Away from Idaho and into Washington. I drove from Coeur d’Aline to the neighboring city of Spokane in search of breakfast and an oil change. Spokane is a rugged town, gritty and dirty but not dreary. The Food Bible continued its hot streak by directing me to Frank’s Diner, a derailed dining car in the middle of town. Servers and short-order cooks worked back-to-back beside the counter, a model of pleasant efficiency. Ever the ascetic, I limited myself to fried green tomatoes in Creole hollandaise with eggs over easy, hash browns, and a grilled biscuit. Onions and gravy were served on the side. The prices were back up to normal, but the food was worth it.
I drove southwest, passing through carefully sculpted hills and fields, and found myself in… another desert. Interrobang. As the temperature sneered its way into the mid-eighties, I frantically Googled Washington’s geography to make sure I hadn’t teleported back to Colorado. It turns out that this part of Washington State, the Colombia Plateau, is situated between the Cascade and Rocky Mountain ranges, sucking up all the precipitation. If that didn’t melt your brain, this mind-boggling Wikipedia article about ecological zoning certainly will:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ecoregions_in_the_United_States_(EPA)
I refilled my water bottle and forged westward, passing the first American plutonium refinery and stopping in Yakima. I rested for a couple of hours at a palatial coffee shop that also sold gelato and trading cards. Now I prepare for my last leg of today’s travel, aiming for the base of Mount Rainier.
“Well, the world holds seven wonders
that the travelers always tell —
Some gardens and some towers,
I guess you know them well.
But by far the greatest wonder
is in Uncle Sam’s fair land —
That great Columbia River
and that great Grand Coulee Dam.” –Woody Guthrie