485 Miles in 26 Hours, Home from the Falls

Last Saturday night we got home from our trip to hike a few waterfalls in Sierra National Forest— our trip that began with a Friday Night Halfway in Fresno— at about 8pm. It was just over 24 hours since we left home. In that time we logged 485 miles of driving, most of it on Saturday.

In Dinkey Creek Falls part 2 of 2 I remarked that we called it quits after the waterfalls instead and didn't hike up to any of the lakes. When we made that decision I felt a bit frustrated about having to give up early though I suspected I'd appreciate it later, when we got home at a reasonable time. Indeed, that decision did mean we got home at a reasonable time: 8pm, instead of 10pm or later.

Getting home at 8 on Saturday meant we could unpack and stow our gear, shower, and wind down, all in time to get to bed at a reasonable hour. That in turn meant we got up at a reasonable hour Sunday morning feeling well rested. We took care of a number of small chores and errands Sunday without feeling rushed. I also had plenty of time to relax and recharge— which was critical to being ready to get up before 5am for my day-trip to Phoenix on Monday.

First Stop: Steps from the Airport

North Cascades Travelog #2
GEG Airport - Sat, 2 Sep 2023, 8am.

Some people begin trips by driving to the airport at night, staying over at a hotel, and flying out first thing in the morning. We turned that upside down by driving to the airport yesterday, flying to Spokane, and then staying over at a hotel. Yes, come Saturday morning we're still at the airport.



We're not in the airport, mind you, but at it. We've stayed in an airport before. Not Recommended. Here we're in a Marriott Springhill Suites that's across the street from baggage claim and the car rental desks. The photo above is the view from our window this morning after dawn. Fortunately Spokane is a small enough airport that there weren't flights taking off and landing all night.

Oh, and last night's flight?



Thirty minutes late. 🤣

But, hey, that was almost a benefit. Southwest marked the delay hours in advance, so we didn't sweat the traffic as much getting to the airport. And once at the airport (traffic was less bad than it could have been) we had time to eat some supper in the terminal without having to wolf it down. And since we were only driving... *looks out window again*... about 100 feet last night, getting in 30 minutes late wasn't much of an inconvenience. 🤣

Mourning in Margaritaville

Musician Jimmy Buffett passed away today. He was aged 76. A cause of death has not been released, though the news states that he died peacefully surrounded by family and friends.

Buffett rose to stardom in the late 1970s with a style of music that he called "Gulf and Western". It blended the easy, relatable themes of Western music with the rhythms and settings of the Caribbean. His best known song, Margaritaville, features the memorable refrain:

Wastin' away again in Margaritaville
Looking for my lost shaker of salt
Some people say that there's a woman to blame
But I know it's my own damn fault.

For the legions of Buffett fans who call themselves Parrotheads, it's a sad day in Margaritaville. Though this other lyric from the song might help them drown their sorrows:

There's booze in the blender
And soon it will render
That frozen concoction that helps me hang on

Update: Buffett's family released that the cause of death was skin cancer. I inferred from the fact he "died peacefully surrounded by family and friends" that he had a terminal illness and had chosen hospice.