Packwood, Mt. Rainier

Up at 6am, and almost immediately on the road. We drove out of Glacier National Park to an amazing sunrise, dropped a little south and then drove east across the entirety of the park on Going-to-the-Sun road. The winding mountain trail was both breathtaking but also illustrated the changability of mountain weather, with clouds blowing swiftly through the peaks. We briefly stopped at Logan's Pass, the continental divide, before descending to Apgar Visitors' Center for my NPS Passport stamp.

The whole day consisted of hour-on-hour-off driving, through three states (Montana, Idaho and Washington) and the changing landscape was unbelievable. From glaciers and snow capped mountain trails, lush forests, vast farming plains, dust bowls, canyons, lakes and rivers before back to mountains and forests. The whole day passed amazingly quickly, not aided by a minimalist choice on the radio of country music, God or local news. We also found out that Boris Johnson was Prime Minister, which was utterly depressing...maybe we'll stay here...oh, wait...

We rolled into Packwood, under the shadow of Mt. Rainier at around 7pm and rocked into a local Inn to ask for a room - the first time we've ever turned up to a place without a booking! Just down the road, a local brewery offered sustenance in the form of a flight of local beers and some tacos as the sun dipped behind the mountain.

Number plate update: Kentucky, West Virginia (43/50)

Number plate update pt. II: Ben not speaking to me after I yelled "WEST VIRGINIA" at great volume as he was overtaking a car transporter at 70mph in a cross wind... 😂Read more