Day 3: Punching through to Spokane
The Billings Days Inn had the same complementary breakfast as the one in Wall, with one crucial difference: waffles. There was a waffle batter dispenser flanked by a tiny fleet of 3 waffle irons. In mere minutes, a sleepy traveler can sit down to a piping hot, crispy, malty waffle without having to humor a misanthropic waitperson with the illusion of civility or class. Waffles, people!
We got the car packed and got out just as the sky was lightening. I was Driver One on this lovely Sunday morning, and I was ready for the worst. Gwen had warned of some “difficult driving” in Idaho, so I was worried that some of the Montana passes would pose difficulty, as well. Leaving Billings, the blacktop was smooth and flat, but disconcertingly dusted with frost in some areas. As the sun rose in the northeast behind us, we were treated to an increasingly interesting view.
If you ever visit Montana, you must drive on I-90 West. Obviously, I-90 East offers a similar view, but when you travel west, the view gets better and better as you go. Montana ranks with Hawai’i (Big Island), Oregon (between Crater Lake and the coast, along the Umquah river), and the stretch of Blue Ridge Parkway between Boone, NC and Asheville, NC, as the most beautiful landscapes that I have encountered in the United States. I have yet to see the American Southwest, so this is by no means a complete list.
Approaching a monolithic front that stretched left to right as far as the eye could see at our first Montana ridge
I drove from Billings to Missoula, nearly the entire Montana trip. I felt kind of bad for Jill, as she only had the side view, but I later realized that she had planned to let me drive until we were close to the “difficult driving”, at which point she would take over. Now I don’t feel so bad. Nearly the entire time, I was murmuring “Whoa!”, and, “Man!”, and, “Wow!” as the spectacle unfolded, shaking my head in wonder.
I’ve never seen valleys as wide as those in Montana. This means that, even though you are in the mountains, you still get the Big Sky effect of the plains states. In many areas, I-90 runs on a plateau in the middle of the valley, and I often felt really vulnerable to the occasional high winds that would sweep across the road. The speed limit was 75, so I drove 80 mph for most of the leg. I wish that we could have taken more time. We passed scenes of buffalo drinking at a crystal blue river that wound through grass-tufted mounds, majestic, steel-blue mountain vistas in every direction, raptors hunting overhead among the mammoth lumbering clouds against a deep blue sky, and the broad, unfenced expanse of the valley floor, and I was completely in love.
Whoa, man, and wow
Another cool feature of the I-90 view: we shared the route with many very long trains, some distant and some near
We pulled into Butte for lunch, and got somewhat reacquainted with the ugliness of civilization before making for Missoula. There was somewhat more ice on the road in the shady patches, but the roads were in otherwise fantastic shape. We checked back with Gwen before making for Idaho, and were told that the highway was colored red on the online traffic map, with a descriptor of “snow, slush and ice on the roadway”. We decided that late afternoon was a better option than first thing in the morning, since there would likely be more ice after a night of sub-zero temps, so we went for it.
Lunching in Butte, Boogerbutt gets in some driving lessons
Most of Idaho on I-90 felt like it was overpass, with guardrails almost constantly in evidence to the left and right. This was a driving nightmare, all curves and hills, slush, and ice. Many drivers felt that they were invincible, and hurtled past us, throwing up water and ice. These included semis, Hummers, and Ford Escorts, demonstrating that idiocy is universal. The scariest moment came when a driver, attempting to pass us, spun out of control at our rear bumper and nearly hit us. I didn’t see it happen, and he was out of sight when I turned to look. It didn’t look like he caused further trouble, since two vehicles appeared around the bend a moment later. This was the most treacherous driving of the trip, and Jill handled it admirably.
While we didn’t take any pictures, I can report that the I-90 view of Idaho is quite dazzling. The road cuts through some unbelievable passes, with mountain rising up like walls at the roadside, covered with menacing, dark green conifers and dusted with snow. I would like to see it in summer.
We rolled into Spokane Valley at around 6pm. After checking in at a really nice La Quinta Inn and Suites, I went for some Thai takeout. As we reflected that evening on the days passage, we felt like we had survived some serious trouble, but Snoqualmie was on our minds. The last two reports said that traction tires (i.e. NOT performance slicks) were required, suggesting that they would be checking. Of course, one small snowfall and they could be requiring chains.
Did conditions worsen?
Did Jill and I argue about who would be driving through the pass?
Did we DIE???
Tune in tomorrow!
Crows, FTW!
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