I don’t know about you, but I like to play it safe. I already went through a good 7 or 8 of my 9 lives in my younger days, so I’d rather stay on the down low, taking it easy. Which is why my wife, my two dogs and myself drive through Central Washington to get from Bellingham to Portland. The straight line between these two cities would take us down the I-5 in approximately 5 hours, depending on the horrendous traffic, which starts just north of Everett and doesn’t end for another 90 miles until Olympia.
A normal person would take this boring route down the bland Interstate. But we’d rather take the 12 hours or so and drive over the Cascade Pass on the 20, truly one of the more beautiful drives on this planet, then skirt down the 97 through Blewett Pass, eventually making it to the 14, which follows the Columbia Gorge on the north side to Vancouver and then a quick jaunt on the dreaded Interstate to Portland. This route takes longer and requires camping somewhere in the mountains outside Wenatchee, but it’s so much better for the soul (and the heart, easily adding 5 years of life).
And safer. I’d take camping with black bears and cougars and driving really windy roads any day over driving with the lunatics on the Interstate. People are insane! And far more dangerous than bears. Together with mosquitoes, we humans have killed more people than any other animal that has ever roamed the earth. So, the Adventure Buddies avoid the Interstate where most of these nasty beasts roam.
On our most recent trip to Portland, we enjoyed splendid views and beautiful walks through forests because, for the most part, we avoided the Interstate. We also picked a number of wonderful morel mushrooms.
The pictures that follow depict our adventures on a path less traveled.
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