Oregon to Washington

The trip from Malheur to Bellingham took two days. The first day we left M at 9am, had lunch and shopped at Costco in Bend and drove as far as Brooks Memorial State Park which is in the mountains about 20 miles north of the Columbia River on Hwy 97. Many wildfires had been burning in the area so it was smoking from Bend to there. It was 100 as we crossed the river but it did decrease to 95 by the time we stopped. However, by the time we were set up and R was inside with the A/C running, it had cooled down considerably. The next day dawned clear and bright and off we went; through the Yakima Valley and up over the mountains to the north. Then through the valley and Ellensburg and up and over the mountains to its north.

The next stop was Leavenworth, a very pictureques town nestled in a narrow valley with mountains all around. It looks very much like the Bavarian village that is its theme. Parking for an RV is limited to a lot on the west edge of town so we did not get to explore the downtown area. Next time maybe. So after lunch at a place called Rudloofs Pizza and Dogs, we motored west on Hwy 2 up and over Stevens Pass. It was long tedious stop and go adventure passing through Monroe because the Evergreen State Fair was happening. As we climbed up Stevens Pass, we encountered clouds and rain by the time we reached the summit and it was wet until we passed Monroe. But as we neared I-5 the clouds broke up and the pavement was dry as we turned north. Our destination was Bellingham an hour north. We took the appropriate exit and pulled into a parking lot so that we could have supper before looking up our relatives. We were a day early so we did not want to ariive early and say, "What's for supper?"

After parking, I took the girls for a walk and, on the way back to the rig, I noticed that one of the tires on the trailer was flat. Not low, but flat. How long it had been, I don't know. We had stopped at a rest area less than an hour ago and thigns were ok, but there it was. Luckily, across the street was a Discount Tire Store. I hurried across the street because it was 5:45 hoping that they were still open. They were and so I went around the blockk again and pulled the rig behind the store. The store was closing at 6pm, but stayed open to take care of us. The tire was damaged beyond repair and looking at the other tires, another was well worn. I had replaced one tire before we went south, so we ended up replacing the other three. With all the mountain driving we did that day on two lane highways I have to believe that Someone was looking out for us.