MiFi 2200
Have MiFi – Will Travel
Part I: The North Cascades Highway
With the motor coach loaded and ready to go, we got an early start. We were eager to begin our vacation, ready to get away from the dull, gray, cloud-covered skies that had been present all week. Another motive for our early departure was cinnamon rolls for breakfast!
There’s a little restaurant called The Eatery just west of Marblemount on the North Cascades Highway where Tootsie Clark bakes fresh cinnamon rolls every morning. I wanted to be sure to get there before the buttery, sweet cinnamon rolls were all gone…
Feeling full after breakfast we smiled at each other, wiped our sticky fingers, and continued the drive up Highway 20.
Although we have traveled that route many times, the scenic beauty always inspires wonder and admiration that adjectives cannot describe.
Have you ever seen a lake the color of green jade? We stopped to marvel at the stunning overlook at Lake Diablo. The distinctive green color of the lake is caused by finely-ground rock dust suspended in the water which reflects the green of the forest.
Then we headed towards the passes over the Cascade Mountains, first Rainy Pass and then the highest – at 5,477 feet – Washington Pass. Next stop, Eastern Washington. Sunshine, blue skies and warm summer weather!
Liberty Bell, icon of the American Alps, towers above Washington Pass. (photo by Ken Wilcox)
From Highway 20 we turned south onto the Methow Valley Highway (Route 153). At the end of that road, where the Columbia and Methow Rivers meet, is the town of Pateros, WA.
Little wonder that Pateros has become a favorite spot to rest and refresh. The waterfront park, an oasis of soft grass and shade trees, is on the Columbia River. Perfect for boating, water-skiing, and jet skiing.
Storyboards placed along the walking trail give you a glimpse into the area’s colorful history.
I read about the Chinese miners who arrived in the 1860’s and were among the first settlers in this area. They came to pan for gold along the Columbia River and at the mouth of the Methow. The miners built the “China Ditch” that provided water for their work. Constructed by hand, the ditch was about six miles long. In later times, it was used for irrigating the local orchards.
Then I tried to imagine what it must have been like in the days of the sternwheelers. Until the arrival of the railroad, sternwheelers moved people and commerce up and down the rivers. During the spring runoff, the rapids boiled – making the passage even more challenging! At these times, cables were fastened to U-bolts in rocks on the riverbank and driven by a steam-powered deck winch, these cables pulled the boats through the churning rapids!
Our dog likes it here, too. She likes to take walks and check out the marmots that live in the rocks along the river bank.
We’ll spend a day or two here… reading, checking email, doing some work online – the MiFi connection is great here!
MiFi 2200 – Portable Wi-Fi
With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes, she shall have music MiFi
wherever she goes. ~To paraphrase the nursery rhyme. ~
Summertime came knocking on my door and beckoned me to follow. It didn’t take long to convince me of the soundness of the idea. After all, the summer of 2010 only happens once.
Since my husband and I both love to travel, I knew he would probably say something like, “So when are we leaving?” We’re both a little on the impulsive side. Could you tell?
Summer in the Northwest is a great time to be alive. The incredible beauty of pristine mountain meadows, a rainforest, cowboys and rodeos, concerts and fairs … so many WONDERFUL places to visit and pictures to take!
It is an absolutely glorious feeling to realize that there is nothing keeping you at home. Being self-employed, neither of us has to ask a boss for time off. So we decided to get the motor coach ready for a road trip.
Working when you please ~ from wherever you are ~ is one of the finest perks of mobile computing made possible by technology. And, having two laptops, we upgraded the AirCard® to our latest tech gadget, the MiFi 2200.
The MiFi 2200 is a tiny, portable modem that turns your personal space into a wireless Wi-Fi hotspot! Very impressive!
It’s hard to believe that such a remarkable modem can be packaged in a device as small as a stack of several credit cards. The Verizon MiFi is simple to use and allows us to connect both laptops to the internet at the same time.
You can use the MiFi in two modes: Wi-Fi or USB. In Wi-Fi mode you can connect as many as five Wi-Fi enabled devices at once. The MiFi can also be used with a USB connection if the battery (which should last for about four hours) runs out while in Wi-Fi mode. Charging the battery is as simple as connecting it to the computer’s USB port, so battery life is really not an issue.
With our internet on-the-go needs covered, I can take a break from work and go finish packing! I’ll leave you with this link to an excellent and detailed review of the MiFi 2200.
FREE Report!
Categories
Links
