Return to Expedition 2000 homeChris
Thursday, May 25, 2000
9:30 AM
I have packed my backpack for the last time of this trip. I really have a good system down after 25 days of practice. Every article has its own spot in one of the several compartments. I realized that my packing system has become automatic. I don't even have to think about it anymore. I wonder if I will retain the ease of this after I get out of the routine.
Ok. Well, this is it... my last journal entry. I suppose I should discuss some outcomes and things I have learned. I have learned about the state that I have lived in for the last two years of my life. I have an understanding of what life is like on the other side of the Cascade Mountains. Life west of the Cascades is completely different from life on the east. Eastern Washington has retained a primitive lifestyle because of its landscape. The main activity is agriculture and the grazing of livestock. Not a whole lot else happens with a few exceptions. It's been nice getting away from the traffic and congestion of the I-5 corridor. Life east of the Cascades is a lot less commercial. A unique culture or cultures exist in the handful of small, quaint micro towns we passed through on our journey. The people that I encountered were/seemed to be down to earth and content with their humble lifestyles. It seems that in this age of computers and technology, eastern Washington has maintained itself in a past era. I think that this is a very unique place compared to the metropolis United States that I am used to. I really valued this experience because it has instilled in me a respect for what many see as a waste land. It has also shown me what a huge topographical variation the state of Washington possesses.