Another entirely personal post, not about art or Mineral King; however, several of the photos shown could possibly become oil paintings or pencil drawings.

The third day of the very long road trip took us from Salem to Seattle. Seattle has a traffic problem. There is also a signage problem south of Tacoma – the freeway splits into 2 parts without warning or explanation; if you stay left, you can see a sign off to the right that says I-5. This is worrisome if you wished to remain on 5 but find yourself in the lanes going left. This worrisome condition continues for several miles without any reassurance whatsoever. Eventually, you are gifted with the knowledge that you are still on I-5, in spite of the signage showing that I-5 went right. It helps to maintain a sense of direction, and hope that everyone speaks English should you need to ask for directions. A working steering wheel also provides a sense of control during these times of freeway construction and confusion. Maps would help if you had any idea which freeway you got dumped onto.

In northern Oregon or southern Washington, I am always struck by the trees with no branches on their lower trunks.

Here are a few photos of the place we landed, once we arrived at our destination for that day.

We left the next day for Sandpoint, Idaho, caravan style with our Seattle friends. Had to wait until 10 a.m. to avoid traffic. We may have deer, gophers, bugs, excessive heat and a lack of water, but we can leave on a trip whenever we want without considering traffic.