A long day

I'm on the road, heading south to make a quick visit with my sister, and to pick up "the kids" and bring them to Montana for the 4th of July.  Of course, I'll have to take them back a few days later.

Today I drove over 650 miles.  I got a fairly early start - 7 am Mountain time.  And I didn't stop much, so I made a lot of miles in a shorter time than I might normally have taken.  My poor butt is paying the price.  The tailbone area is really complaining tonight (and for the last several hours).

I didn't quite make it a 5 state day, but I did drive in 4 states.  35 miles of Montana, then I crossed the Idaho panhandle into Washington, turning mostly south and crossing most of Oregon north to south.  I'm not far from the California border, maybe 30 miles or less.

As you come down the Columbia River you suddenly notice there is a large, snow-covered volcanic mountain.  It's hazy and very distant, but very distinct.  It's Mount Ranier or Mount Hood.  As you turn away from the Columbia, you realize there are two large, snow-covered volcanic mountains.  A bit further along, I came to a turnout with pointers and names and realized I was now seeing THREE large, snow-covered volcanic mountains.  And some others to go with them.  The markers identified Broken Top, the Three Sisters, Mount Bachelor, Three-Fingered Jack, Mount Jefferson, Mount Hood, Mount Saint Helen, and Mount Ranier.  The three that really stand out because they also stand alone are Mounts Jefferson, Hood and Ranier.  (It's hazy, so the major peaks don't stand out all that well in this panoramic shot, but you get an idea of the terrain here.  The concrete strip at the bottom is the edge of the peak identifier.)

The labels are hard to read because they are metal strips with the letters punched into them dot by dot, and they have weathered quite a bit.  It was overcast, so the contrast isn't very good, either.

Well, after that many miles, and catching up on a few things on the internet ... I'm tired and need to head off to bed so I can drive another 300 miles tomorrow.

Oh, thought I'd share this ... a "portapotty" on steroids

Actually, it's a pre-cast concrete two-stall vault toilet on its way to be installed somewhere.  I've seen these before.  They're pretty solid.  Once it gets where it's going, they'll position it over the vaults, secure it, and it will be ready to go (pardon me, I can't help it).