May 6 - 8, 2024 New Inverter and Preparations

On Monday, May 6th, we left our family and headed south.  The weather was rainy and "crappy".  We pulled into the Puyallup Elks, dumped our tanks and settled in.

After setting up we did do a check on where we needed to be tomorrow and just hung out.

Miles Traveled: 61 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Washington:  WA-9; WA-522; I-405; WA-167; WA-410; Main Avenue

On Tuesday, May 7th, we made our way to Infinity Coach in Sumner, Washington.  If you have been following, we have had issues with our inverter/charger for a while now.  Last month, it really gave us problems and we knew we needed something new.  I am not going to give you the details but we found Infinity Coach and made an appointment...over a month ago.

So today we arrived and there was not a record of our appointment BUT...the folks that we talked with do remember our situation and they did our assessment.  Honestly, I figured that we would have to wait a week or so but they did it that day!!!  WOW! 

Have to give a shout out to the young lady who did all our work.  I am always excited when I see young women in a field that typically were all men.  Good for you.

We spent some time talking with the owner, Jim, about his parents, the business and RVing.  What a great guy and we HIGHLY RECOMMEND if you have any problems with your RV.

We ended up back at the Elks later that day and decided that we would stay here another night or two - just to be sure everything worked.

Happy Anniversary to us - 36 years!  No we did not do anything special but that was okay.  

On Wednesday, we both did some chores around the motorhome and truck, phone calls, some future planning, etc.  

I did a grocery run and saw that "the mountain was out"!  Coming home, I called Andy and said "put your shoes on, lock the motorhome, and I will pick you up - we are going for pictures"!

Our spot at the Elks:

Me, coming in to pick him up:

Mount Rainer in all its glory!

It almost looks fake, doesn't it.

It is a nice weather day when the mountain is out.  The local news will say "Great weather today, the mountain is out."  Remember, this is the Pacific Northwest, where there is lots of clouds and rain.

But when you have a clear day, the view is SPECTACULAR!

Tomorrow we head north so stay tuned and enjoy today.

May 3 - 5, 2024 Spending Time with Family

On May 3rd, 2024, we left our spot in Richland and headed west.

Wineries and Vineyards that went for miles:

The hill folds were caused by the Ice Age Floods.  Just heard about them yesterday so I need to check it out when we come back.  But imagine this - 1200' of water here and they figure it happened over 40 times.  Wow!  That is also why the soil is so rich.

Lots of farming:

Check out that mountain in the background:

Many rivers and lakes:

Nice roads - wonder where they go:

Going up:

And heading down:

WOW! Pictures do not do this justice:

An animal bridge!!!

Heading up to Snoqualmie Pass: 

Coming down the other side:

Spring!

Coming into the city - Yikees!

We made it to our daughter's place and spent the next few days getting caught up.  It was so great to see everyone.  Thank you Sandy and Mike.  We will see you on the way back.

We did take some time to get some pictures.

Love this picture of Mike's Mom, Sandy, and me.  We were laughing at something.

For years we got together with her and Raul in Yuma and had lots of laughs!  We figured it was 8 years since we saw each other.  I was off the road for a while and now she is off the road.  It was good to see her.

All of us:

The Grands:

The Great-Grands:

What a wonderful time!

Stats for May 3rd:

Miles Traveled: 242 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Washington: Columbia Park Trail; I-182, I-82; I-90; I-405; WA-522;  WA-9

Tomorrow we head south before we head north so stay tuned!

October 5 – 6. 2022 Travel to Oregon

We pulled out after much hugs and headed south.  I have to say this area of the country is one traffic jam after another and one city after another – oh my!

Further south on I-5.. this is where the mud flow came thru when Mt. St. Helen’s erupted:

Crossing the Columbia River – FYI – This was the end of Lewis and Clark’s journey:

 

Into Oregon:

Check this out..  THREE trailers – Oh My!:

We arrived at the Keiser Elks, set up, and had dinner and drinks at the Lodge.  I did not remember until we pulled in but we were here in 2014 with our friends Sue and Bruce.

It is a great lodge with 41 FHU sites!  Nice!

Miles Traveled: 260 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Washington:  WA-9; WA-522; I-405; I-5; I-205

Oregon: I-205; I-5; OR 99E; Cherry Avenue NE

October 6th was a paperwork, phone calls, laundry, etc. kind of day.  You know, the things you need to take care of every now and then.  We finished the day with a great supper at the lodge.

Tomorrow we head south so stay tuned and enjoy today..

 

September 29 – October 4, 2022 Time with Family and Friends

(Note: This will be short..  Because this is a travel blog, I do not do a lot of personal “stuff”.  So it is an update.)

This last week has been wonderful for us.  We got to spend time with our daughter’s family and met some new great grandkids.  We didn’t get to take all the pictures we wanted to but it is okay.

Andy with Sandy and Mike and the new puppy”":

Our grandson, Rick and his daughters:

We had great visits but did not get pictures with Chelsea, Kristy, and Katie and her daughter and son.    Hopefully next time.

Our grand puppy, Shadow:

Rick’s cat..  I think this was Mickey – he was fascinated with my cats but would not get too close – LOL:

Shadow wanting to make friends with my kitties:

We were able to spend some time with extended family and that was wonderful.  Did not get to see everyone but that is okay too.

We also were able to get some things done around the motorhome so that was good.  Plus we really did enjoy the downtime.

Today, 4th, we reconnected with folks we met at Glacier National Park many years again and would see in Yuma when we were there.  Ron and Bonnie, thank you for the great afternoon.  Sorry I did not take pictures.

So tomorrow we head south.  Stay tuned and enjoy today.

September 28, 2022 Travel to Lake Stevens Washington

(Note and FYI:  Many of the travel pictures that I take are done at 60-70 mph out the front windshield or the side window in a very bouncy truck.  Some/many may not have clarity, however, I post them for me and for you so I can record what that part of the country looks like and for my memory.)

Another beautiful day in the Northwest.  We headed north into wine country.  There were vineyards and wineries for miles:

The vineyards were everywhere:

That black on the hill is the site of a recent fire that went for miles:

More vineyards:

We left the valley and headed into the hills:

Lots of climb and lots of downhill with beautiful views of the valley – yes that is smoke:

A wildlife bridge – how cool:

Going up Snoqualmie Pass:

Now going down:

In 2008, we went over this pass in a snowstorm – it was scary!  It was a little cloudy and rainy today and did not seem as long as it did in 2008. LOL!

Off the mountain into the I-5 cities corridor – Yikees!

We arrived at our daughter’s and will be here for a week visiting all the family.  I will post when we leave to head south so until then – enjoy today!

Miles Traveled: 257 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Washington:Christy Road; Plymouth Road; WA-14; I-82; I-90; I-405; I-5; US-2; WA-204; WA-09