Hi Gram!

We got home about a week ago, and we’ve finally (almost) dug our way out of the piles of mail and responsibilities that were waiting for us. We’re rested, washing our hands regularly, and following the news about this pandemic. I hope you’re staying safe and healthy!

In our last episode, we had just packed the car in Seattle and were getting ready to start our trek East. We woke up on Saturday morning, packed our last few bags into the car, and said our goodbyes to the family before getting on the road. It was around 42 degrees and a little overcast when we left Seattle. Traffic wasn’t too bad, and soon we were off the interstate and driving along route 2. Zibby had a bag of yarn in her lap, crocheting away as we both listened to podcasts and chatted about what we were going to see on our way home. Pretty soon, the sun came out and we were gaining altitude as the thermometer was losing degrees on our way up through Stevens Pass, a ski area on top of Mt Baker. From lush, damp scenery to snow piled higher than the car, we dropped below 30 degrees as we crested the mountain, then started working our way back down the other side. We caught sight of kayakers on the other side, parking along the road and walking their kayaks down to the river below. It sent a shiver down our spines to imagine navigating those frigid waters.

In the foothills on the other side, we came to Leavenworth, WA an stopped for lunch and some site seeing. The whole town maintains an old Austrian mountain town feel, between the architecture, their signs, their dress, and attitude. It was a lot of fun walking through the shops and hearing the musicians on the sidewalks. We stopped for some pretzels and wurst for lunch on an outdoor patio at one end of the main street before working our way back up the other side of the street, weaving through shops and laughing at shirts and signs we saw along the way. When we got back to the car, we saw that we had paid for an hour more parking than we needed, so we found a family just arriving and handed them our parking slip. With our good deed for the day behind us, we plodded on down the road, marveling at all the apple trees and beautiful scenery. The road bobbed and curved, scenery changing from plains to rolling hills, sheer rock faces beside us for a while, then a lake or river beside us for a while more. After a few hours, almost at sunset, we arrived to see the wonder of Coulee Dam.

The visitor center was still open for another half hour after we arrived, so we worked our way through the displays and stories about its construction before they closed up for the night. There was a group of kids working their way through some worksheets and videos, and it reminded me of the field trips we used to take when I was younger. We wound our way back out of the canyon created by the dam, then on back down to route 2 to continue our journey east to Spokane. We originally planned to stop and have dinner with a friend, but his family had decided to go to Oregon for the weekend, so we stopped at Huckleberry’s Natural Market to wander the aisles and have some dinner. It’s a neat little market with lots of organic and natural goods from small batch producers. Full of snacks and beverages from all of our other stops, we pledged not to buy anything more there, but did stop in their little cafe for some delicious dinner while a quartet soothed our ears in the background.

As we were leaving, we checked with our friends Andrea and Justin in Fargo to let them know we would be there Monday night, only to find out that Justin would be flying out Monday afternoon. After a quick game of rock-paper-scissors, it was decided that we’d try to push through and get there early so we could see them both on Sunday night. The podcasts and music were queued up, books and crochet materials were gathered, and we hit the road once again. Everything was going great until we started into Montana and into a flurry of snowflakes as big as your thumb. Driving at night with no street lights around, the headlights make a snow flurry like that look like you’re driving at warp speed into a star field. The stream of white dots become mesmerizing, and it’s easy to lose the edge of the road in the whitewashed land ahead. For safety sake, we slowed way down, kept the wipers at an intermediate speed, and tried to keep the car between the lines. We pulled off at an exit at one point to look at the map and decide if we were going to be able to get to a town with services soon, or if we’d be battling this for a while. Seeing Missoula not too far ahead, we got back on the road, getting in line behind a semi. Following the truck helped a little with knowing where the road was. The tail lights were easier to follow and they helped illuminate the white line on the right side of the lane. It was about an hour before the snow cleared and we were able to see again, just in time to start seeing signs for Missoula. I suggested, for a moment, that we keep on going since we had cleared the snow storm, but a few miles later the snow started again, making the decision to stop that much easier. We were disappointed that we wouldn’t get to Fargo in time to see Justin, but safety was a much bigger factor than seeing our friend that we’d get to see in Ottawa anyway in a few months. The hotel we found was a newer one with the nicest staff we could have asked for, and a large clean room to rest our heads. After a delicious breakfast, we got on our way into the sunshine and dry roads that we had been hoping for the night before. Zibby’s never been in this part of the country before, and it has probably been twenty years since I’ve seen it. We were both in awe at the mountains and plateaus around us, and the big blue sky that seemed to go on forever. I don’t know what it was, but the sky just felt bigger as we drove. We didn’t have anything too exciting happen on that day, and eventually stopped for the night in Glendive, MT. We weren’t sure if the hotel was even open as we pulled up since we didn’t see any cars in the parking lot. We parked and walked into a grand lobby, with artwork and furniture that looked brand new. I wondered if they had just opened, but the clerk assured me that they had been open for quite some time. We went through the check-in process, then moved the car to the back parking lot and carried our bags up to the room. After a restful night, we headed down for breakfast in the morning, expecting a crowd in the dining room like we usually see. This time, though, we were the only ones there. Zibby got busy with the waffle machine, and I went up to the front desk to ask if the hot trays, usually full of eggs, sausage, french toast, or other breakfast staples, would be refilled soon. The clerk informed me that since we were the only guests in the hotel, they hadn’t bothered putting anything out but she would be happy to cook something up for us. Against my objections that we were fine with the yogurt and waffle machine, she insisted on making me some scrambled eggs and bacon. We marveled as we ate our breakfast that we were the only two people in the either 3 story hotel! The clerk told us, as we were checking out, that the hotel had been booked for the previous few nights, and they were expecting about 30 reservations for the next night. We had just hit an unusual lull that they see once or twice a year. There’s a campground behind the hotel, owned by the same people, that is full in the summertime in addition to every room being booked. We felt like royalty once we found out we had had the whole place to ourselves.

After another short driving day, we checked into a hotel in Fargo with a special surprise for Zibby. Most modern bath tubs are short in the two directions that matter – they’re not very tall, intended I suppose for washing kids and pets, so even with the tub full, most of you is above the water line. They’re also not very long – with the standard bathroom being five feet from wall to wall, the tub is probably 4’9″ or shorter. For someone with long legs, the legs have to bend at the knee, putting even more of the bather above the water line. When I was booking the reservation for the night, I found a place with a long, deep jacuzzi tub, perfect for a girl with long legs who likes soaking in the tub. We checked in and brought up our luggage, then headed to meet Andrea for dinner – Zibby would have to wait a little longer for her soak. Andrea decided on a great little pizza place in downtown Fargo, not far from where they live, and we all met up. Zibby and I have spent a little time with her husband Justin, but this was a great chance to hang out one on one with Andrea and get to know her better. The three of us picked some funky toppings for our pizza and set to learning all about one another. Andrea and Zibby did most of the talking while I just sat back and took in all the new information. After dinner, the place got loud with a trivia game, but we weren’t done talking, so we headed down the street to a coffee shop where we could carry on with our conversation in a quieter atmosphere. As the hour grew later, we eventually said our good-byes and headed back to the hotel, where Zibby had forgotten she had a soaking tub waiting for her. I chuckled as I heard the occasional squeal of glee as I sat on the couch reading my book. Exhausted and soaked, we headed to sleep. After breakfast in the morning, which was another nice spread in a big room (they really know how to run a hotel in the big states of the upper midwest), Zibby decided she’d take the opportunity for another soak in the deep tub before we checked out. Back on the road, it didn’t take us long to get to Minneapolis to see our friends Steph and Tom, and their two adorable children. Their oldest is a feisty and festive toddler, about 2 or 3, and the youngest is the quietest little package I’ve ever seen in a 6 month old. The four of us took turns holding the little one and distracting the other while their parents cooked dinner and we all caught up on our lives. We sat around talking well into the night, as the kids were put to bed one at a time (and the older one tried getting back up again). Our eyelids got heavier and we all eventually succumbed to our sleepiness. In the morning, I slept in a little while Zibby went up to the kitchen to share blueberry waffles with mom and the toddler. When I finally wandered upstairs, the house was going full blast with kids and adults and all the excitement. Tom decided to take us all for a flight in his new plane while the toddler was at daycare for the day. We headed to the airport and he started his pre-flight checks, but soon there was a call asking them to pick up their sick child.

Steph insisted that she’d go tend to the daycare fuss while we went up for a flight. Apparently, this happens often with toddlers and daycare, where a kid will get a fever but be fine by dinnertime. It helps their immune system, being exposed to all these other kids and their germs. We were sad that she couldn’t join us, but had a great time as Tom skillfully flew us around the greater Minneapolis area, practicing maneuvers and pointing out landmarks. It felt to me like we’d been up there for 20 minutes, but it was over an hour before we landed and taxied the plane back to its hangar. Elated, Zibby and I took turns talking about how much fun we’d had, while Tom answered questions and we all headed back to the house. We scooped up Steph and the kids and headed out to a diner nearby for some dinner. The baby mostly slept, the toddler slipped under the table, tried sneaking away, colored on the kids placemat, and generally acted like a toddler, and the adults all enjoyed our delicious meals and conversation. Although we had planned to stay for another day, we decided in the morning that we were eager to just get home to our own bed. We met their friend who had just arrived from upstate New York, said our goodbyes, and started our journey home. The skies were clear, the podcasts were playing, and although it didn’t feel like 7 hours, the next thing we knew, we were pulling in the driveway. After carrying some of our luggage upstairs, we decided the rest could wait until tomorrow so we collapsed on the couch, glad to be finally home!