Today was a leisurely travel day to go a short hop and not really too much to write about. The driving distances won’t be as much now that I am in my new home state. Not a very good night’s sleep last night so I woke up rather late. I got around, had breakfast, went and talked to the ranger for a bit knowing I did not have far to drive to Mt. St. Helens.

Another beautiful drive through the forest after getting gas for $4.22 a gallon for regular. Not as bad as the pig-squealing I had to do in Canada, however.

A short drive today, and this afternoon/evening has been relaxing – taking care of some business online, updating the posts on my blog, adding maps, and still pondering the picture-posting issue. I will, however, get that figured out somehow. Tomorrow is a full day at the volcano exploring. Going to hopefully get a good night’s sleep and get up early to get there early. Glad to see that the marathon driving is done with.

Booze is sure expensive here – my Grey Goose 375ml bottle is nearly the same price as a 750 back in CO. I got a small bottle of vodka for a well-deserved cocktail. I have not had a drink (other than the overpriced FILTERED (!!) wheat beer in Waterton NP) in weeks and I thought it was time for a celebratory beverage.

I was thinking earlier that when I get to the new job it will be strange staying put for a while after all this traveling. I left Colorado two weeks ago tomorrow and I have seen and done quite a lot the last two weeks. I was looking at the map earlier to see the next less-traveled path to take, and I just may head to the ocean on Saturday. A bad day to probably end up there, but I lost track of the days. It will all be fine, though. It may not be too busy since it is a bit of a drive where I am thinking of going for a daytrip from any of the major cities.

Besides… I have no place to be just yet.