Oh Mountain...

I woke up early Thursday morning, and decided to take advantage of the exercise facilities. Even though I was on vacation, I felt the need to keep up with the cardio, so I jumped on some kind of elliptical machine for a good 20 minutes. Then I hopped on a bizarre stationary bike and pounded out the "Around the World" setting in another 20 minutes. Somehow 10 miles on this bike took me over every continent in the world, save Antarctica. That poor continent is always left out in the cold.

After the workout and subsequent shower, I headed back down the lounge to grab some fuel. Yakima so far had not impressed me (even though I hadn't left the hotel the night before), until I met a man at breakfast who changed my mind. A Korean Navy vet named Cory, who thought it was amazing that I could eat breakfast and operate my touch screen cell phone, brightened my day. We chatted while I scarfed down my french toast and bacon, with eggs and home fries on the side (well, mostly he chatted), and we parted ways as I headed back to the room to pack up. Irony struck though, as we reached the end of our conversation, he told me he was from Oregon!

After checkout, I punched in Astoria, WA on the Incredible and set off for another fun-filled day of driving...and surprises.

I took U.S. 12 west out of town, and then turned off into the mountains and headed up White Pass, still not knowing what was in store for me.

I saw more columnar basalt on this trip than I thought existed...



Drove through some road construction, next to a beautiful bright blue runoff creek...



Rocks!



Through Wenatchee National Forest and past Rimrock Lake...



I saw some high peaks, which sparked my curiosity...

Goat Rocks....Goat Peak



And then I came around a bend and saw a sign that nearly made me swerve off the road: "Mt. Rainier Viewpoint ahead". No way!!!



Majestic...



Beautious...



I hung out and took in this sight for at least a half hour. Others came and went, and I just sat and absorbed the view.

Yes, I was actually there. The volcano was not super-imposed behind me...



I finally bid my new friend goodbye, and headed back down the road. She kept peaking her summit out of the trees, and my final view came from in the little town of Packwood. This spot looked more like Dante's Peak than Wallace, ID...



Some kind of town festival was gearing up for the weekend, but as enticing as it looked, I knew the coast was calling, so I continued on. Oregon was close, really close. I saw a sign for Mt. St. Helens Viewpoint, but I knew in a matter of days I'd have a much close view, so I pressed on.