Burns, OR - Olympia, WA: 406.8 miles, 9hrs 30min drive time

It's hard to really think about 9/11 as a defining event for me. Really, my generation has so many of them already - Columbine, the death of Princess Diana, the Persian Gulf war. 9/11 is a result, the effects of that result rippling throughout the national consciousness. But has it done good?

Driving from Burns back home, I couldn't help but think that 9/11 perfectly mirrored the current situation. We had to alter our route and return to Olympia a day early due to an emergency, the trip cut short due to events that need to be tended to. The same thing happened to thousands of lives five years ago, except that for many of them, everything simply ended. There was no recovery from it, simply grim acceptance. The survivors live on with the memories and the knowledge that what could have happened never will.

No, 9/11 isn't a defining event. It was a catastrophe, but it only marked the start of turmoil. It was a demonstration of thoughtlessness on the part of the United States and the evil that masterminded the event. 9/11 isn't really about remembering the dead any longer, though certainly, that's what today was used for for many families. It's about reminding the citizens of the United States about the need for revenge. It both is and isn't about patriotism and the flag: it is because it inspired in my generation a renewed sense of loyalty to the country, but it isn't because patriotism and the flag don't stand for war; patriotism and the flag are peace, a united nation that understands that in order to exist, we must cooperate and compromise.

I did see flags today, but none of them were at half mast. The sole flag we saw on our way out of Burns was raised fully, and the streets of Bend and Redmond were lined with flags mounted on long wooden poles - they weren't at half mast either. They stood as a symbol of our togetherness. They stood in memory as well, but overpoweringly, they were about reminding us about who we are.

Leaving Burns today, we checked in with the front desk to make sure that everything was clear with the room, when the desk person happened to mention that maintenance noticed a puddle underneath the car (apparently seconds after we pulled out of our parking spot). She suggested something might be leaking, which made us pull around back of the hotel again and check everything. There wasn't anything obvious, so we went to breakfast and let the car sit a bit - nothing then either, so hopefully everything's okay.

As we left Burns, we suddenly realized that the distance between towns in central Oregon might make it inadvisable to continue without refueling first. Turning around, we pulled into a truck stop, where I happened to notice that there wasn't any credit card reader on the pumps. Getting ready to pump, I went to turn the car off and open the driver's door before I noticed the guy standing outside the window looking in. Ah, yes - Oregon's one of the two states nationwide that makes fueling your own car illegal!

After a refuel, we continued our travels west along Highway 20. The moon was out, which added to the scenic nature of the drive. The entire stretch of Highway 20 between Burns and Bend is basically all desert or farmland, with some very small abandoned-looking communities sprinkled lightly along the road.

Arriving in Bend is a little bit of a shock, since the transition between having nobody around to having a major community you're driving through is somewhat sudden (though not by any means abrupt). Coming into Bend, Amanda got a phone call that required us to do some rerouting over lunch. We wandered around a city block in Bend looking for lunch, only to settle at a place about two hundred feet from the car: Casey's on Northwest Bond. These guys have an amazing dill ranch dip that goes really, really well with fries - apparently made from scratch in-house.

We diverted north from here along Highway 97, then across to Highway 26. Now, Highway 26 happens to have a lot of construction on it, which is normal for this time of year. Thus, when we saw "Road Work Ahead" and "Flagger Ahead" signs, we didn't think much of it.

A mile later, there was still no flagger or road work.

A mile later, there was a "End Road Work" sign.

Two seconds later was a "Road Work Ahead" sign. Someone didn't look back a few hundred feet at the sign that was there before, obviously.

Two miles later was a "Flagger Ahead" sign.

A mile after that was another "Flagger Ahead" sign. I started to think that the Oregon Department of Transportation was just one big tease.

Ah, but no! Shortly after that was the line of cars backed up because of the flagger. Finally, after four or five miles of signs was the actual work!

Alas, because of said backup, we got to experience the ever-welcome phenomenon of "stuck-behind-an-RV-itis". This is when the RV's rear end is all you see as you go at slow speeds, either through construction zones or otherwise. They could at least put tasteful murals or something on the back of these big, ugly bricks on wheels.

From there, we went on to Interstate 84, bypassing Portland via Interstate 205, and then driving into Olympia along Interstate 5. I found myself missing the view of the old nuclear reactor towers near Kalama, which were imploded a few months ago.

Really, life on 9/11 isn't all that different from any other day - life goes on. Things have changed, for sure, but the question of what happens as a result of those changes still remains to be seen. It's the fifth anniversary, but we still don't know where we're going, or, really, why.