Day 5: Castle Rock to Portland

We made this a lazy day. Nice sky as we left Castle Rock.

Breakfast at the Pancake House in Long View. We got there just after 10 and the place was packed. Stayed that way the whole time we were there as well. I was introduced to sourdough pancakes which I quite enjoyed.

We did a little shopping at an outlet mall (my score at Eddie Bauer snagged all the shopping room in the car ... sorry Mär) and then made our way to Cy and Aimee's. The girls, Zibby (on the left) and Jules didn't play shy at all!

We joined the "Grubbers" for dinner at Gustav's Pub and Grill. Here's Cy keeping Zibby entertained ... or was it the other way around.

Gustav's method for keeping children (and their parents) entertained is a little different than coloring sheets and crayons.

Dinner was good as well .... nice classic German fare.

We'll be spending the weekend with Cy, Aimee and the girls. Weather, the forecast is for rain, will dictate whether we just hang out or go out and do "stuff".

Day 4: Packwood to Castle Rock

Today was set aside for touring in the Mt. Rainier & Mt. St. Helens area. Rain, cloud cover and closed roads kept us from the spectacular views we were hoping for but it was a fun day anyway. The end of the road in Mt. Rainier was the parking lot at the Paradise Lodge.

We "think" this is Mt. Rainier but with the clouds ... who knows?

After Rainier we tried a "Delorme" route to Mt. St. Helens. It turned out it was a private road with a sign that clearly stated "No Access To Mt. St. Helens" so we switched to a more conventional route. Part of the route that didn't work took us past Riffle Lake which had some rather interesting shoreline and log piles.

Mt. St. Helens as seen from the Johnston Ridge Observatory. It's a fascinating area that we'll probably return to when the weather is a little more appropriate.

It's not my imagination. It doesn't matter where we park, someone with park right beside. Of course, the place was busy ... there were 5 of us in the theatre watching the movie and we did bump into one other person walking the paths so we can understand why the van driver couldn't find another parking spot.

We ended the day at the Timberland Inn in Castle Rock. Dinner was at the El Compadre Mexican Restaurant and I now have a new favourite restaurant for Camarones a la Diabla ... they were spectacular.

Tomorrow is scheduled as a lazy day driving to Portland. We'll be meeting up with friends for dinner and spend the weekend with them.

Day 3: Lolo Hot Springs to Packwood, WA

West from Lolo Hot Springs over Lolo Pass and into Idaho. Light snow didn't interfere with driving and made for a very scenic drive.

At lower elevations snow turned to rain.

As we got further into Idaho and then Washington the weather improved dramatically. It was sunny, top down cruising from Clarkston to Packwood, WA, our destination for the night. Large portions of our drive through Washington were through agricultural areas.

Too dark for pictures by the time we arrived in Packwood. The last part of Hwy 12 was once again a scenic drive. The Packwood Inn is our home for the night and Taco Wednesday at the Blue Spruce Saloon was a treat. 3 tacos for $2.50 .... no surprise the place was packed.

Day 2: Malta to Lolo Hot Springs, MT

After an uneventful start to the day things got a little interesting on highway 87. Approaching vehicles had snow on them and we were starting to see snow on the higher ground around us.

We drove through a bit but never enough for any accumulation on the road.

Soon we were back to perfectly normal conditions and continued our journey down Hwy 87 to hook up with I15 at Great Falls.

We took time out for a scenic overlook on I15.

Approaching Helena.

Traveling mostly off the interstates means that finding this welcome sight is sometimes a little more of a challenge.

Our destination for night 2: The Lodge at Lolo Hot Springs. We enjoyed the spring fed hot tub and a perfectly acceptable dinner at the restaurant next door.

The room was spacious and well-appointed. With no live TV or internet available we relaxed with a movie before bedtime.

Day 1: Winnipeg to Malta, Montana.

Day 1 was the drive from Winnipeg to Malta, MT. We took a route less traveled, Hwy 2 west in Manitoba and then we worked our way onto Hwy 2 in North Dakota and Montana. Really not too much to see, but the speed limits were such that the distance saved over taking I94 made it worthwhile.

This was the first good chuckle ... you may need to click the image to read the caution.

Montana marks their highway fatalities and there were a lot of them along the route. A stark reminder that every vehicle on the road can become a lethal weapon in the blink of an eye.


Montana ... the little Casino state? They were everywhere. And they're all small.

We had a reservation at the Great Northern Hotel. We were a little concerned when we saw the building, lobby and corridor but when we walked through the door to our room we were really pleasantly surprised .... big, clean and modern ... it could have easily passed for a room at a higher end hotel. As an added bonus the steak and blackened prime-rib at the on-site restaurant was decent as well. Not being able to access their wi-fi network in our room was the biggest issue we had.

1 More Sleep

Tomorrow we're off on our fall 2010 road trip. It's our long awaited Pacific Coast Highway tour. We've blocked 4 weeks and have our house sitter moving in later today. The weather looks beautiful today ... not so much tomorrow .... it looks like we'll be facing headwind and rain. Oh well, the car will stay clean until we leave the garage.