Pacific Northwest Day Trip: Day 4

Today was the last travel leg of our trip before we reached our destination of Bonney Lake, Washington.  Our route led us out of Missoula, Montana and across the base of Idaho’s pan handle along I-90.

Idaho is one of those states that I know nothing about, other than where a lot of potatoes are grown! I have only traveled through Idaho once before decades ago, and I have never spent any time there.  During our travels today I was amazed, this part of the state is so beautiful!

Idaho is bordered by the Bitteroot Mountain range on its eastern border with Montana, which makes me think of John Denver’s song Wild Montana Skies. The 310-mile Clark Fork River winds its way along much of our route, we crossed it numerous times. This morning low clouds enveloped the mountains making for a truly breathtaking view!

I am a planner by nature and like to all my ducks in a row, so to speak. However, we have traveled enough to know that detours happen and the ability to remain flexible and go with the flow is essential…especially when the detour is a Divine appointment.

Prior to our trip a deacon from our church said he would be praying for our trip and specifically that we would have opportunity to share the light and love of Christ. We were getting close to the Washington border when we notice a woman hitchhiking with a gas can.

Jaimie, climbed in the back seat with Poppy, out of breath and on the verge of tears, thanking us for stopping. She looked to be in her mid to late thirties, wearing a hoodie, black capri-length leggings, and wedge style sandals. Besides the plastic gas can she was carrying a skateboard and a cell phone that only had 14% battery life.

Our original plan was to take her to the next exit, get gas then return to her truck that was on the shoulder of the road that we had passed about two miles from where we pick her up. The story unfolded that she “forgot” her wallet at home, so she had no ID with her or money. She would run out of gas, walk to a gas station, beg for some money, fill up a few gallons at a time, drive until she ran out of gas the repeat the whole sequence.

When she heard that we were traveling to Washington State she told us we would be passing by her hometown of Pinehurst and would we be willing to drop her off anywhere closer to home. Then she could get someone to drive her back to her truck with a full can of gas. Checking the map, we indeed would be passing right by this little town of Pinehurst…76.5 miles away! How long would it take her to get home begging and walking exit to exit for gas?? We agreed to drive her to Pinehurst.

As we settled in for the drive, we offered her water and some snacks that we had in the car which she readily accepted. Then I asked Jaimie, what are you doing in this beautiful part of Idaho? She replied, I was looking for God. BAM! Here was answered prayer and Divine appointment!

We had an interesting conversation about God and spirituality; it was clear that she knew some things from the Bible, the phrases and context she used suggested that she had probably been in and out of recovery programs. She would mix her understanding of God with mysticism and avoided the name of Jesus. We were able to share the Gospel with her in a limited way, as she would interject with strange ramblings…I think to steer us away from talking about Christ. She then asked if we could pray together and she led the prayer; again, I think to show us that she was spiritually grounded. I was able to then pray with her, that she would open her heart to the Redeemer of life, Jesus Christ. There was much more said but I won’t go into it all here, but if you are a Believer reading this please pause a moment and say a prayer for Jaimie.

We pulled off the exit, drove through the town center to the outskirts of Pinehurst. The further away from the town center we got the more poverty was apparent. The closer we got to Jaimie’s home the more she thanked us, tears welling up in her eyes and animated she became. We finally pulled into a drive of a small white house, the yard strewn with a mixture of old tires, toys, and household items in various stages of rust. She thanked us profusely as she excitedly crawled out of the backseat and ran up the drive, but not toward the house but toward a small camper that was on the property. We didn’t have time to give a proper goodbye but called after her that we would be praying for her, which we do.

The rest of our travels through Idaho was uneventful and soon we were inching closer to our final destination in Washington State.

Driving through Spokane was a bit underwhelming after the beauty of western Idaho! The lush evergreens, misty covered mountains, and the winding Clark Fork River was a stark contrast to the very flat and wide expanse of land that was mostly brown unless a farmer was actively irrigating a section for crops. It was so underwhelming that I only took one photo during this section of the drive.

As we journeyed on toward our destination we pulled off to a scenic overlook that gave views of the Columbia River…wow, what views they are! The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest, spanning 1,243 miles! It flows from the Canadian Rockies, along the Washington and Oregan borders, emptying into the Pacific Ocean.

The cliffs were really steep along the river, not sure how steep these cliffs were but some cliffs along the Columbia River have been reported to be up to 4,000 feet in height!

The Columbia River varies in width along it’s 1,243 mile length from a few thousand feet up to 14 miles wide at the Astoria-Megler-Bridge in northwestern Oregon!

What an eventful Day 4…can’t wait to see what is in store for us next!