day 28

billings, montana, to the potholes in eastern washington via idaho; 672 miles.
yes, i'll drive this far for mom's home cooking. and her washer and dryer. feels good to be back in washington, though the stretch between spokane and moses lake isn't much to write about. crossed the continental divide just east of butte, montana, at 6,393 feet. that's almost three times as the eastern continental divide back in maryland or west virginia. also saw my first skull tree today somewhere in montana. someone had taken bleached skulls of critters and nailed them to a tree in their front yard. i wonder why more people around the country don't do that. didn't stray far from the interstate today, once to find decent coffee in livingston, montana, which led me to a park with a really nice statue of sacajawea and her kid on a horse. also drove through anaconda, montana, to see all of its dead trees. decades of mining and smelting had killed most of the trees in the area. there are still some dead ones visible, but i think they maybe cut down and burned most of the bad ones. the key to the day was arriving at mom's, where i had spent the first night of the trip, so now i've closed the loop. good night, mom; good night, linda and george; good night, olivia.
tomorrow: the potholes to woodinville to wrap up this trip and start planning the next one.