If you read my previous post you’d know that we had an awful lot to do this morning so a late start goes without saying. Thanks to my slacking there were several nasty surprises. First and foremost was the GPS power cord. Over the last year the connector that plugs into the GPS had become corroded. I’d found some stuff to remove the corrosion previously, and it seemed to do the trick visually. However, after connecting it all back up today the stinking thing isn’t powering the GPS. With only about two hours of charge I had to hold off turning it on until I was definitely in uncertain territory late in the day. Second was my inability to send the route that I’d meticulously mapped out using the GPS software on my computer to the GPS device itself. Several family un-friendly words were uttered and I needed to wing it. Luckily it all ended up OK and I’m not dead.
After finally getting our ducks in a row we headed off for a late lunch at Chipotle in Issaquah. After eating the inaugural meal of the trip we headed up to US Route 2 and through Stevens Pass. This is my third time over the Cascades, and each time it is amazing. There were still large drifts of snow on the sides of the road. The temperature dropped easily by ten to fifteen degrees depending on which side of the mountain you’re counting from. I doubt that traversing mountain ranges will ever get old.
Speaking of woodland creatures, on our way down the eastern side of the Cascades they came out in force. The usual suspects reared their heads: deer, snakes, the free range cow (OK barely a woodland creature). The one that I swear we saw last year, but is yet again the focus of our sleuthing is a black bird with what appears to be white stripes on either side on the wings. Maybe after I’m done writing I’ll look it up.
The best parts of the trip today were:
- Rapids along Wenatchee River along US Route 2. It was swollen to the banks with powdery water from the snow melt. The amount of water coursing through the river made the rapids the most frothy I’d ever seen. A boiling cauldron would pale in comparison.
- WA Route 821 along the Yakima River in the canyon between Ellensburg and Selah. Talk about a serene ride. The winding road and train tracks following the course of the river.