And so my journey home continues... this time with pretty pictures!
Since it would still be less time to drive back to Seattle and go over the mountain passes, the first thing I did when I got up this morning was check the pass reports. One was closed. The other was "chains required" (and my car can't wear chains, even though I am legally required to carry them). And sooo... I had no choice but to continue the massive detour I was on...
This is how I usually get home. Travel time: 2hr 10min...
This is the detour I had to take. Travel time: 9hr 15min...
Well... technically it's 9 hours and 15 minutes. With my overnight stop in Portland, it actually took me 16 hours and 35 minutes to get home.
And thought the long, long drive sucked ass, there were some cool things to see along the way. My first stop? THE BRIDGE OF THE GODS! In ancient times, there was a natural stone bridge that crossed the Columbia River. Native American legend says that the bridge was put there by Manito, The Great Spirit, because he was sympathetic to the hard time people had crossing the river. A mural at the foot of the bridge shows what this looked like...
But due to a jealous rivalry between mountain gods, the bridge was destroyed (you can read all about it here). And so in 1920 we had to build our own bridge, which looks like this...
From there, I continued onward, eventually crossing the Columbia River into the small region of Maryhill, Washington. The place is kind of famous because of a World War I war memorial here... STONEHENGE! And unlike the old and busted Stonehenge in England, the Stonehenge here in Washington is new hotness...
There are a lot of wind turbines in the area...
The drive up through the Columbia Basin's county roads was pretty lonely. Most of the time I was the only driver on the road. Still, there was some nice scenery to be had...
And then, before I knew it, I was home. Exhausted and wanting to die... but home just the same.
Pretty as it was, I don't want to do this drive again any time soon.
I love comments! However, all comments are moderated, and won't appear until approved. Are you an abusive troll with nothing to contribute? Don't bother. Selling something? Don't bother. Spam linking? Don't bother.
PLEASE NOTE: My comment-spam protection requires JavaScript... if you have it turned off or are using a mobile device without JavaScript, commenting won't work. Sorry.
Atom Entries Feed Comments Feed
What a beautiful detour!
Wellllllllll….. maybe. We been to the first Stonehenge. Standing on that high plain with low gray clouds just above our heads. So I’ll take that one. But the bridge thing’s pretty cool.
Yikes! That is some detour. You should have asked Manito to build you a road to get you home quicker.
You’ve done a top-notch job of capturing why I love where I live. Amazing beauty! And I had no idea about the lore associated with the Bridge of the Gods. Our trip to Idaho was totally uneventful…not an ounce of snow actually on the roadways.
I really love this blog. Awesome photos, unique perspective, keen eye for the cool stuff.
But, my question is, why not get a car that can handle the chains given your location?
just sayin!
My previous car was totaled by the railroad, and they gave me limited time to replace it before they wouldn’t pay for a car rental. Since I was traveling solid through that time, I had no choice but to order my car online (Saturn was the first company to let you do this). There was nothing said about not being able to wear chains, and I didn’t find out until I went to the dealership to get some that winter.
In many ways, it doesn’t matter. If chains are required, it’s only a matter of time before there’s an accident and the pass would be closed down again. Things have to be pretty bad before they post that, and nobody wants to drive through that craziness anyway… well, at least I don’t! 🙂
yeah, maybe you’re right. if you have to drive on a road that requires chains and is frequently shut down because of crazy accidents . . . maybe it’s just best to drive elsewhere!
🙂
i love your travel photo journals. sorry you got hosed with a hell of a journey, but thanks for thinking of us!
also? that cougar looks as though the bear surprised it by doing something naughty to its rear.
A detour through the Tri Cities and Yakima. That’s pretty cool.
And who knew about the US version of Stonehenge? Well, we all do now.
hi. i’m back. just had a chance to read the story of the mountains and i’m all smiles. i’m so appreciative that you provided the link to the back story on the jealous gods. thanks, dave!
It’s a cool story! Especially the part about Mt. St. Helens… I wonder what made Loo-Wit so angry after she became Mt. St. Helens that caused her to explode in 1980?
Pretty? Yes.
Enviable drive? No.
Thanks for posting the pictures. I haven’t been home in a couple of years so it is nice to see them!
The new hotness Stonehenge is a lot nicer than our old beaten up one. I can’t believe we drove for hours to go see the old beaten up one.
I like how you photoshopped the LOLbobcat on that wooden thingy!
I like the stretch of the drive up through Hood River. Past that though, it gets a little…barren. As you’ve covered here.
Stunning photos! I didn’t know there was a Stonehenge monument in Washigton. That is something I’d like to see!