Last Day On The Road

Tuesday the 14th

Today is the last day of our road trip. We got up around 7:00 AM to another beautiful day in Eastern Washington. Emma slept in while Tina and I got things packed up and ready to go.

We finally got on the road around 10:00 AM and headed west towards the Columbia River. Not a lot of traffic as we passed the Gorge at George and dropped down off the central plateau to the Columbia River. Crossing the river we got off the freeway at Vantage and drove up to the Ginko Petrified Forest for a short hike (http://iceagefloods.blogspot.com/2008/12/ginkgo-petrified-forest-sp-part-i.html). There is a large parking area with a well developed set of trails that make the petrified trees and petroglyphs accessible.

We stayed on the paved portion of the trail since we weren't really prepared to do any serious hiking and it was a good thing too. As we headed back to the coach I suggested looking at one more specimen that was just uphill from the main trail.

Since we had the dogs with us they were sniffing their way along the trail scouting all sorts of small critters. Suddenly, Emma jerked Wicket back from a boulder and said, "Snake!" Sure enough, partly covered by a rock, there was a Western Rattlesnake. Surprise!! Tina took a picture to send to Marni and we left the snake to his peace and quiet. That was enough excitement for the day!!

Getting back in the coach we returned to Vantage and get on I-90 for the ten mile hill up from the river to the eastern ridge of the Ellensburg valley. With the engine running about 3,800 rpm in 4th, we cruised up the hill at a steady 55 mph all the way to the top. I'm glad we had the "Banks Power Pack" installed when we bought the coach, it makes pulling hills much easier, especially towing the car.

We made our first stop in Ellensburg to get gas only to find road construction in town. We finally wound our way through to where we could get the rig turned around and headed back to I-90. A few miles later we were able to pull off and get gas with no problems.

Next we had to stop at the "Thorp" fruit stand for some cherrys and watermelons. Thirty minutes later after exploring the antiques and other goodies we got back out to the coach, put everything away and hopped back on I-90 for the run to Snoqualmie Pass. Reaching the summit we stopped for lunch and to take the kids for a walk. East of the mountains was full sunlight while ahead of us on the west side of the pass was a thick cloud bank. Surprisingly though, as we headed into Western Washington, the clouds went away and it became a beautiful day. We got off I-90 and onto I-18 for the run up Tiger Mountain before dropping into Hobart and eventually getting off in Covington to drop Emma off at her home.

We stayed overnight at Marni and Darrens home, then made the drive Federal Way where we stopped to look at a 2005 Fleetwood Expedition, 38N. This is the coach model we will probably buy next year to continue our travels. From there we jumped on I-5 for the short drive to Tina's Moms house in Lakewood where we plan to visit for a few days before heading back to Whidbey Island. We started our road trip from Lakewood and we ended it eight months later in Lakewood.

It has been a very enjoyable trip and looks like we might just get a bigger unit so we can spend more time exploring our beautiful country. If anyone is interested, our coach is for sale (with tow car) for $45,500. We are planning our next trip with our friends Don and Diane to drive to Yellowstone from LA with stops at Zion, Bryce, Cedar Breaks and the Grand Canyon.

To see all our photos click on the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Distance for this leg of the trip, 178 miles. Total for the trip, 10,228 miles.

Until next time, may your travels be fun and interesting!!

Best wishes,

Mike and Tina

Moses Lake

Thursday the 9th

We left Coeur d'Alene around 10:00 AM and jumped on I-90 headed for Moses Lake. The drive to Suncrest Resort was uneventful and boring. Dry, dusty and with periodic wheat fields and cattle. But, also beautiful in its own way.

We got to Suncrest (http://www.suncrestresort.com/), set up the coach and headed for town to get some lunch and groceries. After our brief excursion we went down to the pool and spent the rest of the day relaxing in the shade of some poolside trees.

To see all of our photos, click on the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Distance for this leg, 143 miles. Total for the trip so far, 10,050 miles.

Friday the 10th

Up early to a beautiful morning, we got ready to go to Ellensburg to meet Marni and Emma. We got to the Rodeo City BBQ around 11:30 and had lunch with the girls before heading back to Moses Lake. We made one stop at the Wild Horses Monument (http://www.pbase.com/ericnoel/wild_horses) on the bluff above the Columbia gorge before continuing on to our campsite.

The rest of the day was spent poolside.

Saturday and Sunday

Get up, eat, go to pool, have lunch, return to pool, have dinner, return to pool have fun, fun, fun!!!

Monday the 13th

Everybody slept late this morning. Huge thunderstorms with lots of rain kept the dogs awake for hours. Eventually we got up and had breakfast, walked the dogs then Tina and Emma headed off to the local waterpark (http://www.tourgrantcounty.com/index.php?page_id=229) for a few hours while I stayed home and updated the blog.

Coeur d'Alene

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday

We are enjoying our stay here in Coeur d'Alene. This is a beautiful area and the city has been nicely set up on the side of the lake without being dominated by the resorts.

We spent time driving around the area and walking downtown and along the waterfront in the City Park. I saw some really well designed Townhomes (photos available) which had their garages in back http://www.iceplantcda.com/iceplant-townhomes.html. Also in the City Park were substantial playground structure for kids and nice facilities for concerts including a band shell (photos available). We had lunch downtown on Monday then took the rest of the afternoon off.

Tuesday, Tina had scheduled a massage for after lunch, so we planned to do a Lake Cruise and dinner at "Tito Macaroni's" for later. The lake tour was about ninety minutes and covered the upper third of the lake. We learned about early history of the area with silver mining as the primary reason for development. there are many beautiful homes along the lakeshore but most aren't intrusive and their impact on the landscape is muted. We really enjoyed the warm, slow afternoon waltz around the lake. Dinner at Tito's was very nice. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and reading.

Wednesday was a slow morning. We had some pretty severe thunderstorms during the night so Tina and the kids didn't get a lot of sleep. Later this morning Tina went for a pedicure and then, after lunch, we went for a short bike ride on the Centennial Trail.

To see all our photos, click on the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Travel To Couer d'Alene

Sunday the 5th

Well... we got up to another beautiful day. Slept in til 8:00 AM since the dogs were up until 1:30 AM with all the fireworks. We had a relaxed morning, watching the Wimbledon men's final and taking our time to get going. Before we left we filled the propane tank, 2.80/gal - not bad and hit the road around 10:00 AM.

Traffic was very light as we cruised down the highway. We stopped in Missoula for gas and a Starbucks "Iced Mocha", then it was back on I-90. Just past noon I suggested we might want to find a place to pull off where we can stop for lunch. Fortunately we came to an exit that said "Frontage Road" about 12 miles east of Superior. So off we went, driving on a small narrow two lane road parallel to the freeway, but through the hills along the north side of the Clark Fork river.

About five miles later we found a pullout above the river that was relatively flat so I pulled off the road and we had our lunch, Ham & Cheese (Jalapeno Cheddar) sandwiches. While we ate we watched a group of young people walking along the other side of the river exploring, so we got lunch and a show - heh, heh. After lunch Tina took the kids for a walk and I took some photos of our lunch stop and the river.

Continuing our drive along the river we came to the town of Superior, turned left to cross the bridge over the river and got back on I-90. Our plan was to go to St Reggis about 30 miles east of the Montana/Idaho border, but after some discussion, Tina suggested we go to Couer d'Alene in Idaho instead. By putting in the extra miles we could stay there for four nights and be able to explore the area, something we've wanted to do for years.

Driving through the Cordillera Mountains we encountered several construction zones so the driving became much more intense as we twisted and turned our way up and down through the hills and valleys. We passed several mining operations, one was a big open pit mine which scarred the hillside next to the freeway. Eventually we crossed the Idaho border came down out of the mountains into the Coeur d'Alene Valley. It's very pretty driving along the lake, we finally got to ID-95 and turned south to the Blackwell Island RV Campground which is on the Spokane River at the north end of the lake.

We got set up and Tina adjusted our clocks back to Pacific time. We took the rest of the afternoon off.

To see all of today's photos, click on the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Distance for today's leg, 246 miles. Total for the trip so far, 9,907 miles.

Travel To Deer Lodge

Saturday the 4th - Happy Independence Day!!

We're still in Montana for tonight and tomorrow. We drove to Deer Lodge today, a distance of about 122 miles. Tomorrow we go another 153 miles to St Reggis for a night, then we push on through to Cheney, WA for a night before making camp for a week in Moses Lake where we will have our granddaughter, Emma for a week before heading home.

No photos today.

Distance for the trip so far, 9,664 miles.

Bozeman Two

Friday the 3rd

Another beautiful morning, about 60 degrees out with high clouds. The forecast was for possible thunderstorms so we decided to just hang out and do a few chores and laundry. Later in the afternoon we did experience a sudden downpour but it only lasted about twenty minutes then the sun came back out and it was nice the rest of the day.

No photos today.

Bozeman

Thursday the 2nd

We’ve been having a real string of nice days and today is another one. We are just south east of town up in the hills at the entrance to Bear Canyon so we have a great view in every direction. From gently rolling farmlands, to steeply wooded hills and up into the mountain passes towards Bridger Basin Ski area.

As usual, Punky was up at 5:45 AM to greet the morning sun and birds, but Tina managed to convince her it was still not time to get up so we were able to sneak in another hour of sleep before I had to get up and take the kids for their morning walk. When I got back to the coach Tina was fixing Blueberry Pancakes for breakfast. Yum!!

We spent the morning and early afternoon relaxing, watching Wimbleton matches on TV and reading. Around 2:30 PM we drove into Bozeman to the Baxter Hotel where Steve Shope, Richard Rhydes son, was going to meet us. We met up with Steve in the lobby and proceeded to tour downtown Bozeman. Since Steve has been here all his life he knows a lot about the town and was constantly greeting people he knew, both on the sidewalk and in the shops.

About 4:30 PM Steve got a call from his wife Debbie. She was going to meet us at the Western Art Gallery. Once Deb arrived, the girls moved off on their own to do a little shopping while Steve and I talked about community development and planning issues facing small communities. Every now and then we’d catch up with the girls to see if they had any new acquisitions – heh, heh.

As 6:00 PM neared we moved back towards the Baxter Hotel for dinner at “Ted’s” a very casual spot but well regarded. Steve, Deb and I had really juicy Buffalo burgers while Tina had Buffalo Meatloaf. Everything was exceptionally good! After dinner Tina and I drove home to feed the kids and walk them before heading over to Steve and Deb’s house. We were only about three miles apart, very convenient.

We got to continue our visit while Deb fixed tea and a special desert, “Fudge Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream and Plum Compote” poured over the whole thing. Really Yummy!! About 9:00 PM we thanked Deb and Steve for a wonderful afternoon and evening then headed home. The sunset this evening was spectacular!

To see all our photos, click on the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Travel In Montana

Tuesday the 30th

Another gorgeous day. Not much to report. Traveled to Billings from Buffalo, long drive, very little traffic. Once past Moorecroft we stayed on I-90 all the way. Beautiful country with all the green fields and pastures.

Very brief (15 minutes) thunderstorm just before dinner, severall branches fell on or around the coach - no damage though.

Distance for this leg, 167 miles. Total for the trip so far, 9,398 miles.


Wednesday, July 1st

What can I say, another simply stunning morning. Punky let us sleep in until 8:00 AM. After breakfast, cleanup and washing the bugs off the windshield we hit the road following I-90 into Bozeman where we are staying at the Bear Canyon Campground, just outside of town. Nice drive, very little traffic.

Once we got settled and had lunch we spent the afternoon relaxing and reading in the gentle mountain sunshine. Had a call from Steve Shope, Richard Rhydes son, we plan on getting together sometime tomorrow or the next day. Lots to do in the area.

To see our photos, click on:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Distance for this leg, 144 miles. Total for the trip so far, 9,542 miles.