what's in a name

I love the native names in the Puget Sound, none of which I'd ever heard of before we started learning all about the Pacific NW: Snohomish, Nisqually, Snoqualmie, Puyallup, Wenatchee, Mukilteo. By contrast, the tribes of the Southwest are iconic: Apache, Ute, Hopi, Navajo. What tribes everywhere all have in common are casinos. The transfer of wealth has been dramatic - it hasn't solved all their problems but it's sure making a dent. They are a ubiquitous feature of the Western landscape. Who goes to these places? The parking lots are always full.

Highways and byways

What happened to your stimulus dollars? They are paving and repaving America - they are being steamrolled into every roadbed in the interstate highway system. And when you aren't dodging workman, pylons, and being pushed over to the shoulder by giant fire-breathing, road-building equipment, the roads are smooth as satin. With a nice, new car and a nice, new road, you can't hear or feel the road. A strange sensation. How long does a road last?

August 3, 2011 - Land of Enchantment

Late at night on Tuesday we cruised around Farmington, NM looking for any establishment with a kitchen that was still open. On the edge of town we found Chef Bernie's Cafeteria - no longer in its prime, and not a cafeteria, but a classic 1960s diner. Stella selected 5 singles for 50 cents on the jukebox - mounted at each booth. Patsy Cline, of course, and Johnny Cash. Every meal in New Mexico comes with the question: red or green? I'll take green. Every meal also comes with shredded iceberg lettuce and diced tomatoes - the pink kind of tomato - but it all adds to the authentic charm. Two complete dinners with rice & beans, chips & salsa, and sopapillas & honey - $14.

For breakfast on Wed., we checked out TJ's Diner on Main Street - a charming main street and a well-maintained version of the classic diner. The same question - red or green, this time on our eggs - and the same shredded lettuce and diced tomato-like agricultural wonder. 

We headed out to Albuquerque and I asked Stella to investigate our lunchtime options. How did we travel before the iPhone? She plugged a few key words into Urban Search and came up with Mary & Tito's - lots of raves on the site. Then she looked up the location on Google map and when we took the wrong exit and got twisted, she called and got directions. It's as authentic as New Mexican gets - and worth seeking out even if you take several wrong exits. A James Beard Foundation award hangs on the wall next to photos of Mary & Tito & familia over many years.

So many milestones in one day: cresting the Continental Divide, returning to Central Time, and crossing the border back into the Lone Star state. Tonight Lubbock. Tomorrow?

August 2, 2011 - National Parks

Greetings from Canyonlands National Park. A mini Grand Canyon carved by the confluence of the Colorado and the Green Rivers. More spectacular, and as great a spectacle as any the West has on tap, is Arches National Park. Photos don't really do the job:

Somehow this park never entered my radar but it is the one to visit. The park service is about to impose a trolley system, which is what they do when the visitor crunch gets too overwhelming, such as Zion and Grand Canyon.


We hated to leave the Moab Valley but headed south and east to Farmington, NM, continuing our Western tour of Motel 6 properties. The route south of Moab takes us past Four Corners and we skirt the edge of the unmistakable Monument Valley. 

August 1, 2011 - Twin Falls, ID to Moab, UT

Leaving Twin Falls: more miles of Idaho with warnings like: Deer migration area next 10 miles. Or: Game Crossing - Use Caution. Or this one: Severe wind and dust area - Do not stop on freeway. Uh, let's get outta here.

Finally, we arrive in the Beehive State. The industriousness is readily apparent. And a welcoming spirit - many well-equipped rest areas.After so many empty miles, here I-84 and then I-15 take you through an endless metroplex that rims the Great Salt Lake. To the East are the Wasatch Mountains - today they are shrouded in dark, looming clouds and we get wet. On and on through Ogden, Salt Lake, Provo - and then our cut-off on UT-6 which takes us quickly and steeply up into the Wasatch range. Twisting, curving, steep mountain passes in the mist and the full-blown rain. A bit of a white knuckle adventure but stunning. It's chilly and wet at the summit (7477 ft) - feels great. Then descent to a flat, barren world but one surrounded by increasingly dramatic mountains. Then we turn off on the little highway to Moab and it sure looks like a promised land:

We like Moab. We don't want to leave. We feel like we're actually on vacation now. We are even staying at the fanciest Motel 6 ever envisioned.

July 31, 2011 - Yakima, WA to Twin Falls, ID

Yakima is a no-frills town reminiscent of West Texas. We were happy to leave it. The road from town followed the Columbia River, so green with vineyards nestled into the valley surrounded by barren, treeless hills. Then we crossed the mighty Columbia and rolled into Oregon, and quickly left the lush green valley behind for miles and miles of endless brown scrub. A vivid memory from a long-ago trip was that Eastern Oregon is best avoided. This trip confirmed that.

Then things got green again - the Snake River and a big welcome to Idaho. More than the license plates changed - there were billboards, evangelical churches, small farms - strange that those familiar sights are missing from the Eastern Washington and Oregon landscape. A mere 490 miles later, we settled for the night in Twin Falls, a winning little city on a dramatic gorge on the Snake River. All the accoutrements of civilization: Chili's, Target, Barnes & Noble. Why, you could actually live there. We saw a woman wearing a necklace with a charm in the shape of Idaho - hey, just like Texas.

Dateline: July 30, 2011 - Olympia, WA

Picked up our Dodge Caravan at the Budget counter at SeaTac airport at noon - looks roomy and drives great. Back in Olympia, we figure out how to make the back row of seats disappear - way cool - and fold the middle seats up for maximum volume. Box after box after giant 10 gallon baggie full of clothes later, there's too much stuff even for a good sized minivan. So, Stella's delightful friend Abbey is the happy recipient of more than she expected. A heavy van pulled out of Oly at 5:00 pm, headed for Yakima, WA, center of the great cherry-growing region on the east of the Cascades.

Goodbye Oly, Goodbye I-5, Goodbye Fort Lewis. On through the Snoqualmie Pass - It happened to be a spectacular day in Puget Sound area - nary a cloud in the sky and Mt Rainier never looked more sparkling. It's a captivating mountain in any weather; on this day it was mesmerizing. The pass took us north of the mountain through a valley with almost the full 14,410 ft height visible and much of it still sheathed in snow. I-90 through steep passes and on to I-82 and Yakima. And, for a perfect Goodbye: Rainer silhouetted by the setting sun on the other side of the mountain.

Countdown

Olympia, Washington, June 10, 2011