Day 13 – Billings, MT – Missoula, MT

We woke up to snow in Billings. I kept looking at my calendar to make sure that we hadn’t slipped into some time stream that carried us back a few months. This place did not meet the criteria for Spring!

The good news was that the snowflakes finally dissipated and they’d frosted the ground and the trees into a Winter wonderland with December vibes. (But the calendar STILL says April)….

The snow started phasing out and was shooting random shots with my camera out the back window. I didn’t know until I downloaded that I’d captured a natural tunnel. (I love the surprise element of what I didn’t see, but still manage to capture).

We went to the Missouri Headwaters State Park in Three Forks, MT. Warren and Koby got out and wandered around for a few minutes. I sat in the Xterra and tried to capture a picture of a hawk that I saw flying above a field. It was an exercise in futility and our tenure in that particular locale was brief.

We wandered through Montana and I know now why it is “Big Sky” country. Not only was the sky vast, it contained about every type of weather imaginable.

Day 14 – Missoula, MT – Kamiah, ID

The Missoula morning greeted us with slushiness.

But also more frosted trees, nature’s own version of powdered sugar sprinkled liberally over everything.

But the slush finally hushed and I was able to to get some shots that weren’t impeded by wet stuff on the windows.

The white stuff finally was overtaken by green stuff. Which meant it was warmer. We moved along into eastern Idaho. Farmland, but with trees. Koby has determined over the course of our years together that I REALLY like trees, and the lack of them does not spark joy in my spirit.

We went down and up White Bird grade, because if there is a windy road, then Koby is compelled to drive it. This one also has almost no guard rails.

Idaho decided we needed to see a little more weather. We experienced rain, snow, sleet, hail, sunshine and more than one of them at the same time in certain stretches. The cloud formations were magnificent though (when they weren’t bombarding us with rain or snow).

Day 15 – Kamiah, ID – Happy Valley, OR

We ended up staying at this wonderful lodge in Kamiah (and I’m still not sure on the pronunciation – as it’s not phonetically logical). Warren was especially enamored with it and he left a note on our departure that declared it was the nicest place we’d stayed in 11 states. And that was true. I’d definitely stay there again!

We also woke up to no snow! The day started out without snow. Yes, I could not believe it either. We followed a river for awhile and it was serene (I like water as much as I like trees.)

We did lose trees from the landscape, but the water soothed me adequately to just sit back and enjoy. Even in the “people-y” parts.

We went through Oregon on our way to Washington (don’t ask me, Koby was driving and navigating), but we stopped for a minute in Umapine, OR at a corner with an old school across the street. I got fascinated with the pigeons that were hanging around the roof so snapped a few shots while Koby got his bearings.

Koby had scheduled a side trip to Stonehenge WWI Memorial, and it wasn’t cold, windy, raining or snowing when we got there.

While Warren and Koby read the history, I exercised my freedom from the confines of the Xterra and took pictures. I wanted a picture of the bridge in the distance. There was a guy standing on a rock and he only moved to change positions slightly. So he became part of the photo and it gives it scale.

We stopped at a rest stop and while the guys did their thing, I watched a barge being pushed down the Columbia. It amazes me that such a small boat can move that large an object.

Back into Oregon and to Happy Valley for a delicious dinner and conversation with family and friends (Kelly and Jeff, Karen and Dennis, and Aunt Ruth) – with whom we shared details of the haps and mishaps of the journey over our meal (still craving Karen’s cheese pastry thingies!). We settled down in our room in the basement, Warren was back in his room, and got a good night sleep.

Day 16 – Happy Valley OR – Sacramento, CA

Jeff made us coffee, oatmeal and toasted up some of the artisan bread we brought from the lodge-owned bakery in Kamiah.

Then Koby and I repacked the Xterra for the last time and said our goodbyes. And we took off in the rain on our last leg of the journey.

The further south we traveled, the lighter the sky became. Mount Shasta greeted us with blue skies and puffy white clouds.

Mt. Lassen did the same.

The last hours of our journey were uneventful, though I saw about a dozen hawks I couldn’t get pictures of, and a few hundred bugs gave their lives up on our front windshield. But we made it home.

And so did NatGeo – happily installed back with his buddies!

And so ends the Skelton Going Postal tour. It meant so much for Koby and Warren to have this time together, and I learned a lot about Skelton family history, regional history, and weather. I learned that the wind blows way too much in that middle section of the states!

Signing off….. and slipping off to my pillow!