September 28, 2024 Evening — Catching My Breath

Pilot truck stop

Arlington, Washington

Tonight I am at the Pilot Truckstop in Arlington, Washington which is north of Seattle. I’m trying to wrap my head around the fact that there is part of the US that is above Seattle. So much for knowledge of the Pacific Northwest — or PNW as apparently it’s called.

28 straight nights without staying in a hotel. Should I be proud of that? Assuming a nightly rate of $125, I should be $500 richer. Hmm - I think I’m pursuing this just because it is something to pursue. I may have said this before but my previous record was 22 nights.

What I miss most of not staying in a hotel is a real bathroom, wifi and cranking up the a/c.

Yesterday and today have overwhelmed me with the beauty and majesty I saw. This morning was a bonus as it was forecasted to be cloudy; it was sunny. I ‘d like to think I took advantage of the opportunity and took some neat photos. Certainly what I saw in North Cascades and just outside of it blew my mind.

I could probably spend eight hours at my computer blogging about the past two days. That’s not going to happen. I’m caught with a feeling of “I’m in a hurry and I don’t know why.”

Blither blather. It’s 930 PM and I’m in the bs know Hi Ho Silver. I’m too keyed up to fall asleep while I’m also too exhausted to write about what I saw yesterday and today. I’m so tired I have lost track of what I have written about already. ☹️

Im having a bad case of indecision. Should I go here or should I go there? I’m less adventurous about not planning where I’ll sleep. Some places it’s easy to find a Walmart or a truck stop or a campground. Out here it seems different. In part because North Cascades is so vast. Dispersed camping is still not my favorite and a bit harder to find here than say New Mexico and Utah.

I also have this feeling that if I make a bad decision I wil miss something I will wish I had seen. Is that FOMO? I know intellectually than because my time everywhere is limited, I can only graze the surface of what there is to experience. That’s amplified by the fact that I’m seven weeks out and ids are I’ll never be back here. It’s not like driving to Skyline Drive from Charlottesville.

I am impressed by how “get out into nature” so many Washingtonians appear to be. Fishing, camping, hiking — am I in Colorado??

Blah, blah, blah. Writing this post has helped me get some stuff out of my head. Last night was gloriously dark; tonight I have the lights of Pilot’s parking lot. But I also have access to a real restroom as opposed to a rather disgusting portapotty.

Sad UGa lost, glad Clemson won. UVa didn’t play.

I know my next stop is Mt. Rainer National Park. Today I counted tgst I have been to 33 national parks (there are 63). Not had for someone who never thought about visiting a bunch of national parks.