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  • Road Trip: Day 9

    Posted on September 6th, 2012 tcorzett No comments

    I decided yesterday morning that today was going to be a bit of a “recovery day”. Originally I’d planned on driving up Mt. Baker, but with the past few days of alternate routes I needed a day to regroup.


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    Despite staying in a hotel room with a motion activated air conditioner (that shuts off at night making the room uncomfortably warm) I was able to sleep-in until 9am. Since I missed breakfast at the hotel I got on the road and put in a few miles before stopping to fill-up my tank.

    The first section of road was a detour off the main drag through the Yakima Canyon. While I could have made better time taking I-82, this road trip isn’t about the destination… rather the journey. Even on a “recovery day” I’m not going to just drive the interstate.

    After breakfast I headed out into the wilderness towards the Wenatchee National Forest. On the way I drove through a region that was ravaged by fire less than a month ago. It was really strange to see the red areas on the ground from air drops of fire retardant. The most striking feature of this area was the group of large wind turbines; I almost felt like I was at home driving through the Altamont Pass.

    At noon I was scheduled to call into a telecon for work, but oops… I was deep in a canyon with no cell reception. It took me almost 30 minutes to return to civilization, only to find-out the telecon never happened. I quickly caught-up with one of my collaborators, but was cut-off when the cell coverage came to an end… I guess the road wanted me to keep me away from work.

    The traffic today was good, other than one stretch being stuck behind a large RV. It got me thinking about when my Grandparents took their RV across the country… and how unique of a situation my road trips have been. Most people have to wait until they are retired to get out and drive the country… I’ve been very lucky to do it, twice, before I’m eligible for a senior discount.

    Tomorrow I have a crazy day of driving on store, and unless I want to spend six hours on the interstate, there is no way to make it shorter/faster. Tonight I’ll be getting a good night sleep so I’ll be ready for an early start!

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