DAY 5
DAY 7
FINISH:
miles
Tacoma, WA
4275.0
Kalispell were quite a mess as I passed through, with a lot of construction going on, and
absolutely no left turns allowed. When I got to Route 2 and needed to turn left, I
couldn't, so I chose to turn right onto Route 2 East, hoping to find a quick opportunity
to just find somewhere to turn around and head in the other direction. That
opportunity did not exist, but I sort of cheated and turned somewhere anyway,
eventually making it onto Route 2 West. I was in a town of only 16,000 inhabitants,
but it felt like I was driving in Boston.
Route 2 took me through the last stretch of Montana, as I passed through towns like
Libby and Troy, and into Idaho. I was in Idaho for only 80 miles, as I passed through
the "panhandle" of the Gem State, going through Bonners Ferry and Sandpoint, and I
crossed the border into Washington at Newport.
I was surprised at the variety of geography in the state of Washington. Driving on
Route 2 before I hit Spokane was similar to driving through New York or the Midwest.
About 10 miles west of Spokane, shortly after passing through the suburb of Airway
of the Great Plains of North Dakota
and Saskatchewan. As I pushed
further into central Washington, the
land could probably best be described
as a mix between the desert southwest
and the Badlands of South Dakota. I
continued on Route 2 west, bypassing
Wenatchee, as I came upon the town
of Leavenworth. Leavenworth is a
small town which is completely
modeled after a typical Bavarian
village, and even includes a small
hamburger place called the "Heidle
have more time to spend in Leavenworth. If I had known in advance that this town
existed, I would have made plans to spend some time there.
The scenery changed again once I left Leavenworth. Both sides of the road were
flanked with tall Evergreen trees, giving Washington its state nickname. The
evergreens continued as I crossed Stevens Pass and through Skykomish, on my way to
Seattle.
It was about 3:30 when I reached the outskirts of Seattle. I figured I would beat the
rush-hour traffic. I didn't. As I cruised down Route 522 toward Seattle and saw how
much the traffic was backed up in the opposite direction, I knew I was in for a long
drive through Washington's largest city. I took I-405, which is supposed to bypass
Seattle (as opposed to I-5, which goes right past downtown), but it still took quite a
while. I ended the day in Tacoma, almost within view of the Tacoma Dome, the
leading sports and entertainment complex in the "City Of Destiny."