Day 80 & 81 – On the road again

Monday, November 29^th, 2010

I have spent an enjoyable last two weeks relaxing with my sister and brother-in-law in Seattle. I thought I would have gotten out more to explore but after two months of being tied to a car I had a difficult time separating myself from their sofa. I didn’t want to overstay my welcome and the leftovers from Thanksgiving were almost gone so I figured it was about time for me to get back on the road again.

I have decided that I am going to spend the winter in the Whitefish – Kalispell area of northwestern Montana. Out of everywhere I’ve been, this seems to have the best combination of the things that I am looking for, minus the jobs.

For the past week or so I have been looking on Craigslist for a room to rent. I found a nice place in Whitefish, started some communications and left it that I would let them know when I was going to be in town so I could meet the guys and see the place.

The drive from Seattle to Whitefish is about 530 miles, a doable drive for one day but I decided to take my time and do it in two. I jumped on I-90 and drove east all the way to Spokane, WA. It was about 280 miles and a good stopping point. I called again about the room for rent. It was still available but I was losing my cell signal going over the mountain passes so I said I would call back when I reached Spokane to set up a time the following day to see the house. I called again once I got to Spokane and in the few hours from the last time we talked someone else came by and put a deposit down on the room. Bummer. I sent a few more emails out before I went to sleep hoping that I could find a place to live.

Tuesday, November 30^th, 2010

When I woke up this morning, the first thing I did was check my email only to find that no one responded. When I pulled back the sheets covering my windows I could see that my car was covered in snow. I opened my door to step outside and it was cold and snowing hard, a perfect Tuesday morning. I had about 250 more miles to go before I was back in Whitefish. It snowed the entire way and I began to realize that it would be wise to invest in some good winter tires. Well, I arrived at my destination this evening, my new home if you will, but I am currently homeless. I’ll spend the next few days, or however long it takes, working towards getting a roof over my head. Ski season begins December 4^th so I still have a few days to figure things out.

Day 64-69 – Anacortes -> Seattle, WA

Saturday, November 13^th, 2010

Today I left Bellingham and headed south to Seattle to visit with my sister and brother-in-law. On the way I stopped in Anacortes. Anacortes is a small city on Fidalgo Island, covers 14.2 square miles and has a population near 17k. The majority of the island is surrounded by the waters of the Puget Sound but it is still connected by land to Washington State on its eastern shore. My first impression of Anacortes was that of a beach town. Marinas had their place on the shoreline housing motor boats and sailboats. Others marinas were tailored more to commercial operations such as whale watching and ferry services to the various islands in the Sound as well as British Columbia. Here it seemed like people trade their mountain bikes for beach cruisers and quads for kayaks. It feels like a pretty nice town. Other islands are visible from the shoreline, however as nice as that is the views are somewhat diminished by the plumes of smoke coming from the Tesoro oil refinery and pipeline across the water. It is quite puzzling why gas costs $3.20 per gallon here with it's own refinery in town.

It was a typical overcast day with temperatures in the low 50s. Being close to the water makes it always feel chillier than it really is. I felt I needed something warm to eat. Good thing I was close to Bob’s Chowder Bar. The sign in the window read “Voted Best Chowder” which I took as a challenge to my taste buds. I walked inside to a menu of different chowders but ordered a bowl of whatever was their famed chowder. I sat down at one of the few seats along the window facing the street and spooned into a bowl of New England style clam chowder. I have to admit that anytime I’m about to try something that has been labeled “the best”, I’m skeptical. Now besides fish tacos, one of my other weaknesses is chowder. This had the perfect balance of texture, consistency and flavor. Bob’s Chowder Bar serves the best clam chowder I have ever had. If you like chowder like I do, get some at Bob’s! Before I left I bought a quart to take with me to Seattle.

After fighting the traffic and trying to find a place to pick up some beer I finally got to Becky and Rick's place. I had to park on the street so I grabbed my two bikes from the roof and a couple of bags to bring inside. We spent the rest of the day drinking beer, eating pizza and watching football followed by a movie. It was the perfect way to relax. It felt good to be in a house again.

Day 65 - 69, Sunday through Thursday

I realize that I've been behind in posting for awhile. I arrived in Seattle last Saturday and have been spending time with my sister and brother-in-law. I've been enjoying the lazy days in rainy Seattle. It's been snowing in the Pass's nearby so I'll be checking the road conditions and planning a day trip to go play in the snow. Yesterday my sister and I found a butcher who sells rabbit so we could make some rabbit stew. It was pretty awesome. We also bought some wild boar so if anyone knows of a recipe for boar, let me know. Other than that, it's gonna be slow goin' for a little while and I'm quite happy about that!

Day 63 – Mt. Baker, WA

Friday, November 12^th, 2010

The sun finally broke out today. By the time I got out of my car it was already 50 degrees. It felt warm in comparison to most days and it was tempting to put shorts on but it would’ve been too much of a hassle to actually find a pair of shorts to wear. I ate breakfast at the McDonald’s that was attached to the WalMart. I surveyed the area around Bellingham on my phone while eating a #7 combo, a sausage, egg and cheese McGriddle, hash brown and several refills of coffee. In unrelated news, I finally got around to washing my hair and the 63 days of growth on my face in the back corner of the parking lot this morning. That alone gave me a nice recharge. I’ve gone without properly bathing now for longer than I care to share, so I won’t. I only mention it because I’m sure it will embarrass my mother.

Out of Bellingham I drove US-542 (aka Mt. Baker Hwy) to Mt. Baker. The total drive was about 75 minutes and almost 60 miles. On the way I stopped in at the Glacier Ski Shop. The sign out front said open Saturday and Sunday. There were no cars in the parking lot and when I walked inside to a dark shop I found out they were closed. Even though they were closed, I stayed and talked ski equipment for almost an hour with a guy named Drew, I’m guessing he was the owner? He could’ve shut the door on me but he was more than willing to talk shop. I’m going to give their website a plug here, www.glacierskishop.com. If you’re ever out by Mt. Baker, stop on by.

The drive up to Mt. Baker offered tremendous scenery as it passed through the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, which extends more than 140 miles from the Canadian border all the way south to Mt. Rainier. The two lane road worked its way up the mountain through a thick forest of old growth firs and pines to a base elevation of 3,500’, starting at almost sea level in Bellingham. In some places the trees formed a canopy over the road, creating a dark, shady environment. Views of 10,000' snow covered mountains could be seen in the clearings. The snowline came on at once with clear, dry roads and perfectly clean trees that quickly turned to burms of plowed snow and branches flocked in white. Mt. Baker has it all, the beauty of a PNW national forest and a ski resort which averages 647 inches of snow annually. During the 1998-1999 season they received 1,140 inches. That’s 95 feet of snow! There were probably 30+ cars in the parking lot at the base of the resort. Everyone was there for the same purpose. Men, women, boys and girls, as well as few dogs came to make their way up the mountain, just to come back down again, whether it be on skis, snowboards, snowshoes or sleds. I had to fight myself to leave my snowboard and related gear packed away inside the bubble on my roof. My car box is so perfectly packed that I would never be able to fit everything back inside again. It was hard to watch others make turns without being able to join them.

I finished the day back in Bellingham. I made it to the downtown area to visit another ski shop. Bellingham is a nice area, almost city-like, with views of both the mountains to the east and the Puget Sound waterway to the west. I walked around the downtown area for about two hours, or eight quarters worth of meter time. At one intersection I came across a protest, well not so much a protest but a group of about 20 people walking around waiving signs. I love a good protest so I went to find out what the cause was. Given where I was, I probably could’ve guessed what people were angry about. Here are a few of the signs I saw: “The RIGHT is WRONG”, “Jesus Christ was a Socialist”, “Free people, not markets”, “We want healthcare!” and “Eat your babies” to protest the end to federally funded abortions. Everyone there was peaceful and willing to talk to me, and even ask me for some spare change. Now, I’m not going to turn this into a political rant, those of you who know me, know where I stand. Let’s just say that it might be difficult for me to “fit in” around here.

Day 61 & 62 – Spokane to Bellingham, WA

Wednesday, November 10^th, Thursday, November 11^th, 2010

Not a whole lot to update for the past two days as I spent most of the time driving. I woke up yesterday and waited patiently outside of a Krispy Kreme Donuts for that red light to come on indicating a fresh, hot new batch of donuts. It’s more cost effective, per donut, to buy six rather than just one or two so the woman behind the counter filled a box with three glazed, two custard filled and one sour crème. The first two, ok three donuts were fantastic. Nothing beats a hot Krispy Kreme. I should’ve saved some for the road but I knew they were best hot. The last two I kind of had to force down, both from being full and because the sixth one, of anything, is never as good as the first. It’s the age old law of diminishing returns. I knew it going in but I wanted to try to prove it wrong, just this once. I was now caffeinated and over-sucrose-enated so I decided to just walked around Spokane for a few hours. It was crowded with both people and cars which is to be expected with a population over 200k, it’s just been a while since I've been in a town larger than 1/10th this size.

I left Spokane a little after 3pm and headed north on US-395. I made it as far as Coleville before I had enough driving. I don’t think it was more than 75 miles but it was about as much as I wanted to do for the day. I spent about two hours in Arby's reading some magazines and the local newspaper. I'm sure by now you all know where I spent the night, it rhymes with hallfart.

Today I got a decent start to the day. I stayed on US-20 going west just about the entire way to Bellingham. Most of the day was cloudy, with some intermittent snow and rain, with temps in the mid 40s. During the first hour I think I saw more logging trucks than cars. There were a lot of little towns and apple orchards along the way. Once I reached the Cascade Mountain Range it was a lot of up and down driving. After a while the pressure changes were starting to bother my ears. There is something about the Pacific Northwest. I don’t quite know how to describe it but every time it catches me off guard. I think it’s the combination of the high, rugged mountain peaks, the almost perfectly straight and tall varieties of firs, spruce and pine trees, waterfalls and flowing rivers and the abundance of lush green color. The route I chose along the northern cascades was beautiful but gas stations are few and far between. I filled up with the most expensive gas of the trip in a town named Winthrop. Regular gas was $3.40 per gallon and it took me a while to figure out how to use the circa 1940 gas pump.

I continued on US-20 until it connected with I-5 which I took north to Bellingham. It was raining and I was catching the beginning of the rush hour commute. I found a Barnes and Noble to kill some time outside of my car and write something. It’s almost 6:30 so I guess its time to find a place to get a bite to eat and to stretch my legs a bit.

Mileage update: 8,390

Day 59 & 60 – Montana -> Idaho -> Washington

Monday, November 8^th, Tuesday, November 9^th, 2010

Sixty days on the road! Before I started this trip I sort of thought that maybe I would have settled on a place by now. However, this journey has evolved into a little more than I expected, but in a good way. Initially my focus was set mainly on visiting various locations that I thought that I might like to live. That agenda, although important and the whole reason I left NJ, has taken the backseat to sightseeing. I have seen so many wonderful things and met just as many great people in the past two months. I thought that by this time I would be ready to hang up my car keys for a real bed, a bathroom and a kitchen. Instead, I’m having such a good time that I just want to keep going.

The past two days have been kind of aimless driving. Yesterday I left the Kalispell / Whitefish area and tracked north to Eureka, for no particular reason other than it was probably as close to the Canadian border as I was going to get. From Eureka I headed back south on SR-37 to the town of Libby. This was an absolutely beautiful drive through the colorful mountains and along Lake Koocanusa. I took US-2 back north again, crossing over the Montana-Idaho border to my next stop in Bonners Ferry to fill up the gas tank. I noticed a sign for “all you can eat” pasta for $5 at the restaurant attached to the gas station. After three plates of spaghetti with meat sauce, three servings of garlic bread and a side salad with huckleberry vinaigrette, I was ready to drive some more. It was already dark by this time and I knew I was missing a lot of nice scenery so I would call it a night once I reached Sandpoint, Idaho. It was almost 8pm when I arrived and I was pretty tired, (can you say carb crash?), so I found a WalMart parking lot and settled down for the evening. WalMart has been a good traveling companion for me so far. There has been a WalMart in most towns I’ve come across and they welcome travelers a place to stay. I know it’s not the most glamorous of accommodations, but when I’m sleeping in my car anyway, I really don’t care. And if it’s good enough for the couple driving a million dollar RV with a 50” flat screen TV, well then it’s good enough for me too.

This morning I drove around Sandpoint for a bit. It’s a nice town. It had an older feel to it, but the people didn’t give off the sense of being as welcoming as most other places I’ve been. Granted, my population sample was so small that it’s hard to form an opinion so quickly, but sometimes you just have to trust your gut. Schweitzer ski resort was only 12 miles away so I headed up to see what that was like. I have to say I was impressed. 2,900 skiable acres, 92 named runs, 300 feet of snow annually and apparently some of the best tree skiing in America (1,200 acres of trees). Anyway, it looked a lot nicer than I was expecting. From Sandpoint I drove south to Coeur D’Alene but first I had to get my fill of “all you can eat” pancakes for $2.99. I’m pretty much a sucker for anything “all you can eat”. Find me an “all you can eat” fish taco joint and I’ve found my spot! After breakfast I was treated to a nice visual in the parking lot. How do you like them apples?

Coeur D’Alene is the largest city in Idaho with a population over 35,000 and it’s often referred to as Lake City. The lakes and mountains make this another beautiful place. If it wasn’t an hour away from skiing I would have given it a little more of my time to look around. I set my sights on Spokane Washington and the GPS did the rest. Somewhere along the way I crossed over the Mountain-Pacific time zone and gained another hour. I’m now at a Barnes and Noble in Spokane and I found a mall across the street so I think I’ll go and do some people watching.

Mileage update: A few miles short of 8,000

Day 58 – Glacier National Park, Montana

Sunday, November 7^th, 2010

Glacier National Park map

I stayed the night again in Kalispell, MT. It rained all night and it was still raining when I woke up. I decided to stay in Kalispell because of its proximity to Glacier National Park. I wanted to take it easy today so the only thing I put on my schedule was a visit to Glacier.

It rained all day long. It’s kind of unfortunate because the landscape here is fantastic, but with all of the fog it was almost impossible to see, and it’s so close. From Kalispell, I drove north to Whitefish and then east on SR-40 into Columbia Falls, from there US-2 north lead directly to the west entrance of Glacier National Park. The park was still open to visitors but with limited access only. Again my Annual National Park pass allowed me to enter without paying the $25 entrance fee. I saw a few whitetail deer immediately upon entering so I was hoping that was a good sign of more wildlife to come.

Glacier National Park covers more than 1,000,000 acres and borders the Canadian Provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. It has over 130 named lakes, more than 1,000 different species of plants and hundreds of species of animals. Unfortunately, the majority of the park was already closed for the season due to both construction activity and weather. I was able to drive the “Going-to-the Sun” road which leads to Logan Pass for nearly 17 miles before the park closed at Avalanche Creek. Even with the crummy weather, I could tell immediately that this was a park that I will have to come back to. The drive along the road ran parallel to the beautiful Lake McDonald for the first few miles and then pierced through this incredible deep, thick and dark, mainly coniferous forest with stops along the way to view gorgeous waterfalls and fast flowing rivers. I only stayed for about two hours. I had wanted to do some hiking but the rain was coming down too hard to make it worthwhile.

Since I had wanted to take it easy today, I drove back to Kalispell to have dinner at a Bajio Mexican Grill. I had the two fish taco platter with rice and black beans. These particular tacos were made with lightly fried and seasoned Tilapia on one white corn tortilla, topped with cheese, tomato, slaw/dressing, sprinkled with cilantro and served with a wedge of lime. These were excellent but the truth is I’ve never met a fish taco I didn’t like!

Later that night, I met a guy walking his dog in the coffee isle of WalMart. This wasn’t your typical Golden Retriever or Labrador service breed, it was a stocky mix of what looked like pit bull and a bullmastiff. Being a dog person, I started a conversation about his dog. The owners name was Eddie and his dog was a rescue and he was training it to be a service dog. Eddie was a very high functioning man with Autism, but all outward appearances and even a thirty minute conversation with him revealed only sheer intelligence. He is in the process of writing four books, with one close to being published. He is also in the process of changing his name to “One Man” and is writing about his trials and tribulations of growing up in America from “One Man’s” perspective on living with Autism. I exchanged email addresses with Eddie and hope to keep in touch and wish him the best. Should he ever publish his books, I will be sure to read them. It’s really amazing to think about all of the people that we choose to walk by every day. Granted, we can’t stop and talk to everyone, but every single one of them has a story!

Day 56 – 57, Kalispell and Whitefish, Montana

Friday, November 5^th - Saturday, November 6^th, 2010

It’s beginning to get difficult, not in the traveling sense of being on the road, but in the way that I’m discovering some really great places. Of course that’s not a terrible thing, but when it comes time for me to finally decide on a location, it won’t be easy.

Yesterday morning I left Missoula, MT and headed north on US-93. It was sunny up until I reached the Flathead Indian Reservation where a thick layer of fog was trapped below a cold inversion layer restricting visibility to about 100 yards. The sun finally broke through as I got closer to Flathead Lake, the largest natural freshwater lake in the western part of the contiguous United States. Flathead Lake runs nearly 30 miles long and almost 16 miles wide with a surface area of 191.5 square miles. I veered off of US-93 and took SR-35 north around the eastern side of the lake. It was a scenic drive with miles of apple and cherry orchards between the lake and the road on the left and mountains to the right. I drove through the town of Bigfork on the northeastern corner of the lake and then on to Kalispell. The total distance was around 150 miles.

I don’t think I would have necessarily come to Kalispell and Whitefish if it wasn’t recommended by Dan, a friend of my Uncle Phil. I knew I was going to like Kalispell even before I got there. Northwestern Montana is absolutely beautiful. Kalispell is a town of approximately 22k, is seven miles north of Flathead Lake, 31 miles from Glacier National Park and 17 miles away from both Whitefish (aka. Big Mountain) and Black Tail ski resorts. Kalispell is served by most of the modern convenience stores but has a small town feeling. Although it doesn’t seem to have a real “main street” to get out and walk around, everything is spread out in such a way that there is very little traffic and plenty of wide open space with mountain views in all directions.

Saturday, November 6^th, 2010

Today I drove from Kalispell to Whitefish, nearly 14 miles away. Whitefish has a small town feel with approximately 6-7,000 residents. There are plenty of nice quiet neighborhoods with tree lined streets. There are some smaller shops in town, mainly boutique stores, eateries and coffee shops but all of the major convenience stores are located in Kalispell. This is a great little town right at the base of the mountains with the ski resort visible in the distance.

Kalispell and Whitefish seem to have all of the outdoor activites available that I'm looking for with the added bonus of being close to a huge lake. This opens up the possibilities of kayaking, boating and lake fishing. Both of these places are now on the list along with Bozeman, MT and Salt Lake City, Utah.

Day 55 – Bozeman to Missoula, Montana

Thursday, November 4th, 2010

I’ve got to make this post quick as my laptop battery is almost dead and I’m at a Barnes & Noble with no electrical outlets for charging.

I left Bozeman this morning and headed northwest with the destination of Missoula in mind. I stopped in some towns along the way such as Belgrade, Manhattan, Three Forks, Butte and finally Missoula. The total trip was just a little over 200 miles. The weather was great, sunny and in the mid 60s. Most of the towns were small with Butte and Missoula significantly bigger. Missoula seems like it would be a neat place to live, the scenery is great and it has a young crowd feeling, but I don’t think there is alot of good skiing around, I could be wrong though? I didn’t do too much today besides drive. I did however stop in for two 99-cent tacos at Taco Sano. I chose the bbq brisket for the meat choice, the usual lettuce and tomato, jalapenos and topped with a chipotle mayo. They were pretty fantastic and a nice break from my normal routine of cream cheese-less bagels and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I'm getting more and more used to the hobo life on the road so even a $2 taco stop is really a welcomed treat.

So now I’m at the bookstore to kill some time and the rest of my laptop battery. I am trying to form a game plan for tomorrow. I think I am going to head north towards Whitefish and Kalispell. While I’m there, I might as well go to Glacier National Park. I think I’ve decided that I’m going all the way to the west coast. So Becky and Rick, if you’re reading this, I hope your Thanksgiving invitation in Seattle still stands?

I’m down to 6% battery life now so it's time to press the publish button. I’ve got a few books on fly fishing that will keep me occupied until the store closes and then I’ll go and look for a place to stay for the night.

Buenos noches