This past May I took a job offer based outside of Seattle that allows me to work remotely on condition that I first spend a few weeks training in Seattle. Looking for a chance to travel, we decided to turn this opportunity into a family road trip.
(Emily taking the first shift of the drive)
In planning this trip we realized that the two cities, our home city of Boston and our destination of Seattle, are each the terminal destinations of a single highway, I-90, the longest highway in the US. We had already taken many road trips between Boston and my home state of Michigan, so the first leg of the trip was mostly uneventful. We were able to reach Columbus, OH on the first day. We didn’t make as much progress the second day and ultimately stopped after 5 hours on the road in Joliet, IL. That day we noticed some water leaking from the dashboard on the passenger side. We called our mechanic who suspected it was coming from the AC unit. The AC unit had been making some noises and so we trusted him and assuming it was nothing major kept driving.
(South Dakota Welcome Center)
(Badlands National Park)
(Badlands National Park)
(Badlands National Park)
The next day we made it to South Dakota and the following day we stopped at the Badlands National Park.
(Mount Rushmore)
Later that afternoon we arrived at Mount Rushmore. Leaving Mount Rushmore we drove through a pretty amazing storm. I tried to google the technical name for this kind of cloud formation, but was unable to come up with anything. It looked like an enormous inverted step or plate coming out of the clouds. I would say it was the beginning of a tornado, but it didn’t move. The diameter of the plate must have been a mile or more across. We were driving at least 50 miles an hour and it took us at least 15 to 20 minutes to reach and then pass the plate. Shortly after we were hit with a pretty bad hail storm.
The following day we began driving through Wyoming. After an hour or so of admiring the majestic slopping hills and expansive vistas, I decided to crack the sunroof and let Lily stick her head out. It was probably the most fun we had had driving on the trip so far. South Dakota had been nice, but I was really blown away by Wyoming. After stopping for gas and driving a few more miles I noticed that Emily was uncomfortable in her seat so we stopped on the side of the highway to adjust her. When I tried to start the car again it wouldn’t turn over. Not being able to figure out what the problem was we ended up spending three hours on the side of the road in 90 degree heat waiting for a tow truck.
(Storm in Wyoming)
(Our car broken down just outside of Sheridan)
I positioned blankets over the windows to block out the sun and keep the kids relatively comfortable. Luckily, we weren’t too far from civilization.
Once back in Sheridan we were hit with some good and bad news. Sheridan, WY, was sizable enough town and we were able to find an auto repair shop immediately adjacent to a reasonably priced hotel. That was the good news. The bad news was that our car was totaled. I would end up borrowing a luggage cart from the hotel to haul all our luggage out of the van after learning the car would not be salvageable.
I wonder if there is a name for situations like this, where you pass through a location or meet a person that seems insignificant to our situation, only to later find them to be of much significance. Anyways, it was strange to be stranded in a town we earlier thought was just one rest stop out of many. We ended up spending several days in Sheridan trying to get our car situation worked out. We discovered that all the fluid of our car had leaked out and the engine was basically toast. Not surprisingly, the insurance company wouldn’t cover the repairs. To add insult on top of injury, there were no rental cars available in Sheridan or any nearby cities.
We ended up hitching a ride with a guy who worked at our hotel to his mother’s house in Billings, MT. We hoped that we might find a way of getting to Seattle from Billings. We ended up having no more luck there than in Sheridan. As a last resort he called up his mother who often hosted guests at her house. She had an RV in her driveway and agreed to let us rent it out from her until we got things settled. Since I was already late to my training appointment we decided it was best for me to fly out to Seattle, finish the training, and then rent a car and drive back to pick up the family.
(Our host family's living room in Billings, MT)
The family we stayed with bought a chicken dinner for us that first night. They had a pool in the backyard and Lily went swimming with their two daughters. They also had a lot of small dogs Lily enjoyed playing with. The picture above is of Emily playing with one of the dogs.
This ended up working out well. I had been rushing most of the trip, while everyone else wanted to slow down and explore. Helen was happy to spend a week in Montana while did my training and caught up on work. On the drive back to Wyoming I stopped in North Bend WA, a city known as the home to iconic scenes from Twin Peaks. I stopped at the famed Snoqualmie Falls, took a photo of where the Twin Peaks sign had once been, and had breakfast at the admittedly pricey “Double R” Diner. The drive back was awe inspiring. The evergreen hills outside Seattle, then the river gorge past the mountain range. Washington, I would learn, had nearly every environmental habitat. Driving by myself I was able to make good time and was back in Montana by 6am that night.
(Entering Idaho)
(Idaho)
The drive back ended up taking 3 times as long. This was is in part because we spent a day in Kellogg, ID looking for a replacement car at the Dave Smith auto dealership. While searching for cars we rented out a room from a sweat lady who decorated her home with Asian art in a way that reminded me of my own Aunt’s home. Driving through Idaho we had seen many signings advertising Huckleberries. Helen was happy to finally find someone in the town willing to sell some to her.
(Columbia River, Wampum Lake)
(Double R Diner from the TV show Twin Peaks, North Bend)
(Snoqualmie Falls)
(Horse farm near Snoqualmie)
The drive through Washington to our final destination of Mukilteo was spectacular. Much of the state is arid, similar in climate to Wyoming and South Dakota. Once we entered the mountain valleys the dry land was replaced with verdant evergreen forests. Equally shocking a change was moving from the relatively sparsely populated west to the densely populated coastal area of metro Seattle. We arrived at Mukilteo on July 22nd, where we would stay for the next 3 and a half months.
(Mukilteo Harbor)
(Mukilteo Lighthouse)
The first thing we noticed driving into town was Mukilteo’s expansive Boeing factory. It was really cool to drive by the hangars and see the planes being built inside. While waiting for our landlord to arrive we took a trip down to the harbor. We discovered a ferry service there. Along the beach were community fire pits where mostly younger people gathered to grill hot dogs and socialize. There were piers made of floating platforms that were a lot of fun for Lily to walk on. There were also large logs along the beach Lily played on. I was excited to have this vibrant community to be a part of our new home.
(Lily's bedroom and my office)
(Lily and Emily our living room)
(International culture sharing and learning pod)
Despite the busy schedule we were able to make some time for family outings during our stay. Our first trips were back to North Bend. I took the family to see Snoqualmie Falls and a couple days later we went back to pick blue berries. We went one evening to Seattle.
(Emily having fun on Ruby Beach)
(Family photo on Ruby Beach)
(Hoh Rainforest)
(Olympic Game Farm)
(Giant Crab dinner)
(Eating crab is a serious matter)
A week after that we took a weekend trip to the Olympic Peninsula where we visited Ruby Beach and the Hoh Rainforest.
(Orange Skies after forest fires in south Washington and north Oregon)
(Closed businesses in Seattle decorated their boarded up windows)
(Museum of Pop Culture, Seattle)
Another event, however unfortunate) was the forest fires in Oregon and the south of Washington state, the smoke of which traveled all the way up to where we were, which was about 15 miles north of Seattle. I woke up that morning to see the skies a hazy orange. Later that day we drove out to Seattle. By that time the skies were more of a gray. The air had a tangy taste that reminded me of Beijing. The bad air stuck around for at least 3 or 4 days.
(North Cascades National Park)
(Diablo Dam)
(Diablo Dam)
A few weeks after that we visited the Northern Cascades National Park. The skies were very cloudy and so we didn't have good views of the mountains themselves. The most interesting site was Diablo Dam.
(Dining room of our tiny house in Portland)
(Bedroom in our tiny house in Portland)
(Tiny house resident dog, Friday)
(Famed Portland bookstore, Powell's Books)
And then my schedule lightened up, allowing for more flexibility. We took a trip to Portland for Helen's birthday and stayed at a Tiny House, a dream for both of us.
(Multnomah Falls)
We stopped by Multnomah Falls after leaving Portland.
(Mount St. Helen's)
On the way back we did a photo-op in the vicinity of Mount St. Helen's.
(Mount Rainier)
We also took a day trip to Mt. Rainier. We surprised to fin snow on the trees as we approached the mountain. We also did a lot of day hikes on local trails. I made a point of telling my boss I needed time for daily walks and I’ve been pretty good about taking at least one walk a day, many of them with the family.
(Mount Baker)
So, it is now Wednesday, November 11, 2020. We are planning to leave next Monday. Our current plan is to take a circuitous route back home. We plan on driving south to San Francisco and from there to Arizona. We will then either continue south to Texas and possibly New Orleans or just head home. I guess it will depend on how we are all doing and how the car is holding up.
