JAYSON'S 1998
VACATION
Oregon,
Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and Washington, USA and British Columbia, Canada
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I took a twelve day trip exclusively by rental car. There was no flying involved at all. I drove across eastern Oregon stopping in Pendleton, La Grande, and Baker City before finally reaching Idaho. I
visited in Boise, Twin Falls, Jerome, Arco and Idaho Falls. Along the
way, I saw some ancient lava flows at the Craters of the Moon National Monument.
I entered Wyoming, spending a night in Jackson Hole (nice little
town) before heading for the national parks. I drove through Grand
Teton viewing the awesome snow-covered mountain peaks, burnt timbers from
a recent forest fire, and a large lake. I made it to Yellowstone National
Park, home of bison, bears and Old Faithful. Besides the geyser, I
also saw the Canyon falls, a mud volcano (with a strong scent of sulfur),
and Yellowstone Lake. I
continued into northern Wyoming visiting Cody and Sheridan before heading
north and west into Montana. I cut across the state going into Billings,
Bozeman, Butte, Helena and Missoula, then into the Idaho panhandle region
stopping in Lewiston and Moscow.I made my way into Washington, the Evergreen
State, coming in from the southeastern part of the state through Pullman,
up into Colfax and stopping in Spokane. Then it was westward through
Moses Lake (seeing classic cars and Twinkie the Kid along the way), Quincy,
Wenatchee, Leavenworth (resembles a Bavarian village), and Everett, before
heading north into Bellingham and Blaine. From
there, I crossed the border into Canada, visiting my third country (after
visiting Mexico in 1997). I spent a few hours in Vancouver, British
Columbia. There was lots to see and do. I was impressed with
Vancouver with all the tall buildings downtown (which reminded me of New
York City). The observation deck in the Harbour Centre tower gave me
an opportunity for a 360-degree view of the city. Not only is English
spoken in Canada, French is also the official language as well. I exchanged
my American currency for Canadian. I purchased a few things from hemp
products to souvenirs to maple syrup. I, then, had to go through customs
to get back into the US (just like I did coming back from Mexico). After making it back into Washington, I headed south through Seattle (riding the monorail from the Seattle Center into downtown and checking out the Pike Place Market), Auburn, Aberdeen and Long Beach. The trip concluded through western Oregon covering Astoria (the USS Missouri was in town), Newport, Corvallis, Albany and Eugene. |
Jackson, Wyoming (downtown)
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