Last year was a rough one, hence the long absence, but there cannot be dark without the light. This page is dedicated mostly to my cross country trip with my mom from Washington state to Texas.
September 2024 I made the decision to leave Washington and come back to Texas a while to get on my feet again. My mom flew up for emotional support and helped me pack up my things. After a few crying sessions later, we left for a long 2,400+ mile roadtrip back home.
our route from seattle to east texas
Day One:
We started in Bothell, WA., and headed down in Portland, OR. (I cant't remember where we stayed because we got such a late start.) We made a quick detour to view the city because my mom has always wanted to see it so I drove her through downtown. It brought back a lot of memories of when I lived there.
The next day we set off around 10am and took off for Boise. We drove by Multnomah falls, the Columbia River Gorge and into Idaho. There we stayed our first night on the road in a hotel somewhere in Boise so my cat could roam about after being in the car all day and got some rest.
We had to circle around Multnomah Falls like 3 times just to get a good shot (and its not even that good!!) because the exit to the parking lot was full. Ever since the fire went through there (you can see it on the trees) a few years back, its been harder to access. So we did the best we could and just got a video driving by.
columbia river gorge
mom being silly
After we hit Idaho, we were still in pretty high spirits and I wanted to do a little site seeing so we stopped off at Malad Gorge State Park and boy am I glad we did! It took my breath away!
After we left the gorge, we came into Boise and honestly just looked the same every mile until you start to notice small changes in the rocks and foliage. We decided to stop at Malad Gorge State Park for a detour just to say we did something that day and I'm glad we did because it was beautiful. So quiet. There was a couple that arrived the same time we did and we both just kind of took pictures in silence enjoying the harsh nature around us.
Day Three:
We got another late start on the road because I was so exhausted and depressed. I wish I had gotten more pictures of us at the hotels and having breakfast with my mom every morning as we got ready for our next long day of driving.
Packing and unpacking the jeep every morning and night became exhausting just after a few nights, especially because we were carrying my cat with us. So hotels had to be pet friendly as well. Every few hours we would pull over and let her out of the cage to pee and wander around the jeep or cuddle with me for reassurance. After day two or three she started to get the hang of things and didn't put up much of a fuss about being in her cage for the majority of the day as we drove across states.
Long drives can get boring fast so I made sure to stock up on weed, oil and gummies. Took a few gummies and let my mom take over the drive for a while and it was pretty fun but man was I ready to settle down somewhere, anywhere. I started feeling pretty desperate and hopeless and crying was always in the back of my mind.
The next few days were a blur so I'll do my best to try to remember what all we did. At this point my cat was super uncomfortable to the hot weather with no AC so we tried to drive as many hours as possible across the wyoming grasslands. We stopped for a few hours in Utah and visited the Great Salt Lake which was very interesting to learn about. Other than that and the architecture, it wasn't very exciting so we hit the road pretty quick. Plus there were way too many tourists so it was a little crowded. Certainly glad I got to see it though and learn about all the prehistoric animals that have met their demise there!
Utah
The Great Salt Lake
After we left Utah we headed into Wyoming. We didnt have time to stop at Yellowstone and kept the route southeast as much as possible to get into Colorado. There wasn't much there other than the Oregon trail and such. I do remember us getting lost around the Wyoming and Colorado border so we stopped, in the dead of night and we both stargazed at the sky. It was particularly dark so we even got to see part of the Milky Way! It was really breathtaking and I'm glad I stopped to admire our small little planet amongst so many stars.
Day Four:
We kind of scrambled to find a place after crossing over into the Rockies in Colorado and ended up having to turn around and drive back into Wyoming to find a hotel that was still open and taking reservations. We got a little lost and we were both very tired but we managed to eventually find a place after going an hour out of the way.
Colorado/Wyoming State Line
Day Five:
The last day we decided against going into Kansas because my mom wanted to get home faster and for some reason thought going through New Mexico and cutting over into the panhandle would be faster. Well we ended up driving until late so once again we were left with no open hotels and had to stay at the shittiest motel I have ever laid eyes on. It was so sketch and dangerous we were both on edge the whole night. I was particularly upset about reaching our desitination and realizing how real this trip was, so we went and had a few shots of whiskey and some nachos at the bar. We quickly left the next morning.
Go to the top.
The Great Salt Lake
