Day 1-2: JUST DRIVE, SHE SAID…

33 hours in a car! While I knew I was crazy to have planned it this way, it went surprisingly well! While the plan was to leave at 12 noon, we actually left at 12:30pm because of a quick trip back home to pick up a few things we had already forgotten. (Oh, we’ve forgotten other things, but nothing critical!)

We made great time getting up to Madison, WI (3 hours, a new record?), and we made it to Minneapolis by 7:30pm. Dinner was a quick stop in Arbys just before Minneapolis, and we had one last stop in Minnesota before Pete went to sleep. Andy drove the 9pm-11:30pm shift (I tried to sleep, but you ever sleep with a teenager at the wheel??), and then Steve drove until about 2am. I took the 2-6am shift and watched the sunrise. It was beautiful, even if it was behind me. I was able to stay awake thanks to a book on tape that I had gotten from the library. God bless North Dakota! The 75nph speed limit, incredibly flat terrain, and passing a car every ten minutes made for some VERY good time. We were two hours ahead of time by the time we got to Montana.

But Montana, ugh. While it was beautiful (we could see the mountains surrounding Yellowstone in the distance and got very excited for the second half of our trip), the going was slow. It was 75mph, but then we’d hit construction zones and we’d have to go down to 35mph. We went back and forth between 75 and 35mph for about five hours. Needless to say, we lost most of the time we had made up in North Dakota.

Once we passed Spokane, Washington, it became as flat and as arid as a desert! We watched the outside temperature gauge go from 75 degrees in Montana, to 97 degrees outside of Spokane! After passing over the Columbia River and part of the Columbia River Gorge, we found ourselves slowly climbing into the Cascade Mountain range. We watched the outside temperature sink back down from 97 degrees to 65 degrees. Glad we packed for all kinds of weather!

We headed into Mt. Rainier National Park from the east side, made our way 3 miles up a mountain road before seeing signs that the roads heading west from that entrance were closed! We had to head back down 3 miles, cut across south of the park, and then head back up into the west entrance. By this time it was getting very late and we were worried about making it to the lodge in time for dinner. We ended up stopping at a place called “Pete’s Inn.” I liked the name, but that was about it.

We finally made it to the lodge around 9pm. There was a presentation of mountain wildlife going on in the lobby, but we were just interested in going to bed. We got the kids settled (three double beds! SWEET!) and then Steve and I headed back to the car for a couple of extra items. We heard people talking about a small area where you could see flashlights on the mountain. Apparently there is a Base Camp on the mountain for hikers who are going to peak it the next day. We saw the lights way up there. It was so cool.

I am so glad we drove the entire way. We may not be hiking all the way up to the top, but we are definitely going to get part way up that mountain tomorrow!