Thursday, August 22, 2019

WA Hwy 20: Success! (and a little sadness at the end)

Success! I was able to make the drive of WA Hwy 20 straight through to the end at the Idaho border!

The drive out of Kettle Falls this morning was a very entertaining two-lane track through tall, dense evergreen trees, punctuated only occasionally by tiny little towns and seasonal road work stoppages. It was pretty to look at, but not something that lends itself to being photographed.

That lack of photogeneity ended abruptly when I reached the Pend Orielle river at the tiny town of Tiger, WA.

There's something about driving along a beautiful river that always gives me joy. I think it's partly the peek-a-boo views that you get around every turn in the road, but it's also that sense of quiet power I get from a moving body of water.

Whatever the reason, it was a beautiful hour's drive down to Newport, WA, and quite possibly the highlight of the trip.

In truth, it took us about twice that long due to multiple stops along the way. Happy is also a big fan of river walks, so we dawdled at various places to enjoy the sights, sounds, smells, etc. She also frequently practiced her art of leaving p-mail for future visitors from the canine nation.

Those of you who know how I look forward to seeing "Begin" and "End" signs at the termini of my road trips will understand that I was a little sad not to see anything of the kind at the border of Idaho. The closest thing to it is this monstrosity, which denotes WA Hwy 20 cutting away from US Hwy 2.



Sad as that may be, I am delighted to finally have made the WA Hwy 20 trip from end to end! Once that was accomplished, I was a bit nostalgic about being back on my old friend US Hwy 2 for the stint down to Spokane. I've driven all of US Hwy 2, and many parts of it many times before. If you ever get the chance to drive it, do it. The "Hi-Line" is an epic drive.

I plan to be in Spokane for a couple of days to visit with friends, then will sprint east to Helena, MT, to visit with other friends. Look at me being all social! Stay tuned...

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