CRASH!

Carol had a loss of concentration yesterday and pulled in front of an oncoming car which hit us broadside at 70 MPH The worst injury was a broken ankle on one of the passengers in the other car. Carol is pretty banged up. She hit her right knee on the steering column and it’s close to double normal size. She’s also pretty bruised from her seat belt. Our car wound up on the driver side so we had to climb out the door on my side, top.

We now have a rental car but may need to exchange it as I got it at the airport and as they cost more there our insurance company may object. Today being Sunday I’ve not yet talked to our adjuster.

We were there nearly 30 minutes before the first help arrived. EMTs from a volunteer fire company nearly 20 miles away. We were in an ambulance on our way to Missoula before any law enforcement sowed up. They eventually tracked us down at the Hospital and Carol has an Improper Turn citation.

So ends our little vacation. We may not get home ‘til Wed.

Tom

Rt 2 through Montana

ihe Northern Idaho panhandle is only about 50 miles wide so shortly after leaving Bonners Ferry we found ourselves in Montana where we would be for the rest of the day, and tomorrow as well. The first part of our drive followed the Kootenai River. We stopped at the falls and hiked in. It’s a fairly short hike but a truly spectacular falls. This is only a small segment of the whole.

After crossing the continental divide we stopped briefly at Loon Lake.

This is the middle fork of the Flathead River

Once out of the mountains we were on the plains. When you’re on the plains most of the small towns have an old grain elevator. It’s difficult for me to drive past an old grain elevator without stopping and taking a photo or three. This one is in Cut Bank.

Tonight marks the far point of our little mini trip. Tomorrow we’ll be starting toward home again.

Tom & Carol

Washington’s Grand Coulee country

Leaving Euphrata this morning we followed the Columbia River through the grand coulee country. The geologists tell us that at the end of the last ice age an immense lake was backed up in what is now Northern Washington and Canada. When it broke free hundreds of cubic miles of water flowed to the Pacific Ocean carving this country and the Columbia River gorge. While impressive, his time of year thee is not much color except the blue of the river.

Autumn began today. Some trees are already beginning to turn.

I decided to take a detour up past Grand Coulee Dam. In a park overlooking the dam I found this statue dedicated to the many working men who built it. The dam  itself is in the background.

We thought that we changed time today but the time line isn’t where we thought so we change tomorrow. That cuts tomorrow a bit short.

Tom & Carol

On the Road Again

Well, we’re off again. When we drove to New York way back in June we earned some rewards at Best Western that we needed to use this autumn so we’re taking a little drive into Western Montana. Today we only went as far as Central Washington. Tomorrow we’ll be in Northern Idaho; then two days in Montana. Back to Walla Walla Washington and home. We’ve planned about 5 hour driving days so lots of time to explore the countryside we’re driving through.

Today we stopped at some of the waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge. This is Horsetail Falls

We even went to the Stonehenge replica. This was built by the same engineering genius who designed the Columbia River Highway.

We turned North on Rt 97 leaving the lower Columbia. One hundred and fifty miles later we found it again. This is the Wanapum Dam.

Later we found another viewpoint overlooking the river. There was also an art installation celebrating wild horses.

Tomorrow we’ll be in Bonner’s Ferry Idaho. See you then.

Tom & Carol