Days 9 & 10: Osburn, ID – Kent, WA
Monday, October 26th - Our goal for today was to make it over Snoqualmie Pass in the North Cascade Mountain Range by 2pm. The first winter snow storm of the season was forecast for late afternoon that day. Any amount of snow over this pass can make it impassable. We set out to drive across the state of Washington by 8:30am and it rained most of the way past Spokane. Then the south wind that preceded the storm low pressure kicked up as we crossed the plains of Eastern Washington. So much that we felt like we could be blown off the road… similar to our episode in Wyoming… but this time it was from the port or left side of the motorhome. The motorhome has a very large slide out on the left side with an awning to keep snow, leaves, dirt from coming to the inside when it is retracted. The wind blew so hard that it unrolled the awning… like a big sail. It must have looked like a topsail on a square rigger. Drew was wondering why it had become so hard to drive until a woman pulled along side and pointed up to the awning. He had looked in the side mirror but couldn’t see anything. We pulled off the Interstate on to the shoulder… 18 wheelers flying by, 30-35 mph winds, rain and now Drew climbing up the ladder to the top of the motorhome to try to re-wind and secure the awning. Boy this RV-ing is FUN!
With the awning secure, we were back on the road and still fighting the wind. I continued to pull up the radar and wind gusts for the nearby towns we needed to travel through… hoping that we were going to be able to make it through the Snoqualmie Pass… time was of the essence. You could cut the tension with a knife. On top of it, we crossed the Columbia River Gorge near Vantage, Washington which is one of the most consistently windy places in the US and got hit by an extreme wind gust. Drew was glad he didn’t know the Gorge was coming… there goes another pair of underwear.
We drove through the Ellensburg valley, famous for apples and pears. We begin to climb the Cascade Mountains where the temperatures must be extreme in the winter and there are large cracks in the road and it’s very bumpy. Drew’s trusty co-pilot Lieutenant Riley does not like bumpy roads at all… only nice paved ones. We did notice that in almost every state we have traveled to date, there were major highway restoration projects with signs stating that stimulus money was being used for these improvements.
To make a long story short, we made it over the pass by 2pm. Later we learned that it began to snow heavily that afternoon and it continued to snow all night. We would have had to take a much longer route if we had missed the window… that was a close one. We dropped into Kent, Washington just south of Seattle where my Mom’s very young 80 year old baby brother, Don Lee, his wife Peggy and their 8 year old grandson Austin live. Don and Peggy have been raising their Grandson Austin since birth... he weighed 1 1/2 pounds... what a smart and sweet boy he is!!! He sure loves Brigit and Riley! Wonder when they are going to get a new doodle or poodle... they tried to kidnap B & R.
Monday, October 26th - Our goal for today was to make it over Snoqualmie Pass in the North Cascade Mountain Range by 2pm. The first winter snow storm of the season was forecast for late afternoon that day. Any amount of snow over this pass can make it impassable. We set out to drive across the state of Washington by 8:30am and it rained most of the way past Spokane. Then the south wind that preceded the storm low pressure kicked up as we crossed the plains of Eastern Washington. So much that we felt like we could be blown off the road… similar to our episode in Wyoming… but this time it was from the port or left side of the motorhome. The motorhome has a very large slide out on the left side with an awning to keep snow, leaves, dirt from coming to the inside when it is retracted. The wind blew so hard that it unrolled the awning… like a big sail. It must have looked like a topsail on a square rigger. Drew was wondering why it had become so hard to drive until a woman pulled along side and pointed up to the awning. He had looked in the side mirror but couldn’t see anything. We pulled off the Interstate on to the shoulder… 18 wheelers flying by, 30-35 mph winds, rain and now Drew climbing up the ladder to the top of the motorhome to try to re-wind and secure the awning. Boy this RV-ing is FUN!
With the awning secure, we were back on the road and still fighting the wind. I continued to pull up the radar and wind gusts for the nearby towns we needed to travel through… hoping that we were going to be able to make it through the Snoqualmie Pass… time was of the essence. You could cut the tension with a knife. On top of it, we crossed the Columbia River Gorge near Vantage, Washington which is one of the most consistently windy places in the US and got hit by an extreme wind gust. Drew was glad he didn’t know the Gorge was coming… there goes another pair of underwear.
We drove through the Ellensburg valley, famous for apples and pears. We begin to climb the Cascade Mountains where the temperatures must be extreme in the winter and there are large cracks in the road and it’s very bumpy. Drew’s trusty co-pilot Lieutenant Riley does not like bumpy roads at all… only nice paved ones. We did notice that in almost every state we have traveled to date, there were major highway restoration projects with signs stating that stimulus money was being used for these improvements.
To make a long story short, we made it over the pass by 2pm. Later we learned that it began to snow heavily that afternoon and it continued to snow all night. We would have had to take a much longer route if we had missed the window… that was a close one. We dropped into Kent, Washington just south of Seattle where my Mom’s very young 80 year old baby brother, Don Lee, his wife Peggy and their 8 year old grandson Austin live. Don and Peggy have been raising their Grandson Austin since birth... he weighed 1 1/2 pounds... what a smart and sweet boy he is!!! He sure loves Brigit and Riley! Wonder when they are going to get a new doodle or poodle... they tried to kidnap B & R.
We had only planned on spending one night at Uncle Don’s home but when we parked in their driveway and tried to put out the slide it got stuck and broke the controller. We would find out later it was because the awning got bent when it unrolled in the wind. That evening, a mechanic came to look at the RV but would not be able to fix it until the next day. So YEA, we got to spend two nights… I told Drew how much fun my Uncle Don is and we were so happy to get to spend more time with Peggy and get to know Austin. Lots of pictures, giggles and memories were shared.
So our trip to Kent, Washington from Osburn, Idaho was 353 miles... very beautiful but hard fought.
Photos: Drew and his co-pilot Riley, Group photos in front of the motor home and Austin's Halloween decorations, Austin eating Grandpa Don's famous whole grain blueberry pancakes and filling us in on the National news, weather and planning his future, Austin and the famous Brigit, Peggy & Maye, Don & Maye
So our trip to Kent, Washington from Osburn, Idaho was 353 miles... very beautiful but hard fought.
Photos: Drew and his co-pilot Riley, Group photos in front of the motor home and Austin's Halloween decorations, Austin eating Grandpa Don's famous whole grain blueberry pancakes and filling us in on the National news, weather and planning his future, Austin and the famous Brigit, Peggy & Maye, Don & Maye
Wow!! What an adventure. It sounds pretty scary, worse than crossing the tongue of the ocean in a rain storm!
ReplyDeleteStay safe and warm and dry. Please come home soon, the Florida Keys miss you!
So many Ritchies in one place...always a scary thing! ;) -- Jeff Halfaritchie Coombs
ReplyDeleteThis adventure has also had its share of challenges! Glad you've "weathered" them all. Maye looks so happy, even with the bruises. Love the family shots. The dogs look very smart in their raincoats.
ReplyDeleteHope the journey home is easy. We miss you!
You three (I mean 5...don't forget the doodles)are so adventurous! I am so glad you stopped at our house too. We were so happy to see you once again. You are too cute! We love you all. Safe travels back to the Keys! We miss you already. Drew, make sure you have plenty of clean unders for the trip home. Sounds like the way here was a little iffy! I am not jealous of that job of driving. We are glad you are protecting those two cute girls. God Bless!
ReplyDelete