Live From Liberty Lake

I'm in a hotel in Liberty Lake, WA, right across the Idaho border, and they have a courtesy computer. The last person who used it was previously in the swimming pool, so the seat of my pants is now quite wet.

For those who haven't been following closely, here's the latest. I have been driving for the last two days in a U-Haul full of all our worldly possessions, and I have one more day to go to get to my dad's place in White Rock, BC. Michelle and the kids are staying with her mom until Wednesay, when they will fly to Seattle and I will be there to pick them up. The happily reunited family will then drive back up to White Rock, where they will live in bliss forever, or until the next time we do something like this.

The drive has been both long and fun, both monotonous and interesting. And most importantly, uneventful in the good sense. Props to Montana for being much more spectacular than it really has to be, all things considered. It was gorgeous from start to finish. And the little strip of Idaho was quite exciting, with lots of ups and downs and twists and turns, and trees covering every square inch of the surrounding mountainsides. Seriously, sometimes I would be down in between two vast slopes and all I could see out my great big U-Haul windshield was trees, completing coating the mountains which stretched up to block out the sky completely. It was rather disconcerting, but on the bright side I found myself thinking, "We've been making such a big deal about recycling paper for the last 10 years now, and they still have all this?!?" I'm not turning Republican or anything, I'm just saying, we're not out of trees yet.

So tomorrow I'll see Washington State. On this trip I've been struck by the notion that I'm being given the chance to see this country one last time, for a while. Really see it. I did this drive nine years ago, coming the other way, but when you're 23, fully developed as you might think you are, you haven't quite evolved as full a capacity for appreciating such majesty as I now have. Now that I'm 32 (soon), and quite definitely as mature and thoughtful as I will ever be, I've enjoyed the trip so much more. These past two days, I have seen stunningly green, rolling hills dotted picturesquely with conifers; I have seen staggering, looming faces of layered rock; I have seen rushing rivers of the most amazing blue. I have seen bison.

Other things I have seen:
- A wrought iron sculpture of flying geese. Actually quite good.
- A sign that reads, "Jesus is Lord of this Valley"
- An billboard advertising the Clinton, Montana Rocky Mountain Testicle Festival
- A billboard with a picture of the filthiest bathroom stall imaginable, and the statement, "No one imagines they'll lose their virginity here. Meth will change that."
- A restaurant called "Durango's Restaurant," which served me the most fantastic chicken mushroom fettucine alfredo, complete with fresh grated parmesan and excellent garlic toast, and only charged me ten bucks.

Those are the highlights that I can think of right now. I'm off to bed. Stay tuned for the rest of the story...