Day 17: Bend OR - Omak WA

Robert Pirsig didn't like US-97 in Oregon, equating it with:

this hyped-up, fuck-you, supermodern, ego style of life that thinks it owns this country

I didn't like it much either, because it's busy and infested with roadwork and when you do finally find a clear piece of road suitable for overtaking the pack of Tractors Harleys which has been making life a misery for the past twenty miles some git comes along and starts resurfacing the road and makes you wait for twenty minutes.  In its favour, it has some wik mountains near it:

Mountain.  USAnia.  Monday.

It was a relief to get into Washington and onto I-82, but that didn't last because I-82 collides with I-90 and stops.  And I-90 is only marginally useful because it goes to all the wrong places, like Seattle, and Boston.  On the other hand both are pretty scenic as motorways go:

I-90 being Scenic near Vantage WA

Mount Rainier being Scenic from quite a long way away

Emily has, however, routed us off US-97 for a bit and a good thing too.  She sends us down the Grand Coulee, a rather attractive canyony valley type of gorge thing with small lakes.  In it.  Confusingly it is not dammed by the Grand Coulee Dam; rather the said dam blocks the Columbia River at its confluence with the Grand Coulee.

This bit of Washington smells strongly of apples, and at this time of year there are untold thousands of wooden boxes at the roadside awaiting this year's crop.  Signs forbid you to bring home-grown apples into the area for fear that apple maggots will jump out of your moving car and eat the trees before hitching a ride to the next orchard.  Possibly.  In contrast, northern Oregon smells of curry powder¹.

I-90 crossing of Columbia River

The Columbia River is big news around here and gets crossed by loads of lovely bridges; however the clots responsible for such things have declined to create parking facilities for those who want to stop and point at them.  Sorry, Crinkles.

Anyway I have had pizza, and et the last of the stroopwafels, and tomorrow I am going back to Canada, so I am happy again.

1. Trufax!