We began our day “Breakfast in Bed.” It was a cute tray filled with fruit, croissants, and jams. The temp had dropped from over 100 degrees yesterday to the low 50’s so we dressed in layers, packed the car, filled up, Dan squeegeed (for what seemed like the 300th time) and we found a car wash to remove some of the bug population from the front grill. We said goodbye to this little gem tucked into mountains in Montana and started our trek home.
The sky was a little smokey which we learned from some locals last night is from the wildfires burning in California. It came and went throughout Idaho and into Washington. (I’m looking forward to plugging back in when we get home and catching up on what’s been happening in the world these past two months.)
We crossed the Continental Divide at about 6,900 feet above sea level and made our way through Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest. Did I mention that Montana is spectacular?!? We stopped in Missoula for a quick lunch. Super quaint city with lots of friendly people.
We drove through the top of Idaho and into Washington state (we missed the sign!!). I absolutely love eastern Washington. Rolling hills turn into mountains of lush, green trees. The haze from the smoke came and went but the wind was constant. It was strong enough at certain points to move the car around the highway. We crossed the Columbia River which was an outstanding site on this clear and sunny day. The windmill farms were working hard and the tumbleweeds were blowing across the highway.
Dan took a nap while Ev kept me company driving. Ev really wanted to get on a plane and fly home and was such a trooper making the six day trip home. Nobody was more excited than him when we decided to come home a day early. We really wanted to see Yellowstone this summer. It was just too much to try and make it work.
We pulled into Sammamish at 6 p.m. When we hopped out of the car, we were greeted by the scent of Ben’s bolognese cooking. Ben and Danielle have been or neighbors and friends for seven years and they are moving to Vancouver, B.C. this fall. As much as we will miss Ben’s yummy bolognese (of which they so generously brought over for dinner this evening, yay!) we will of course miss them more. We also ran into Jill, Kyle and their gang and had a few minutes to catch up with them too. Leaving the east coast is always difficult but coming home to friends certainly made it easier.
This has been such an incredible adventure for our little family. I’m not sure that we could possibly explain what we have taken away from our trip east and back west. It was epic. It was long. It was life changing. It exceeded our expectations. It gave Dan and I the chance to reconnect on our trek east and it gave our family a chance to bond on our way home. If you’ve ever thought about driving across the country, we highly recommend it. Whatever you do, drive through Montana. There is something special there that can only be felt.
Here are a few of our favorite pictures from our summer.
Chasing Waves 