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2001 Trip - Great Northwest Tour We began our annual Road Trip with the expectation of this being the year we traveled through British Columbia to reach Ketchikan, Alaska. We began our trip on Monday, September 10th. On the morning of the 11th we knew we would need to alter our plans and stay in America, close to home. The road trip back from Seattle was filled with an eerie unfolding of patriotism. American flags began to appear everywhere, people gave the peace sign as we passed by, and messages like “United We Stand” showed on the marquees of the local churches & Dairy Queens. On the fence post of a farmer, a sign was posted that read, “It’s Payback Time”. Since we could not listen to a radio while riding, we relied on stopping often to find out the latest news of what was happening. Arriving home we decided that terrorism would not stop us from continuing our trip. Experiencing the freedom of being an American meant even more to us. We decided to discover the beauty of our own backyard, the Great Pacific Northwest. Our travels included Crater Lake National Park. The lake was formed after the collapse of an ancient volcano, Mount Mazama, which erupted 7,700 years ago. The view was breathtaking, the chipmunks had veracious appetites for Power Bars, and we witnessed the most incredible thunderstorm from our room at the lodge. Our next venture took us on a 355 mile day long scenic tour around Mount St. Helens, a volcano that erupted in 1980 just North of Cougar, WA. The eruption’s force projected debris at 300 MPH and blanketed ash over a 500 mile radius. To view the area was an incredible site. Even though 21 years ago there was total devastation, nature is finding it’s way back with the rebirth of plants, animals, and ecology. Both places we visited went through complete life altering natural disasters and came back even more beautiful and renewed. We saw the message that through nature all life has a way of finding renewal when given time. Here are the photos:
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