#23 Butte, MT to Bremerton, WA

# 23 Butte, MT to Bremerton, WA

In the morning we deflated our air bed for our trip over the Rockies.  We viewed cows, sheep, llamas, and lots of horses.  This is definitely horse country!  Mount Rainier stood out against the sky in all its glory. 

I am a Northwest girl at heart who loves it where evergreen trees blanket the mountains and waterways flow near the roads.  I love the massive Columbia and scenic Willamette Rivers, as well as the Puget Sound and Pacific Ocean.  I can appreciate the uniqueness of the different landscapes we have seen, but “home” to me means snowcapped mountains, majestic evergreen trees and large bodies of water.  You feel a sense of contentment when you are “home” whatever that landscape may be for you.

More road construction work lay ahead. Derrille says the “end of road work” signs are just like the “deer” signs….they don’t really mean it.

The rocks along the road have returned to black…probably basalt. Signs remind truckers of tipping dangers.  Snow markers stick way up in the air to help guide snow plows in winter.  Chain up areas provide safe places to put on tire chains in bad weather. 

 Lots of curves with a few straight stretches take us through the mountains.

Interesting signs in Montana!

The 50,000 Silver Dollar Bar and Gift shop in Haugan, Montana.  Over the years this stop has grown to become a fantastic tourist stop!  We didn’t stop! But as you can see by the parking lot, lots of people have chosen to stop.

 At Montana's Exit 0, Lookout pass has an elevation of 4710 feet.  We pass exit 1 in Montana, and enter Idaho which is in the Pacific Time Zone. 

Runaway truck lanes show up every few miles in case a trucker’s brakes freeze up and s/he

loses control.  At 4^th of July Pass the elevation states 3069 feet.

Coeur d’Alene Lake has homes around it and on it. It is a destination for lots of people who enjoy this town and the lake.

Since it was still early in the day we opted not to stop in Spokane, but move on to Moses Lake. We did however make a fuel stop. BIG MISTAKE!  A better choice would have been filling up in Montana or even Idaho.  In Spokane our fuel price jumped 70 cents/gallon.  It costs us an additional $60 to fill up here.

Here are a few photos I took while passing through Spokane. Someday I would like to return and explore Spokane, where I was born.

We returned to the RV Park in Moses Lake where we started our trip.

Moses Lake to Bremerton

The next morning our travel just reversed our day 1 trip.  We passed the rural farms and ranches of Eastern Washington.

One difference between Canadian rural homes and American is most American rural homes also have a recreational vehicles parked next to the houses or outbuildings.  

More road work! Of course you wouldn't and couldn't get the work done under several feet of winter snow!

We headed into the Columbia Gorge at Vantage. From this side of the road you can see the river in the gorge.

And back across the bridge at Vantage.

This may give you a little perspective on the enormous size of the windmills. The are so big!

 MLW 5327 5328

Mount Rainier was out in all of its beauty here in Eastern Washington.

The Cascade Range peeked out here and there.

The rural countryside sat in the sun and the splendor of the mountain range beyond.

We headed up and over the Cascade Mountains.  Road crews are still working on the highway. We observed the progress that was made during the last month.

By the time we reached Mt. Rainier at Snoqualmie Pass the mountain was shrouded in fog.  We could barely see the car in front of us.

Fortunately the weather cleared a bit when we headed down the other side. The fog had retreated to the mountain tops and we could see the road.  By the time we got to the I-5 corridor we just had rain and lots of traffic.

We spent the next month in Bremerton dealing with the itty bitty cancer cells. I am clear and good to go.  The plan is to begin rescheduling the Newfoundland trip. Hopefully I can give you sights from there next summer, not my musing along the highways.  I hope you have enjoyed my thoughts on this tiny adventure.