O/T Northwest Road Trip

We are combining this into a “Road Trip” adventure. We have done the southern route to California (I-10/US-90) in the past and would like to do a more Northern route to Settle. We are allowing three weeks (actually two weeks and four days) for the road trip, we will be flying back to NC.

We are 60 years old and are looking for unusual things; not the standard interstate highway stuff – although we will drive them between long distances. We retired from the Air Force, where we saw much of the world. I now work for the Federal Government as an electrical engineer and the wife does whatever she wants. We can’t hike trails anymore (at least not far, wife has bad foot – I once hiked to the bottom and back to the rim of the Grand Canyon in one day), but do like nature views, farm shows, State Fairs, unusual places to eat, museums, unusual shopping, things you just can’t get or do in cities…

We are starting to plan this trip now and are seeking routes, places to visit, etc… We will be going from Wilmington to Memphis, TN, but from there to Settle is wide open.

Any suggestions on routes and things/places to see would be appreciated. Will the weather be a problem if we take a Northern route in October?

We are looking for "Must See" type locations. This will probably be our last trip of this type, old age creeping in.....

TKS

If you have not ever seen them Yellowstone and Glacier parks are neat places to see. But maybe October is a little late in the year--they are fairly high altitude and you might get snow. Of course you might get snow anywhere in Montana and maybe Wyoming in October. It depends on what the weather happens to be doing just then. You also might need your air conditioning. That time of year....

There are interesting things to see in Washington. If you travel I90 through the state, you will travel over the area of one of the largest floods known, during the last ice age. The floods sculpted the area so it looks unlike any other area I have seen. And there are plenty of things to do and see in Seattle.

I hope your daughter likes UW. My youngest daughter did her undergrad work there and was a distance runner on the track/cross country team. She is going to grad school at another college in Seattle. UW is a huge school, and is fairly hard to get into. Be very careful about parking on campus--there is fairly little public parking and if you park in the wrong spot, you WILL get an expensive ticket almost immediately. Been there, done that! Student parking is extremely expensive. My daughter did without a car when she lived in the dorm and later her car sat parked at her apartment most of the time and she used the bus system, which seemed more efficient than trying to find a parking space and paying for it. But your daughter will have to decide what works for her....what field of study is she going into?

Hope you enjoy your trip and don't run into snow. If it is early October, I90 should be OK, but you never know for sure. The last couple of years, we have had our real winter in November and December and not much after that. A neat and beautiful trip. Good luck!

In WY you could see Devil's Tower (remember Close Encounters of the Third Kind?) and Yellowstone NP. Yellowstone could be a might cool in October. Be sure to bring some winter coats. Also, check the weather reports on the motel tube each day and be ready to alter your route as necessary. Winter weather is entirely possible in spots of Wyoming, Montana and northern Idaho in October.

Avoid I-80. Nothing to see and they tend to close the road for days at a time if the weather gets foul.

• Hobby farm

On the flight back do NOT try to take any liquids or jells into the plane as carry on luggage. They are okay as checked luggage. Wear shoes that are easy off and on. Sandles are good. Have fun and enjoy.
John

(Alternately, take US 10 out of Minneapolis, which is a very nice drive to Fargo)

US-2 will take you through some stunning grassland and the big skies of Northern ND and Montana, and then skirts along the southern edge of Glacier National Park. In October, you will see some beautiful fall colors (and probably some snow) in Glacier.

If you keep following US 2, it will then take you through Spokane, and on into the Cascades National Park, then into the Seattle area.

Another option would be to split off and follow the Columbia River Gorge into Portland, then take I-5 to Seattle.

Have fun!

Colin, MN

The lure of the open plains takes me that way, but it has been some time since my last adventure along 2. When I was 15 I hopped freights from Minot to Spokane (to my mother"s absolute horror). My girlfriend"s family is from Eugene, so we do make it out to the NW on occassion. I"m originally from a village 10 miles west of Long Prairie, MN.

Have a safe trip!

Colin, MN