seattle to massachusetts, day 8
you guys i caught a mountain goat watching me pee in the woods ! i was driving on route 2 through montana last weekend and pulled off onto a dirt trail so i could do my biz without anyone driving by, and as soon as i was done i looked up and 20 feet away was a huge shaggy goat just standing on the trail staring at me. it was really, really weird.
anyway, last friday i packed up for school and drove out of seattle, passing by the columbia river gorge where dave matthews band was playing that night (outdoors, in the summer, in the middle of nowhere, IN A RIVER CANYON). i stopped at wild horses monument across the river and then drove through the idaho panhandle and then into montana and camped outside west glacier. in the morning i hung out at a huckleberry farm and then explored the rocky mountains. i've never been to montana before and it was really beautiful-- huge snowcapped peaks, winding red canyons with glacier-fed turquoise rivers running through them, train tracks set into sharp cliffs and tons of deer, birds and horses everythwere. east of the rockies, route 2 parallels the great northern railroad so i got to race trains and wave at conductors until dusk. i stupidly ignored all the advice i heard about never passing an open gas station on route 2 at night with less than a quarter tank of gas and i was down to less than half a gallon left when i finally found one. it was really scary-- most of eastern montana is just huge, flat plains with tiny towns you can pass through in seconds, no phone reception and miles of open road where you only see a dozen other cars in an hour of driving so i didn't really know what i'd do if i ran out. but whatever because that didn't happen and i'll probably do it again.
after a few days in montana i drove through north dakota, minnesota and wisconsin, taking route 35 along the mississippi river down to beloit college and crashed in meredith's dorm. the next morning i drove from wisconsin through illinois and then into indiana's amish country, then over to akron/kent to stay with ohio's awesome family for a night. they got a new puppy named cocoa and sheet mang, he's cute. i just left there and am back on the road tonight.
anyway, last friday i packed up for school and drove out of seattle, passing by the columbia river gorge where dave matthews band was playing that night (outdoors, in the summer, in the middle of nowhere, IN A RIVER CANYON). i stopped at wild horses monument across the river and then drove through the idaho panhandle and then into montana and camped outside west glacier. in the morning i hung out at a huckleberry farm and then explored the rocky mountains. i've never been to montana before and it was really beautiful-- huge snowcapped peaks, winding red canyons with glacier-fed turquoise rivers running through them, train tracks set into sharp cliffs and tons of deer, birds and horses everythwere. east of the rockies, route 2 parallels the great northern railroad so i got to race trains and wave at conductors until dusk. i stupidly ignored all the advice i heard about never passing an open gas station on route 2 at night with less than a quarter tank of gas and i was down to less than half a gallon left when i finally found one. it was really scary-- most of eastern montana is just huge, flat plains with tiny towns you can pass through in seconds, no phone reception and miles of open road where you only see a dozen other cars in an hour of driving so i didn't really know what i'd do if i ran out. but whatever because that didn't happen and i'll probably do it again.
after a few days in montana i drove through north dakota, minnesota and wisconsin, taking route 35 along the mississippi river down to beloit college and crashed in meredith's dorm. the next morning i drove from wisconsin through illinois and then into indiana's amish country, then over to akron/kent to stay with ohio's awesome family for a night. they got a new puppy named cocoa and sheet mang, he's cute. i just left there and am back on the road tonight.