We found a brief dry period on our way north on US-97 north of Madras.

Rosie curled up in the kitty cup for some of the drive.

Hundreds of wind turbines line the horizon looking toward the Columbia River Gorge.

Columbia River Gorge at Biggs Junction looking east

Vineyards at Maryhill Winery, Goldendale, WA

Wind turbines line the highway in Goldendale

Toppenish, WA, looking east from U.S. 97

Mickey’s turn to ride in the kitty cup

Storm clouds build near Snoqualmie Pass

Blue sky and a nice sunset are a welcome change as we approach the junction of I-405 and I-5

In our slip in Anacortes Marina the next day, Phoenix looks great in the setting sun.

Time to head to the boat! It’s about a 9-hour drive from our house in Bend to our boat in Anacortes if we drive north through Yakima and then west over Snoqualmie Pass. We prefer going that way because we can avoid heavy truck traffic and backups on I-5, so that’s the way we came this time.

We tried to get on the road early in the day, but, as usual, it took longer than we expected to get the car loaded and close up the house, so we didn’t actually leave until 1 PM. The late start meant that our arrival in Anacortes was later than we’d like. Fortunately at this time of the year the days are long enough that it’s light until almost 10 PM, so it wasn’t completely dark when we got to the marina.

It was a stormy weather day for our drive. It was raining and hailing in Bend as we loaded the last of our stuff into the car, and we had a mixture of rain and sun for the entire drive. The worst part was from Snoqualmie Pass to Issaquah, where we encountered rain that was heavy enough to pool up on the road and cause some hydroplaning.

As we headed north through Kirkland on 405, the skies were clearing, and by the time we reached Everett and points north, we had clear skies. When we arrived at our marina, we felt lucky to arrive at high tide, making it easier to carry our things down the dock ramp to the boat.