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Our route today

I think our coach sat in one place in Spokane for 40 days and never so much as moved an inch.  We both loved spending time with my sister and her family,  and my mother, but.....but the whole point of our life style is changing our view on a regular basis.  Now, don't get me wrong.....the view we had at my sister's home is one I never get tired of, and we will return again and again to that view, but it's high time we saw some scenery we had never seen before.  

Close to 5,000'

Our original plan was to head over to the coast via State Highway 2, but after visiting with friends in Spokane, we decided to deviate from Highway 2 around Wilbur and head north into the Methow Valley, and then into the Cascades on Highway 20, ending in Coupeville, WA on Whidbey island.  We were going to take 3 days to do the 368 miles, but everywhere west of the Cascades it was going to be close to 100 today, and in the high 90's Tuesday, so we decided to push 278 miles today to Marblemount, WA where the temperature forecast was in the 80's.  

Chief Joseph Dam

Ross Lake high in the Cascades

We were told by our friends that the views were spectacular, and, indeed they were.  It's hard to take pictures and have them really capture the beauty, and the  scope of what our eyes are seeing.  This part of Washington is know as the "American Alps", and it is breath taking.

Our lowest point on the trip today was at Grand Coulee Dam where we hit around 900' elevation....down from 2500' in Spokane.  From Grand Coulee Dam we climbed steadily up to 5,477' elevation at Washington Pass....the last 6 miles at about 8-9% grade.  For the first time  on this trip we had to pull over twice to cool the Detroit Diesel down.  We were crawling along at about 30mph much of the time.  This climb reminded me of the climb over Wolf Creek Pass in Colorado when we went to the Newell mini-ralley in Creede, CO.  There were water falls everywhere.....many coming right down to the highway, and flowing under it......like I said.....SPECTACULAR!  We stopped for a while at an overlook at Ross Lake (a reservoir).  The plaque at the turnout was devoted to Jack  Kerouac who apparently spent a lot of time in this area, and specifically living in the 50's on Desolation Peak (visible in the picture above) working as a fire watcher for the National Parks Service, where he wrote some of his prose.  On the plaque was a quote from one of Jack's books, Desolation Angels which touched me:

"I had to wait and get to see the face of reality – and it finally comes… it comes in these words: “The void is not disturbed by any kind of ups or downs, my God look at Hozomeen, is he worried or tearful?... Why should I choose to be bitter or sweet, he does neither? – Why cant I be like Hozomeen and O Platitude O hoary old platitude of the bourgeois mind ‘take life as it comes’… All I have to do is wait 30 long days to get down from the rock and see sweet life again – knowing it’s neither sweet nor bitter but just what it is, and so it is."

Mt. Hozomeen

After we crossed Rainy Pass it was mostly downhill for 30 miles as we passed reservoirs and lakes, and drove along many large rivers....the Columbia, Methow, Okanogan, etc.

The lovely Elaine

Around 4pm we arrived in Marblemount at Alpine RV Park, a Passport America park, where we paid $10 for full hookups, including 50amp electric!  The coach handled well all day, and even though it got hot, it did not overheat.

We are only 75 miles from Coupeville, so we could arrive there tomorrow, or just hang out here one more day and enjoy the alpine scenery.  That's what I love about what we are doing....we are just plain making it up as we go....day by day.  We, again, made no reservations....here it is the middle of July and we just drive into an RV park unannounced and snag a great spot.


It has been a great day of travel........