Coast to coast: Page 1

Coast to coast:

From Whitefish to Portland and beyond

Whitefish, MT

On August 16, 2006, the sun was shining in Whitefish, Mont. After playing a final round of Frisbee Golf in the Stillwater State Forest and watching Dick Cheney's motorcade fly by on his visit to the town, I finished packing up the car and headed on my trip across the country. I took the above picture a few days before leaving Whitefish. This boat was docked right next to a house being built off Highway 40 in town. It made me wonder if a construction worker was going to clock out and hit the open water. The gateway to Glacier National Park is located in the background.

Small lake near Plains, MT

The first day of travel took me to Spokane, Wash., to stay with Paul, Daisy and Zoe. On the way, I passed this beautiful lake off of Hwy. 28 between Elmo and Plains. The panoramic scenery of Montana is certainly something I miss. And I really missed it during the parts of my trip that took me through high-desert, flat farmland and lots of cornfields.

Lookout Pass, Idaho/Montana border

The sun started to set when I crossed the Montana/Idaho border. The fading light was shining through the clouds, telling me to drive faster! I arrived in Spokane about 9 p.m. and hit the road again for Portland around 1 p.m. the next day. I spent the morning having a nice breakfast and chatting with my hosts.

Portland, OR

I arrived in Portland around 4 p.m. the next day and managed to find my way to Kyle's work. He still had to put in some more time, so I found a coffee shop and watched the crowds file by. It was very liberating to be in a big city where very few people knew me. That feeling of being anonymous is nice sometimes, and I quickly adjusted to the different lifestyle. After Kyle got off work, we went to a nice sushi place to eat fish and drink some saki. He went back to work for a little bit after dinner, so I went back to his place and waited for him. I was tired after the drive and felt like chilling.

Kyle and Mia by the Willamette River in Portland, OR

Kyle and Melissa adopted this cute puppy a little while before I arrived in Portland. Her name is Mia and she's a Golden Retriever and Chow mix. We took her to this park on the outskirts of Portland so she could play in the water, which she happily did. Melissa was in California during most of my visit to Portland, which was a bummer, but she did come back a few days before I left. It was great catching up with them.

Mia

Oh, little Mia is so cute. Here she is after swimming in the river.

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Space Needle, Seattle, WA

Kyle and I decided to take a weekend trip to Seattle while I was visiting. Our first day in town, we checked out the Pike's Place market and saw all the great-looking produce, fish, etc., for sale there. After the market we found the Rock Bottom Brewery and had a few Hefeweizens. The brewery was located beneath a skyscraper that was small at the bottom and tapered out for a while before shooting up into the sky. It looked like it was going to fall on us at any minute.

Shipyard near Seattle, WA

After the beer, we walked up to Capitol Hill and checked out a few shops, had another beer and checked out what Seattle had to offer. We found a park that was completely filled with artificial grass. I don't mean astroturf, it was actual pieces of rubber formed to look like grass. It even had little rubber pieces of dirt mixed in! We finished the day off with a fondue dinner, a martini and a great cup of ice cream from this place in the University district.

Main Stage at Seattle HempFest, Seattle, WA

While in Seattle, we picked up a copy of the Stranger and found out it was the Seattle HempFest weekend! So, Sunday was pretty much dedicated to the festival. Pictured above is the main stage, where lots of bands and speakers were saying the word "weed" a lot. I thought this was about hemp, what gives man? Oh yeah, we started Sunday out with an awesome eggs benedict at the Crocodile Cafe!

Crazy hippie bus at Seattle HempFest, Seattle, WA

At the HempFest we saw a lot of crazy stuff, like this bus that says stop arresting the ill. We also saw people skinny-dipping in the Peuget Sound and lots of people smoking pot. The police didn't seem to care, unless people were being stupid or obvious about it.

Leaving the HempFest, Seattle, WA

When it came time to leave the HempFest and head back to Portland, the way was blocked by a really long train. By the time we were allowed to pass, hundreds of people were lined up on the sidewalk. The people took over the road, and there was no room for cars to pass. Power to the People!

Hike to Crescent Beach, OR

Before leaving Whitefish, my co-worker Gail said to visit Cannon Beach, a town in Oregon. It was located inside Echola State Park. When I got to the park, they said to visit the beach within driving distance, but I decided to take a 1.5 mile hike down to Crescent Beach. Whereas the other beach was crowded, there was nobody at Crescent. The hike went through a really dense, wet forest, which continued all the way down to the beach. It was very beautiful.

Crescent Beach, OR

The day was foggy and cold, and when I first put my feet in the water I was shocked at how cold it was. I spent a few hours at the beach, walking around seeing what I could find. I found two complete sand dollars, one of which I brought with me on the trip. When I got back to Portland, Melissa was back in town, and we all went out to dinner. I can say there are lots of good places to eat in Portland - it's a cool place.

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Windmill blade, OR

On the drive from Portland to Boise I saw quite a few trucks carrying huge windmill blades like this one. I also passed a few wind farms, which is a good sign for clean, renewable energy. The drive to Boise was pretty boring, staying mostly in high desert conditions and not many cars around. The drive took me through Oregon and into Idaho.

Capital building, Boise, ID

Coming into Boise and getting to see all my buddies from college was great. I stayed with Devon, Eric, Jocelyn and Porter. I was also able to see Jeff, Sarah and Garrett and Leslie and Audrey. We all hung out quite a bit, had a BBQ and had a good time. I didn't get to see John and Leah, which is a bummer. I also saw my friend Elise, who just moved there from Missoula and is now working at the Boise Statesman. She and I checked out the town, went to the mall and had some ice cream ... mmm.

Jocelyn feeding Garrett, Boise, ID

I stayed a few days in Boise and made some final decisions on my route to the east coast. In the end, I decided to go straight through Wyoming and not go through Yellowstone, like I had considered doing. And I know Lea, Tony and Stephen are never going to forgive me! I had already driven more than 1,000 miles and I had 2,500 more to go! I was already tired of driving by this point. So, on Aug. 25, I started to head east yet again.

Desert landscape, WY

If I thought I was going to hit some new and different landscapes after leaving Boise, I was dead wrong. The next day's driving took me through southeastern Idaho, across the corner of Utah and through Wyoming - and it was high-desert the whole way! The above picture shows what the whole trip looked like. Actually, this picture is pretty exciting compared to what I saw. It also shows the dark clouds that started to form about halfway across Wyoming. By the end of that day's journey, there was thunder and lightning everywhere - and I mean everywhere. It was coming from every direction, and the rain was falling very hard and fast.

Outdoor concert in Cheyenne, WY

I ended the day's driving in Cheyenne, Wyo. I was planning on camping across the country, but the rain was so intense - and more was expected - that I decided to take a cheap hotel room. Cheyenne was a little country town that was pretty dead. If I remember right, I was there on a Friday night and the entire downtown was empty. I found this outdoor music show on the outskirts of downtown, and decided to stop, have a beer and enjoy the music. The band played only covers and wasn't very good. I stayed for a while, and then headed back to get some sleep because I was leaving early the next morning.

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Mississippi River in Davenport, IA

I left Cheyenne bright and early the next morning, stopping at a place that specialized in breakfast burritos. It was good, but nothing too special. Today's leg of the trip took me to Davenport, Iowa, which is right on the Mississippi River - pictured above. The route took me through the eastern part of Wyoming, all of Nebraska and most of Iowa. All I can say is these states have a lot of corn and cows - they're everywhere. And the land is pretty flat, which doesn't make for interesting driving.

Davenport, IA

Davenport seemed like a nice place, but there was definitely a mid-west feeling there. And the air was incredibly humid. There were a few casinos on the Mississippi, and one of them had this skybridge that went over the train tracks and into downtown. It was outfitted with LCD lighting, so the color was constantly changing - from reds to green, yellow and blue.

Rib festival in Davenport, IA

While in Davenport, I happened to come upon this Rib Festival. There were something like 12 rib vendors from local restaurants and nation-wide chains. All I can say is these people were really into their rib-eating. There was a Jimmy Buffett cover band playing on this bandstand. In order to get a beer at this event, I had to purchase a casino chip, take it to another booth and trade it for a beer. I thought that was kind of a crazy way to do things - it must be some technicality in the law. Oh yeah, the festival was located in a park right next to the Mississippi, it was very nice.

Trophies from Rib festival in Davenport, IA

Like I said, these people were really into their rib-eating. This booth had all its trophies on display - quite impressive, I must say. There were probably 1,000 people at this event, I think it was quite popular. I didn't see which vendor was crowned king, sorry.

Giant Praying Mantis in Davenport, IA

While walking down the stairs on the way back to my car from the skybridge, I saw the biggest praying mantis I've ever seen. It was sticking to the outside of the glass, climbing. It kept looking at me with those huge, alien eyes. I know there's no perspective in the picture, but its body has to be at least 8-inches long - nasty.

Landscape in Upper State, NY

The next day of travel took me through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, the corner of Pennsylvania and into New York a bit. The day of driving started out with more boring mid-west landscapes, but by mid-day it was starting to look like the east coast with lots of Deciduous trees around - and I started thinking 'I can't wait for the fall!' This picture was taken the next day in Upper State, New York. The air was so humid and the trees were so thick, it was really cool to see - quite a contrast from the dry air in Montana.

City center in Vergennes, VT

This day's travels would take me to Burlington, Vermont. This was also the day I got off freeways and toll roads, and took to the back country highways. This was a much better way to see the terrain. I was taken aback at how lush and beautiful the forests were. There were some trees that had huge spiderwebs that took up entire branches. I only saw them from the highway, and I didn't want to get any closer. I stopped for lunch in Vergenness, Vermont, and had a great falafel pita and a local IPA.

City center in Burlington, VT

After lunch I headed onward to Burlington. I didn't know much about the town, but it sounded pretty nice. When I got there, I found out it's totally a college town - and pretty big. There's about 40,000 people there. I walked around the downtown area and found this nice fountain. If you look closely at the photograph, you can see people protesting the war in the background - must be a cool place!

Lake Champlain in Burlington, VT

Burlington is located on Lake Champlain, which separtes Vermont from New York. I snuck behind the couple in this picture and snapped this shot. They never found out I took it - that's ok, right? I decided to stay in Burlington for the night because I was really tired and didn't feel like going the extra 1.5 hours to Montreal. Once again, rain was in the forecast, so I found another hotel to stay in.

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Parc LaFontaine in Montreal, Quebec

I took it easy in Burlington the next day, walking around a bit and then having a great fish sandwich at a local pub. Then it was on to Montreal. This picture is of Parc LaFontaine, which is a great place to relax. There are a few water fountains and lots of places to picnic. And just around the corner in a 24-hour poutine place! Poutine is french fries, cheese and gravy - really good stuff.

Mt. Royal in Montreal, Quebec

This is a Sunday morning on Mt. Royal in Montreal. Crowds gather at this spot to listen to the tam tams. It's basically a drum circle and people come to dance, listen, etc. There are also people hanging out and vendors selling things. This is a nice place to come for a walk, and the surrounding neighborhood has some nice shops.

Plane in the road, Montreal, Quebec

The same day as the tam tams, this plane landed right in the middle of Avenue Du Parc (the road that borders Mt. Royal. There were hundreds of people that came down and surrounded the plane before the police arrived to get things under control. People were blocking the entire street, and cars couldn't get by. The plane is hard to see in this picture, but it's there. I later read a quote from the passenger, who was a small boy: 'I'm never going in a plane again!'

Mt. Tremblant in Quebec

I took a drive with my friend Daphnee to Mt. Tremblant, which is about an hour north of Montreal. It's one of the biggest ski areas around here - but it's still a lot smaller than Big Mountain. The whole village was decorated in this Swiss style, and they had a small gondola for people to ride to the top of the village so they could walk back down. The gondola cars were decorated like Volkswagens.

New England beer map, Mt. Tramblant, Quebec

Inside a pub on Mt. Tremblant, I found this map of microbreweries around New England. I'm certainly going to check this out, wherever my next destination may be.

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Chandre riding her bike, Old Saybrook, CT

After being in Montreal for a bit, I took a trip down to Old Saybrook, Conn., to see Chandre, Stephanie and Jason. They are all doing great, and it was so wonderful to see Chandre. She got this bike earlier in the summer, and wanted to show me how well she can ride it now. She did great, and only fell once (and I think it was my fault because I distracted her!).

Northampton, MA

On my way from Old Saybrook back to Montreal, I stopped for lunch in Northampton, Mass. It's a cool town - a college town again - and I had another really great lunch at the Haymarket. I also walked around the college, and saw some really cool buildings.

Northampton, MA

This is another building in Northampton.

Dawson College, Montreal, Quebec

While I was in Connecticut, there was a shooting at Dawson College in Montreal, where one girl was killed and 20 injured. When I got back to Montreal, they re-opened the college and I went down there to see what was going on. Turns out there were a lot of people and a lot of flowers - and a lot of media! Not too many people were crying or very emotional, but the mood was rather somber.

Ski hill in Quebec

Now, you might not be able to tell from this picture, but this is what passes for a ski hill here on the east coast. That mountain in the background has grooves cut out of it and if you look closely, you can see them.

ATV race in Quebec

On a road trip Ariane and I saw these ATV racers going around and around this course on Mt. Gabriel. The machines were really loud, and after a few minutes the sport kind of lost its excitement. But the racers seemed to be having a lot of fun.