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We drove the day down and into the night, out of Montana, through Idaho, and well into Washington. The mountain roads of Montana were beautiful, especially as the sun was slowly sliding down. Idaho was gray and drizzly, and the roads were winding. The rain had really picked up by the time we hit Washington, and I was happy to stop at a Safeway to pick up some food. We switched drivers and continued on for another hour. We pulled in to Sun Lakes State Park, which was a creepy, disquieting place in the dark. It was more or less abandoned, and there was a strange smell in the air. The fog and clammy air did nothing to alleviate the post-apocalyptic feel the place had. We set up our tent and played a game of Quiddler in the tent. Then we slept. The campground was completely changed by the morning. It was quiet and sunny, and we were in the middle of canyon lands. We took down the tent, ate a quick breakfast, and hit the road for British Columbia.
The drive across Washington went well. We drove through the canyon lands and then up and into the Cascades. Leavenworth was a highlight, with its Bavarian theme for everything. The highlight? A fast food joint called The Heidleburger! Huzzah! We crossed through Steven's Pass, and the snow was coming down thick and heavy. Geronimo took us through it just fine, and we emerged on the other side, where it was autumn again. We drove up through Everett, past the Peace Arch, and into Canada. We hit White Rock and went straight to the Volkswagen dealership. They figured out the problem with Geronimo almost right away. The problem? The terrible quality of diesel fuel in the United States. After grabbing coffee in town, we made it to Dan and Kim's place and settled in for the weekend.
We visited our friends Nathan and Alyssa in Great Falls, Montana this past weekend. We had a great time.
We arrived at their place on Friday night. We sat up with Nathan and caught up on the past three years. Alyssa is a nurse, and she had to work the night shift each of the three nights we were in town.
We went out for breakfast at Tracy's on Saturday morning, and then we went for a hike along the Missouri River. We walked along the river canyon. It was a beautiful sunny day. Alyssa was awake when we got home, so we spent some time talking together and drinking tea. Then it was dinnertime, and Nathan did not disappoint us. We had antelope burgers. They were delicious! We played Quiddler and kept an eye on the baseball game for the rest of the night.
On Sunday we drove a ways out of town to find a cave. We hiked through the deep, wet snow on the side of a mountain until we came to the cave mouth. Then we climbed down into it and started exploring. We had rope and headlamps, so it was not very dangerous. The two most difficult aspects of the cave exploration were climbing down a rock face with a rope and crawling through a narrow opening on my back. We saw many beautiful crystal formations on the ceiling of the cave. Unfortunately, there was also a lot of graffiti inside. We turned off all our lamps for a couple minutes and were surprised at how quiet it was. The only sounds we heard were those of water dripping and dropping around us. After about an hour in the cave, we climbed out and enjoyed some beers Nathan had hid in his pack. The we hiked back to the car and drove home under a spectacular sunset.
We relaxed and did some necessary laundry when we got back to the house. It's funny how lying on one's back while crawling through a cave can make one dirty. Then we ate a delicious lasagna for dinner and played some more Quiddler. In case you can't tell, we're pretty big on Quiddler. At around 9:30 Nathan broke out some antelope sausages, which were delicious. We sat up late talking and playing with the dogs. Then we went to bed.
We woke up early this morning, packed up the car, and went out for breakfast with Nathan and Alyssa at Tracy's (again!). The food there is delicious, especially the Swiss pancakes. We said our goodbyes around 9:00. Then it was time to hop in the car and drive the 360-odd miles back to Idaho Falls to get Geronimo.
So now I'm sitting at Wackerli Volkswagen. Geronimo is getting that new fuel pump right now, and we should be on the road in an hour or two.
A big thank you to Nathan and Alyssa for hosting us this past weekend. It was great to see you and catch up. Thanks for your friendship and warm hospitality. We also really enjoyed your dogs, Cody and Tao, and we wish you all the best with Babu. Thanks again!
On Blood on the Tracks, Bob Dylan sang: "Ah, mama. Can this really be the end? To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again?"
Well, from Wednesday to Friday we were stuck in Idaho Falls with the Great Falls blues. Or, to be honest, the "anywhere but here" blues. We made the best of it, spending two nights in hotels and eating pizza. Huzzah!
It wasn't all bad. We saw Where the Wild Things Are on Wednesday night, and we relaxed most of Thursday, reading books, taking naps, and watching the World Series and The Office.
However, we were disappointed when the part for Geronimo didn't show up like it was supposed to on Friday afternoon. So we talked the good people at Wackerli Volkswagen into letting us take the gold Audi A4 loaner we had all the way to Great Falls, Montana. Then we got out of town as quickly as possible.
Oh, and the falls are fake, having been converted into a hydroelectric project nearly thirty years ago.
