“And when speed becomes imperative, distance itself is the grandest obstacle from a temporal point of view.” – Old Sean
Washington State
After Ari and I spent a period of time driving through California and Oregon, we veered towards Seattle for a place to spend the night.
Heading to Seattle, as always, is a lot of fun. I’ve visited several times before, usually for brief day trips, but I don’t really know anyone in the area. This particular trip, however, we had the chance to visit one of Ari’s old friends in Seattle, a lovely woman by the name of Miranda.
Seattle itself is always a bit of a strange hodgepodge of attractions, but due to COVID again, we didn’t really visit any of them.
However, we did head out to the Golden Gardens Park Beach, where we had the chance to paddleboard around for a while. The water was frigid and the sand was pleasant between toes. The rest of the time was spent watching wind sailors, kicking around in the surf, grabbing ice cream from a small shop (Little Coney) and watching the sun set.
Overall, it was a pretty laid back first day in Seattle, though we were grateful for the chance to shower and do laundry.
Thundering Waters
The next day we headed out to a hiking site that had been recommended to me by a girl named Kat in China.
Franklin Falls is about an hour outside of Seattle which is a beautiful, short and easy hike to a gushing waterfall. We wandered through straight-pillar pines and moss hanging from ancient trees.
While picking along the trails, we saw an enormous, Shrek-worthy, green slug slinking across the ground and numerous mini-pinecones dotting the trail. A hollowed tree stump a dozen feet high could be crawled through and, upon making it to the waterfall, we spent time among the stones and in the mist spray.
Further down the stream, an adventurous little chipmunk continuously darted near Ari before scampering back away. After getting back to the car, we said goodbye to Miranda and got back on the road.
Pivot Point
This was our northernmost point on this road trip. Afterwards, it was time to turn around and begin heading back south. Thus far, we’d begun in Texas, crossed the Rockies, reached the coast and driven all the way up to Seattle.
Upon veering East, we made a quick stop at a restaurant called the Commonwealth, which had fantastic food but particularly splendid cookies.
As always, we ordered online, grabbed takeout and sat on the hood of our car to eat. The cookies there were a little too fantastic. We ended up getting two for desert then returning for another five before driving out of range.
The next portion of the drive was the longest and most brutal. For the first time on our trip, we were on a true time-crunch.
Ari dearly wanted to reach Colorado, and after my initial nine hours of driving, I passed the wheel to her while I sept.
The only place we stopped on this leg of the trip was in Bonneville. Here, there are amazing salt flats which exist outside of Salt Lake City. This perfectly flat, desolate salt plain is where most world land-speed records are set.
The hard packed salt feels odd under one’s feet and we spent some time driving on the rough turf, occasionally licking the ground and viewing the ghostly flatlands in the perfectly pale moonlight.
I had learned about the Salt Flats from the World’s Fastest Indian (great film). I think I’ll need to make another visit someday during the daylight hours.
Empty Nation
We continued on our drive, winding through Southern Wyoming, where great staggered fence posts bisected the rolling hills, unique barriers designed to hamper snow during the winter.
Keeping in-theme of the remainder of the trip, the land was harshly dry and brown, giving every appearance of a tinderbox. Fires were clearly just waiting to happen.
Indeed, in the far distance, a huge, white, fire-based mushroom-cloud dominated the horizon, where a ghastly inferno was raging. It may have been a controlled burn, however, since the cloud began to dissipate when we grew close.
Regardless, we blearily continued to drive until finally, finally reaching Colorado. As our timetable leveled out, we wove into Denver, Ari practically vibrating in her seat. Her girlfriend was meeting us soon, giving Ari the chance for a wonderful reunion.
For the next few days, we’ll be recovering and camping in Colorado.
So until then,
Best regards and excellent trails,
Old Sean
Written August 5th 2020
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I bought this Horizon Hound Trek Blanket for a late-autumn trek in the United States. Since then, it’s gone everywhere with me. The blanket is lightweight, stuff-able, warm and durable. But my favorite features are the buttons. The blanket can be buttoned up the sides, turning it into a long thermal poncho when I don’t want to leave the warmth of my bed.
