6/26/11: Tukwila, WA to Butte, MT

We were on the road for almost 12 hours the first day, when we left Tukwila.  The goal was to get as far into Montana as possible.  I thought Missoula would be our stop for the night, but he felt like going further, so we went as far as Butte.  (Full descriptions of the entire trip with additional photos can be found in posts from July, 2011).

Cascades.

My last look at Mt. Rainier from eastern WA.

Columbia River Gorge, WA

Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

Lost an hour crossing into Montana.

We stopped in Haugan, MT for about an hour to stretch our legs and check out this awesome kitschy casino/bar/shop, where Russell happily parked himself in the bar and play some slots while I browsed for souvenirs.  

Clark's Fork River, Montana (clearly Lewis lost the coin toss on naming this loooooong river).

Montana

Our Lady of the Rockies, Butte, MT.

Day 1: approximately 596 miles.

Most memorable moments:  The Buttered Fruit Incident (which actually took place the day before but I still like to tease him about it), getting pulled over by WSP in Eastern WA but given a warning, "You da ho?  No, I-da-ho", 2 more new states visited by me, Clark's Spork and "How big is this fork anyway? I'd hate to see the knife!", no restaurants in Butte but casinos galore and Russell's delight at getting to play in them, bug carnage on the windshield and his really strong cup of coffee that kept him talking, and me laughing, almost nonstop for at least 300 miles.