West to Washington State.

We left the Crow reservation and Custer’s ghost in pouring rain and turned off [I]90 at Billings to follow a more scenic route into the mountains of Montana. The landscape changed dramatically as we moved west from the rolling plains into the timbered mountains. Unfortunately the road surface also changed and we were soon traveling on narrow potholed roads that rivaled the worst of the roads in western Queensland. Progress was slow and jarring, and Dodgy groaned his disapproval.

In the late afternoon we motored into Deer Lodge, a drab little town frequented by trout fishermen and deer hunters, and, as the statue at the entrance to the town proclaimed, home to the Big Sky Draft Horse Expo.

A small cabin on the edge of the town was home for the night, and, after unwinding from the long drive, we emptied most of our gear from the car onto its front verandah as a prelude to repacking the car. It began to rain again, steadily at first and then came a deluge. We stacked our gear securely against the wall out of the rain and retreated inside into the warmth. The cabin provided refuge from a night of wild weather, but cyclonic winds and horizontal rain drenched everything on the verandah, scattering the lighter items across the campground. In steady rain we gathered our sodden gear, packed as much as we could into plastic bags and made an early start, this time opting for the boring route on [I]5.

By mid morning we had crossed into the beautiful mountain country of northern Idaho. Dodgy wound his way through the mountains, grunting up the steep climbs and humming with delight on the down slopes, and by late afternoon we reached Spokane, on the eastern boundary of Washington state. Travel weary and yet to hear from our contacts in Seattle, we booked into a cabin on the edge of town for two nights.

We had barely unpacked before the first of many trains roared past the bottom of the camp ground, whistle blaring. Two nights later, having exhausted the attractions and with the sound of train whistles reverberating in our heads we packed and departed Spokane for Seattle, the home of Bill Gates and Microsoft, and Boeing.

 

Washington state has spectacular scenery and we really enjoyed the drive along [I]90. After we had overcome our initial apprehension and confusion on the freeways and streets, we also began to enjoy Seattle.

Brenda, Julie’s contact offered us a room in the house she shares with her sister and brother in law in Magnolia, a leafy suburb to the north-west of the city. Cassandra, her sister, is the first native American woman to be appointed as President of a University in the US and Joe, Cassandra’s husband had recently resigned from a senior academic position to become an economic analyst with the Wilderness Society in Seattle. It was a gathering of like souls and discussion around the dinner table was lively and relaxed, with lots of laughter. Over the next few days Brenda introduced Julie to a number of local health professionals working with Native Americans. Peter stayed home, settled at the computer for a few days and cooked the evening meals.

 

On our third day in Seattle Julie came home from a meeting with Holly (her Indian name is Cougar Tracks), a medicine woman from the Yakima tribe. She had invited us to visit the Yakima reservation in central Washington as guests at a medicine dance and to participate in a sweat lodge. Julie was excited, a sweat and dancing, both high on her ‘to do’ list. Peter thought back to Phoenix where, with daily temperatures of 112-115F, there had been no ceremony or choice about sweating. Next morning we bundled our goods into Dodgy and navigated our way through the maze of freeways out of Seattle towards the Yakima reservation.