Animus Magnae Via

The Soul of the Great Road

Thursday, September 22, 2005

Enter Washington

I never really intended on going to Seattle, it wasn’t on my list of things to see out west, but when I got to Portland I saw signs saying it was only a few hundred miles away. Based on the short drive away it was, and considering I probably wasn’t going to find another opportunity to go there anytime soon, I decided on a whim to go. That’s probably the best part about not having to be anywhere; you can go where ever you want when you want. I did want to spend an extra day exploring more of Portland’s downtown and other sections of the city, but I figured I could save those for another time. I do plan on returning to this city again some time in the future.

I took one last loop around the city and jumped on I5 north, no sooner did I drive across the Columbia river into Washington the sky become encased in a grey haze. It was like a barrier existed between the two states separating their weather. Now I had herd Oregon was a rainy state, but wile I was there I only saw clear blue sky. On the other hand I had herd Washington was a rather dark and dismal state plagued by grey sky and rain, and this held very true.

On my way up I took in the ever increasing dismal weather, which put a bit of a hamper on my state of mind. This didn’t last very long, as I was excited by seeing a sign for Mt Saint Helens! Now I new it was in Washington, but I hadn’t figured it was so close to Portland. I thought it laid more to the northeast, but I think I had that confused with Mt Rainier; either way it was quite the discovery that I would be able to see it. I pulled off at the designated exit, and it would be quite the trek to get into a visible viewing distance.

I drove to a suitable spot, it wasn’t the base of the mountain, but you could see into its top. The devastation from its blast was still very evident, but most of the land was on its way to recovery. I thought to myself as I gazed at its magnificents, “Its not everyday one stumbles onto a volcano by accident.”

As I walked around the recreation area, I struck up a conversation with a girl that worked in the gift shop. I was frustrated that I couldn’t find a lighter that said “Mt Saint Helens,” on it. You would think volcano; theres fire and magma in it that would lend itself to a novelty lighter? We talked a bit more about the volcano, and then she told me about her big lifted Ford truck and the giant tires it had on it, and how she would take it off roading around the mountain. It’s interesting how some times the little things you learn from friends who also have big Ford trucks, pays off in a conversation in the least likely of places. We spoke for a good hour or so, and she even offered me a ride in her truck when she got off of work. Now if I was a smarter man, I would have taken her up on the offer, but I figured I should make my way to Seattle before dark. Nothing I fear more then being lost in a foreign city in the dark.

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