There is a particular point, a certain overpass over I-90 that for me marks the border line between Eastern and Western Washington. Every year as we drive under it I plan to figure out the name of the road. Yet another year goes by, and I still do not know which road it is.

There is nothing remarkable about the overpass. We have driven under many like it, and many more lie ahead. It is just another road, not even a highway. It is what lies on each side of it that seems drastically different.

Driving east along I-90 the car is still descending after going over the Cascades at the Snoqualmie Pass. Magically, the descend ends right as we drive under the overpass. The highway straightens and becomes perfectly flat. The terrain ahead is empty and desert-like. In the summer, you can see tumbleweed rolling on the side of the highway.

The opposite happens when driving west along I-90. At this overpass, the desert ends, and tall evergreen trees spring up on both sides of the highway. The engine revs as the car begins the climb into the mountains. We have left Eastern Washington behind on our way to Seattle.