The plan today was for my parents to pick up the truck at 9. We’d load it and try to hit the road by early afternoon.

Yeah, not so much.

No, it isn’t a lot of snow, especially for my parents, who learned to drive in Montana (my dad) and Iowa (my mom) and who have lived in Colorado for more than 30 years. But it is a lot of snow when you factor in the hills and the fact that Lynnwood isn’t equipped to handle snow. My mom was astounded that most of the roads weren’t even sanded.

So they didn’t get the truck until noonish, which suited me fine because I was up late teaching ESL classes, then grading papers until 3:30 a.m., then not sleeping because I was stressed about not sleeping. With the road conditions and the fact that the snow continued all day, we obviously weren’t getting out of the Seattle area anyway today.

So we got the truck packed. Here’s my dad, the engineer, arranging the boxes with mathematical precision (this one’s for you, Gordon!):

By the time we had the truck mostly packed, the Washington DOT website was reporting that Snoqualmie Pass was closed to eastbound traffic. I took Bishop for a last romp in the woods.

He had crazy amounts of fun running around up and down the hills, kicking through the fresh snow, and splashing through the very thin skin of ice on the pond.

He isn’t in the photo because he never stood still long enough!

I’m too tired tonight to be very reflective (I know, I didn’t think that was possible either!), but I did feel a sort of…vague sadness, I guess, remembering my first walk in these woods with the camera, recalling my hopes and expectations and excitement. It has been a tough ten months. I still wonder if it was a mistake. Mostly I just want distance and peace.

Bishop with the eyes of a demon or Marvin the Martian…I can’t decide which

We’re tentatively planning to leave in the morning, depending on conditions. A lot of schools have already canceled classes, and I think the snow has continued to fall all evening. According to the DOT site, Snoqualmie Pass is back open, but traction tires are required. So maybe we’ll get out tomorrow, and maybe we won’t.

For those who care about such things, here’s the plan:

Bishop will ride in the moving truck with my dad; my mom and I will be in my parents’ vehicle, with the cats crated in back. This will be a different trip than the free-for-all of last year’s trek. We’re going from here to Belgrade, Montana (near Bozeman), to spend Thanksgiving with my dad’s brother Al and his family. I haven’t been to Montana in something like seven years or seen any of these relatives in that time, so I’m looking forward to it. Friday, weather permitting, we’ll head south through Wyoming and possibly fetch up at my parents’ house that evening (and if we do, I’ll see some relatives from my mom’s side who are staying there this week).

So…Washington State, tomorrow perhaps I will say goodbye to you. I hope to someday return to visit, but I don’t think I can live with you. Let’s chalk it up to irreconcilable differences, shall we?