I'll get a shot tomorrow, but maybe not!
I've only got another 200 miles to drive tomorrow, so I should be able to get in a bit of wandering on my bike...
