The drive from Spokane to Portland is like driving through the armpit of America -- ugly and stinking hot. It even geographically mirrors the armpit area on a map.
You know you're in armpit country when there isn't a single rest stop for 150km stretches. We brought a potty just so we can survive this stretch.
Another sign? When you do pass some sign of life, the local model has a permanently painted Vacancy sign on its sign. Yikes.
There is nothing that anyone would want to make a pitstop for between Spokane and Pasco, and between Pasco and The Dalles. If you don't have kids, you can push through in 5 hours but with kids, you might want to stay a night at the Pasco Holiday Inn Express. It has great air-conditioning and the pool is warm enough for a 7 week old baby to sleep in. The next day we unleashed the kids at the Boardman park, which is 1hr closer to Portland and the last potty you will find for the next 2 hours. It has nice trees, playgrounds, clean facilities, and lots of sprinklers to run through if you're lucky!
