Martino and I drove up from Portland this morning, right to the SEA-TAC airport to pick up Union team rider Gigi Rüf, then headed up through Seattle proper up to George’s house in Shoreline. We geared up and headed northeast through Monroe meeting up with Highway 2 and headed out toward Steven’s Pass.

We quickly noticed a pretty ugly lineup of cars heading back into the Seattle metro area. For a good 30 miles, cars were backed up bumper to bumper. Turns out the Eastbound pass was closed, so all the traffic was held up for the day. Pretty intense. Felt kinda bad for all those travelers.

We got up into Skykomish a little after dusk just in time for a hearty supper of grilled halibut, mashed red potatoes, grilled asparagus, salad and garlic bread, washed down with a ice-cold Pacific. Pretty goddamn good. Hats off to Master Chef Emmet from Minnesota. Good groceries, man.

Note to Leigh: Halibut. Let’s grill up some. I’ll retrieve my old recipe from the train (my absolutely forgettable “Butter Dill” concoction) and we’ll feast like royalty, from the bounty of the sea.

Goo always says he’s gonna stop at the market to “get a piece of fish” on the way home from work. I always like the way that one sounds.

Downtown Skykomish. Very small. 200 people here. One hotel, one bar, one party store, some house, etc. There’s a scary old hotel down the street that looks pretty haunted and forgotten. I’ll be sure to get some shots of that. I can tell you this much: The Steven Pass mountains to the east are pretty damn jagged and breathtaking. First time I’ve seen them up close and all.

The train comes right through town, every hour or so it seems. Loud as shit. Comforting, for some reason.