Road Trip: Day 3 (covering 9/24/07)

[hrj]

But I get ahead of myself.

Dateline: Seattle Washington; Current odometer: 200,166; Miles travelled today: 403; Current location of writing: marykaykare's house

It was cold and clear leaving Bend. Ice on the windows again, which helped with the decision on the route. I'd been looking at some possible locations to stop and find a scenic bicycle loop, either along the Columbia river gorge, or maybe cutting across more diagonally towards Portland. But it was too cold for bicycling, so I thought I'd skip the overly-familiar Columbia route and would pick up some more mountain time instead. The weather was perfect for mountain-watching -- only a little haze. The odometer tripped over to 199,900 on the downhill approach to the Columbia. I crossed over to continue on up Hwy 97, which goes right past a startlingly peculiar roadside monument.

I think I saw this the first time on a trip several years ago when cryptocosm and I were driving back from ... hmm ... that would have to have been the canoe trip in Minnesota. Which year was it? It was right after the heraldic symposium in Texas, which would make it 2000, I guess. Anyway, yes, this is a rough approximation of Stonehenge, created in concrete. It's a war memorial ... or maybe an anti-war memorial. It's kind of schizophrenic. The plaque on the monument itself lists local boys who died in WWI and says the usual stuff about hoping that it inspires others to follow their example. But the historic plaque talking about the monument notes that the shape was taken from the experience of a local Quaker and pacifist who, when traveling in England and visiting the original Stonehenge was told the old canard about it being a site of human sacrifice and commented something to the effect of "and after all this time we're still sacrificing the flower of our youth to the god of war". At any rate, the monument provides an interesting frame for a spectacular view of the valley.

I stopped in Yakima for several reasons. I wanted to call ahead to let marykaykare know approximately when to expect me; I was about to go off on winding mountain roads and wanted to top off the gas tank; and the odometer had now gone past 199,990 and because I was being silly and wanted to actually note when it turned, I didn't want to be on the highway at the time. So I drove around on residential back streets for a while so I could pull off to the side and snap the picture at the appropriate time. (Please note, for safety, that the speedometer is at zero!)

The lady at the Yakima visitors' bureau was forthcoming with a suggestion for a short hike along my route -- a loop of about 4 miles right up at the Chinook pass on the edge of Rainier park that passed by some very picturesque mountain lakes

and gave me a spectacular view of Rainier itself

as well as getting in my exercise quota. I started the hike shortly before 4pm and ran into a park ranger in the first half mile or so who quizzed me on where I planned to go and then, when I mentioned the loop, glanced at his watch, nodded, and said, "Have fun." I'm guessing he was worried I had something more ambitious in mind. (Part of the loop was on the Pacific Crest Trail, so this wasn't an entirely random concern.)

After that, there was a lot more spectacular mountain river-and-forest scenery until suddenly I was spit out into the larger Seattle-area traffic pattern (which starts a considerable distance away from Seattle proper). All in all, though I had very few adventures finding my way here, despite taking a freeway exit that dumped me on the opposite side of I-5 from where I wanted to be. Mary Kay and Jordin have a lovely old house in easy walking distance to a very diverse shopping district. If I lived in Seattle, this is pretty much the sort of place I'd want to be.