Day 5: Wednesday, September 18th. Seattle, Washington -> Yellowstone National Park
Got up at the crack of dawn once again and got a few things done in Seattle before leaving. When I got to Seattle the day before, I discovered that I lost two of my special Nurburgring Valve Stem Caps for my tires. I think I lost them somewhere in Oregon, probably owing to the fact that I was driving quite spiritedly on the 202. I made it a point to not drive the rest of the trip without valve step caps so I went over to BMW of Seattle real quick and bought some ///M valve stem caps to get me through the trip. Once again, I had people checking out my M5 asking me about my exhaust. Lol! After the dealership, I got my M5 washed real quick and then hit the road. I hit heavy rain a few hours later. Doh!
I got on the 90 East and went through the mountains East of Seattle. They were quite spectacular I must say. After crossing the Columbia River, things got very flat and the scenery was very nice. I stopped in Spokane for lunch, ate some bad BBQ, and then got back on the road. I entered Idaho, made the mistake of stopping at a gas station to use the restroom (weird people I tell ya), and then about an hour later was tailed by an unmarked Idaho State Trooper, who ended up not lighting me up. Must have been my Marine Corps license plate frame. Lol! After my short stint throught Idaho I entered Montana, and they don't call it Big Sky Country for nothing. Montana was one of the most breathtaking states I have ever been in. I stayed on the 90 East until reaching the 287. By this time it was nightfall and there is NOTHING out on the 287. I just kept thinking to myself, if I breakdown or whatever out here, I'm totally F'd! Lol! Half way down the 287 there is a small town called Ennis. When I reached Ennis, I had to check my iPhone5 to see what year it was. I felt like I was in Back to Future Part 3, when I saw, real, no kidding Cowbody Saloons, with horses and cowboys looking at my M5 like it was an alien spaceship. I swear I was in 1885. After I left Ennis, I vowed to destroy the M5 as time travel is just too dangerous.
When I got close to West Yellowstone, I stopped at Hegben Lake because what I witnessed was one of those moments that define our entire life. There was the biggest full moon I had ever seen and a rain/snow storm was moving through the area that night. Temperatures were down near 32 degrees F, and I stopped right on the side of the Lake, not a single soul was around me for maybe 100 miles it seemed. I was at one with nature, at one with the M5, and at peace with myself. Truly a life changing moment. Deep down I felt that hardly any Americans would get to expererience this. I tried to capture it in one of the pictures below but I didn't use my tri-pod, you just had to be there. It was so cold night in West Yellowstone, temps got below freezing. I was worried if the M5 might start in the morning, thankfull it did, but I almost needed an ice scraper.
