Leaving our daughter Emily's place on Bainbridge Island on Tuesday we were to follow a special route to Yakima in eastern Washington, a route that would take us close by Mount Rainier, the iconic volcanic mound rising from nowhere to tower over the area south and east of Seattle. Ron was doing the navigating and he lost the waypoints Emily had given us. Ever resourceful, this Navy veteran got out the maps for the area and plotted a course that ran just north and east of Rainier, or so he thought. As we got to our third waypoint, just west of Rainier, Emily called to check in on progress and quickly concluded that we were on a road whose pass around Rainier had not yet opened. And when Ron checked, he confirmed that we couldn't get though on this route. Now we were well committed and our only option was to turn around ( a tricky feat on the narrow highway, although we had already wondered why we hadn't seen any cars for a while.) We turned and backtracked, then headed north to pick up the less scenic but much safer interstate that took a more direct route to Yakima. We were able to reach Yakima before dark, though not without some lamenting from driver Sally about how could we have missed Rainier.
Yakima is a well kept agricultural city, the gateway to the vast farming area in eastern Washington noted for apples, vineyards, and acres and acres of rolling wheat fields.
Note that the wheat is slow developing this year owing to the unseasonably cold and wet Spring all across the Northwest. We have seen and felt the cold through much of our trip. Fortunately our Airstream has a terrific heater which has seen much use. We were surprised by the rolling hills in this area, and were impressed by the seemingly impossible tilts, valleys, and mounds farmers had to negotiate to plant and harvest their crops. There was something reassuring about the miles and miles of fertile ground between Yakima and Moscow, ID. It was also pastorally beautiful and serene.
The topography changed dramatically as we moved toward our next destination, ending the day in the lovely mountains surrounding Coeur D'Alene, Idaho. Coeur D'Alene is defined by its large and beautiful lake. It is our entrance to a couple of weeks in the Rockies that will involve golf, hiking, a bit of fishing ( we are early in the season and many streams are in full run off mode, making most fishing impractical), and exploring Yellowstone with dear friends who live in Big Sky, Montana. As you can see we did play the Coeur D'Alene Resort Golf Course, famous for its floating green. Sally's shot in this picture was safely on ( though it was her second chance ). Note: if you check out our golfer photos, you may detect layers upon layers of clothing: rain jackets, vests, and long pants; we have yet to wear golf shirts and shorts which we have in abundant supply, but we're hopeful...
Circling Raven was the course we tackled today with plans to hike tomorrow, weather permitting, and then set out for Montana!
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