Scablands and Mountains...OH MY!

Our journey began yesterday with breakfast at Denny's. Why OH WHY did we go there? There was no place else around. Interestingly, there's a sign on their very front door telling potential customers that the establishment is independently owned. Clearly, they wanted to make everyone mega aware – We're NOT like those racist fucks down at the San Jose joint!

Crossing the Coeur d'Alene River, just  into Idaho

Post eggs and coffee served in a we're not like them/we love everyone mug, we rocketed on to the Channeled Scablands of Eastern Washington. What up with the name Scablands? I mean…EWWWWW!

They are known as the "Channeled Scablands" because they are crisscrossed by long channels cut into the bedrock, called coulees. About 150 distinct coulees have been identified; some of them are hundreds of feet deep. The two largest are Moses Coulee, which is 40 miles long, and Grand Coulee, which is 60 miles long. (source)

mountain with beard stubble (AKA firs)

Not gorgeous terrain but fascinating AND, unlike our grasslands odyssey, time did NOT stop. Within an hour or so of leaving Kennewick we hit the Spokane area where the mountains began making their presence known, with, if not authority, whispers and sharp nudges. By the time we hit the Idaho border *BOOM* mega mountainous beauty.

Jeff Beck’s version of Bolero haunted me throughout the drive. THAT was the proper, dramatic musical accompaniment to this leg of our big beautiful adventure.

The glorious fir covered sharp, statuesque mountains continued as we entered Montana but now there was a little distance between the peaks – slight valleys where, if you had a mind to, you could set up house. Ten and his, then tiny, children did just that back in his post U of M college days. Wow. Just imagine waking in the midst of such breath stealing, wondrous landscape EVERY morning!

Yesterday’s drive took longer than I’d anticipated – I was full on knackered by the time we pulled into Missoula. We got dinner at a nearby bar (with loads of GO GRIZ! posters – yup, this IS a college town) and fell into bed at the tremendously comfortable (though indoor pool-less) Campus Inn.

Later this morning we’ll explore the town. He’ll point out his old haunts and then we’ll head down to Yellowstone.

Question – is it possible to OD on beauty? I guess I’m gonna find out, eh?

I say, if Fido can tunnel through the five foot tall solid block of snow to get to the lawn,
he's earned a good dump on the frozen grass!