Chilliwack, BC to Kelso, WA
Left Chilliwack this morning around 7:00 heading about 20 miles to Abbotsford, BC, which is the border crossing point to get into the US of A. It took about an hour to get thru the line at the border crossing, but I did clear the border by around 9:00 am. Funny thing...the US Border personnel at the Alaska crossing, the crossing into Skagway, and the crossing at Abbotsford were all very polite and personable. Unlike the border personnel in and around Niagara Falls.
Anyway, headed south on I-5 through Burlington, Everett, Seattle, Federal Way, Tacoma, and Olympia before finally heading south toward Portland, Oregon. It's about 180 miles from Abbotsford to Olympia, and the area reminds you of the Philadelphia-New York eastern corridor. Town after town all along the Interstate and traffic (on a Saturday afternoon!) that went from 80 mph down to zero and back again countless times.
I'm in Kelso, WA for the evening and I'll be backtracking about 10 miles up the road to go to the Mt. St. Helens National Monument and observation center in the morning. From there, it's down to Bend, Oregon for the night tomorrow night and then to Crater Lake on Monday. From there, I'll be making a bee line down I-5 to Sacremento and then I-80 to Oakland to see our son, Patrick. Sorry, no photos today. Too busy dodging suddenly-stopped cars and young ladies texting as they're driving (yep, right beside me. I moved over about 3 lanes when I saw that.) Miles today: 279. Total: 8,361.
