april 2, 2008
seattle, washington to butte, montana
oh god, the heat in the truck had gone out somewhere in montana on the way to seattle. at the time, there was so much else to worry about (getting to seattle on time, the rockies, the blizzard, death by mack truck) that heat seemed to be the last of our worries. but this time around, with the work behind us and relatively calm weather, there was nothing to think about but the endless hours passing by and the ever dropping temperatures. we had stopped by wal-mart to pick up some heat pads, but they were next to useless. as we sped down the deserted thruway of i-90, the only consolation was the magnificently magical sliver of orange moon we spotted just before sunrise. we finally decided to stop in butte, montana, the last big city before the final pass through the rockies and the continental divide. jodie at the front desk of the super 8 greeted us with a warm smile and told us "it's only ten degrees out". apparently, thirty below is not uncommon during the winters. wow, i am never moving to montana.