Washington.

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.

Glacier.

After leaving Yellowstone, we drove up to Glacier National Park. It was a long drive, but the scenery was beautiful. We drove beside some beautiful mountain lakes, and I read Bill Bryson's The Mother Tongue out loud while Rhoda kept the pedal to the metal. We got into the park a little after dark and found a campsite right on a lake. It was really, really cold that night, and we shook a lot of frost out of the tent fly the next morning. Fortunately, there was also a crystal clear mountain range on the other side of the lake that looked absolutely beautiful in the soft morning light. We went for a long hike up to Avalanche Lake. We saw lots of big trees and rocks, as well as a really cute little mouse getting his house ready for winter. Then we hopped in Geronimo, grabbed some coffee, and hit the road for Washington.

Yellowstone.

We were in Yellowstone Park last week. It was really cold but also really sunny. We saw the salt terraces, which were really cool, as well as a lot of bighorn sheep and elk. We had a fire and ate burritos, and this no bears emerged from the woods. Huzzah! We left fairly early in the morning, after Geronimo, with some difficulty, started up.

In Seattle.

We're in sunny Seattle. After a bit of a grilling at the border yesterday, we made it to town. Huzzah!

We're staying with our friends Kevin and Young, and our friend and former house-mate Josh just showed up at the coffee shop! Double huzzah!

Time to head downtown and explore the city. And possibly check out some of this "grunge" music about which I've heard so much.

I'll post photos of Yellowstone, Glacier, and British Columbia later today.

White Rock, British Columbia.

We're in White Rock, British Columbia. We crossed Washington today and drove over the Cascades. There was a lot of snow, but Geronimo handled it just fine. Now we're sitting in a coffee shop until our friends Dan and Kim get home. It's rainy here; however, it is not "cold," and it is most certainly not "winter," despite what the locals may say.

Columbia Falls, Montana.

We're in Columbia Falls, Montana. We picked up Geronimo in Idaho Falls on Monday and stayed with Leah and Aaron in Kelly, Wyoming that night. We stayed in Yellowstone National Park from Tuesday to Wednesday and then drove to Glacier National Park, where we stayed last night. It was incredibly cold, and we shook a lot of frost out of the tent fly this morning. We went for a great hike and then hopped in Geronimo. We plan to drive across Idaho's panhandle today and deep into Washington. Then tomorrow we'll drive up to Dan and Kim's in White Rock, British Columbia.

We're very grateful (again) to Leah and Aaron for letting is stay at their place. Also, a big happy birthday to our friend Molly in Denver!

Visiting Nathan and Alyssa in Great Falls.

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!