Across the State of Washington.

So - here's the thing. I have referred to Washington as being full of surprises. We are halfway across the state; so far we have driven through barren, arid country; then into rural wheatlands; desert like country around the Grand Coulee Dam; wine country.  Now we are climbing into mountains; we will be going through the Cascade Range.

First though we cross the Columbia River. Like the Missouri River it is a vast river system.

The largest river in the Pacific Northwest of North America, the Columbia rises in British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into Washington and makes up most of the border between Washington and Oregon as it flows west to the Pacific Ocean.

By volume, the Columbia is the fourth largest river in the US. Its largest tributary is the Snake River.

The Columbia River is quite a sight as we drive through the hazy/smokey foothills of the Wenatchee Mountains and the Wenatchee National Forest.

We are taking the scenic route - from mile upon mile of irrigated wheat and corn fields, to barren scapes, to thickly forested mountains - all in one morning!

One of the road signs we come across in the mountains says - 'delay of 5 vehicles illegal - use turn outs.'

It works well if there are regular turnouts, which there are. Trevor isn't happy when we get a long line of traffic behind us - he is always careful to pull over when possible, which is not always the case with other drivers!

And then we arrive in Leavenworth. Unbelievable!! We are not expecting to find a Bavarian village in the middle of the Northern Cascade Range. We stay one night at the Icicle RV Park.


This is another small town economically affected by the relocation of the Great Northern Railroad. From the 1920's to 1962 Levenworth struggled. Then Project LIFE - Leavenworth Improvement For Everyone - transformed the city into a mock Bavarian village. The rest is history!

Have a look at the wonderful sights.

We have a beautiful drive to the coast. We set out with overcast skies and light rain. We are right in the mountains; the trees are starting to turn for Fall. It is glorious. We reach Stevens Pass at 4055ft. The sky is clearing and the sun coming out. After a steady climb through forest, the descent is steep. Small rivers and streams run alongside the highway; the water is so clear!



The forest is thick and lush. Are the trees Spruce or Douglas Fir?

As we approach Everett we find a Coffee Cabin. We are able to park on the side of the highway and I walk over for a coffee.

Then we are driving into Everett, the 7th largest city in the state and approximately 25 miles north of Seattle.
Everett is also home to Boeing's assembly plant for the 747,767,777 and the new 787 in the largest building in the world by volume at  3,300,000 cubic metres.


Although Everett is not a large city in the scheme of things - we have certainly driven in much larger - it is probably one of the largest we have driven in for quite a while.

We arrive on Friday afternoon which is not the best time to be driving in an unfamiliar city. Quickly we are in 6 lane traffic!


We settle into the Maple Grove RV Park; pick up a rental car for the weekend; have a nice meal at a seafood restaurant not far away.