- 4,822
- Concord, CA
- kylehnat
Nothing says "America" quite like Labor Day Weekend. Yes, after a summer of leaving work early for an "appointment" across town, coming down with "Friday Flu" a few times, and delaying that big project because Hawaii can't wait, we Americans like to take a day off to celebrate how hard we work. But what to do with that 3-day weekend? You must get the most out of it, because that pesky back-to-work Tuesday is coming up fast 
. Ah, screw it, I'm taking Tuesday off, too! Okay, so I've got a 4-day weekend now. What to do, what to do? You know what? I think it's time to severely depreciate my car once again!
All right, then--it's roadtrip time. But this is no piddly drive-all-day to grandma's house BS. This time, I decided to take a lap...of Washington. Though I'm a native of this fine state, much of it was uncharted territory to me. So, I plotted a course, 4-days and 1300 miles long. The inspiration? A single picture I found while wasting time on Google Earth (more on that later
).
Here's the track layout:
Day One:
Olympia to Tri-Cities: 344 miles, 7 hours 57 minutes
While this drive should only take 4 hours, it would involve an unpleasant trip across Snoqualmie Pass, which always clogs with semi-trucks and burning RV's on holiday weekends. It also involves a lot of freeway driving, which is the antithesis of roadtripping. Fortunately, I had a better plan.
Disclaimer: I know very well that my winshield is busted, and it makes me sad, but I wanted to wait to replace it until after I did this trip. New glass, rural highways, crumbling mountain cliffs, and 18-wheelers don't mix.
We don't need no stinkin' freeways when we got this!
However, my plan to sneak over White Pass undetected was derailed as I approached Packwood. Traffic stopped for what I assumed was a fatal collision or a stranded motorhome. After an hour of creeping along at walking pace, I saw the culprit. Apparently, Packwood (population 1050) has an annual swap meet on Labor Day Weekend. This means that everyone who lives within a 100-mile radius is wandering around "downtown" Packwood, snarling traffic on US-12. I was not impressed.
After that ugly scene, I started up the mountain slopes:
White Pass (not white in late-summer):
Just over the crest, some kick-butt scenery:
Into Eastern Washington, a stark contrast to the western half of the state:
Here's a top tip. If you want to find a fun road, look for one that runs along a river. If that river is in a canyon, even better, because it forces those lazy asphalt guys to follow the twists and turns of the water
. After reaching Yakima, I turned north into the Yakima River Canyon. Excellent.
We don't need no stinkin' freewa...Okay, I'll take I-82 the rest of the way to the Tri-Cities...I'm tired, and I don't want to miss Wheel Of Fortune tonight.
Yakima, with Mt. Adams in the background (and an ugly big-rig in the foreground):
The Tri-Cities (Richland, Kennewick, Pasco) are situated at the confluence of the Columbia and Snake rivers, so there are bridges going everywhere:
Just east of Pasco is Sacajawea State Park:
The sun sets on Day One:
Day Two:
Tri-Cities to Spokane: 374 miles, 8 hours 12 minutes
Morning...off into the vast nothing!
I mentioned up above that the inspiration for this whole trip was a single picture on Google Earth...of Palouse Falls. I like the allure of a stunning sight which is in the middle of nowhere and a bit tricky to get to. After driving about 90 minutes without seeing another person or building, I reached the park entrance, which is a tiny sign pointed at a dirt road.
Dirt-tracking! I looked just like Steve Kinser, apart from the fact I was pointed straight and driving 10 mph in a lowered, obnoxiously loud rice-burner.
After two miles of that gravelly nonsense, I arrived at the park and got my first glimpse of the falls:
These are called "basalt fissures", but I think "butte cracks" is better:
Just south of Palouse Falls is Lyon's Ferry. There used to be a state park there, but now it's a city park or something, and they charge money to enter. No thanks. I'll just get a crappy shot of the railway bridge through my cracked winshield and be on my way:
Cruisin' back north:
One of the things I did not consider very well before I left home was that rural highways don't have 4-star rest areas. Or any rest areas at all. Planning "breaks" is tricky business. Sure, a guy can stop on the side of the road and let loose into the farmlands, but that asparagus you're peeing on might very well be the same asparagus you eat with dinner two weeks later. Plus, some of those farmers are insane, and they have pitchforks. At this point in the day, it was starting to hurt. I did have a contingency plan:
Then, like an oasis appearing to a thirsty camel, this savior emerged from the desert in Othello:
I don't like Walmart, but they do have nice clean restrooms, and no surly gas station manager as the gatekeeper. You also learn a few new Spanish words every visit, too!
Just north of Moses Lake is Grant County Int'l Airport (yes there is an airport in that shot). The only reason I mention that is because it is an alternate landing site for the space shuttle, and the military uses it for testing experimental aircraft:
The next leg of the journey was to Dry Falls and then on to the Grand Coulee Dam. Absolutely gorgeous drive along WA-17 and WA-155.
Get the 🤬 out of my way!
Motoring bliss:
I stopped at Sun Lakes State Park to have lunch:
Just up the road from there is Dry Falls. This used to be a huge waterfall, but it dried up in 1994, coinciding with the start of America's love affair with SUV's. Thanks a lot, soccermom! Lol j/k ntrly
. It was a prehistoric waterfall, which would have been awesome to see, aside from the fact it was flooding the land and drowning every living thing within miles:
On the road to Grand Coulee:
As I approached Electric City, I was balked by an SUV from Michigan plodding along at 58 mph (limit 60). At the city limits, the speed limit drops to 35. City cops in rural towns love to enforce that kind of thing. Sure enough, my trusty V1 lit up like a Christmas tree as we entered a blind curve. Mr. Michigan didn't bother to slow down, and as I came around the bend, a friendly officer was turning around to give the SUV a friendly "hello". By "hello", I mean "speeding ticket", and the officer probably wasn't friendly about someone driving 50+ through his town. Lesson learned: if you're going to do the speed limit, do it EVERYWHERE, not just when you have the opportunity to hold someone up. That made my day.
The Grand Coulee Dam really is impressive. It's dam big. Very difficult to capture the grandeur in one picture, but it certainly is an engineering marvel:
Lastly, into Spokane for the night:
Day Three:
Spokane to Omak: 345 miles, 7 hours 27 minutes
The great thing about a roadtrip is that it can be changed constantly. I had no intention of visiting my next destination until the night before. Again, looking at Google Maps, I saw Steptoe Butte, an hour south of Spokane.
Let's go!
Unfortunately, this put me a bit into enemy territory. Time to fly my U-Dub flag loud and proud.
Where am I going? Probably to that cool-looking thing in the distance:
Steptoe Butte rises about 1500 feet above the surrounding farmland, and offers a stunning 360-degree view. Again, difficult to capture in pictures, but trust me, it's awesome. I just love getting high.
If you're going to drive up there, don't be afraid of heights:
After that, it was back through Spokane, and then north to WA-20, mostly known as the North Cascades Highway. This is the definition of a scenic drive. Unfortunately, the weather was moving in.
This road goes into those mountains? Excellent!
Mountain highway goodness:
As I reached Omak/Okanogan, the skies opened up. Fortunately, I was done for the day:
Day Four:
Omak to Olympia: 303 miles, 5 hours 46 minutes
Alas, it was time to head home. Still, there were 200+ miles of twisty goodness to be had, so it wasn't too sad. The weather, however, was atrocious. Heavy rain, dense fog, and severe crosswinds made for some nervous moments.
It may be summer, but it's still the mountains.
As I was driving through the woods, I noticed a large number of Bible camps and rehab retreats. I guess Jesus is alive and well...and hiding in the woods near the Canadian border. I might have even seen him hitchhiking along the road. He should probably take a shower, comb his hair, and put some pants on if he wants anyone to give him a lift. No wait, that was probably an escaped meth-addict. Nevermind.
And so, it came to this...a two-hour blast down I-5. The fun was over
.
Seattle marks the beginning of the final hour behind the wheel...
And so it ends...1383 miles, 22 counties, 29.5 hours on the road, $126.36 in gas, and yet just one state. What a journey! It's true: the simplest things in life are often the most fulfilling. And to me, there is no simpler vacation than simply getting behind the wheel...and heading out for a drive.
. Ah, screw it, I'm taking Tuesday off, too! Okay, so I've got a 4-day weekend now. What to do, what to do? You know what? I think it's time to severely depreciate my car once again!All right, then--it's roadtrip time. But this is no piddly drive-all-day to grandma's house BS. This time, I decided to take a lap...of Washington. Though I'm a native of this fine state, much of it was uncharted territory to me. So, I plotted a course, 4-days and 1300 miles long. The inspiration? A single picture I found while wasting time on Google Earth (more on that later
).Here's the track layout:
Day One:
Olympia to Tri-Cities: 344 miles, 7 hours 57 minutes
While this drive should only take 4 hours, it would involve an unpleasant trip across Snoqualmie Pass, which always clogs with semi-trucks and burning RV's on holiday weekends. It also involves a lot of freeway driving, which is the antithesis of roadtripping. Fortunately, I had a better plan.
Disclaimer: I know very well that my winshield is busted, and it makes me sad, but I wanted to wait to replace it until after I did this trip. New glass, rural highways, crumbling mountain cliffs, and 18-wheelers don't mix.
We don't need no stinkin' freeways when we got this!
However, my plan to sneak over White Pass undetected was derailed as I approached Packwood. Traffic stopped for what I assumed was a fatal collision or a stranded motorhome. After an hour of creeping along at walking pace, I saw the culprit. Apparently, Packwood (population 1050) has an annual swap meet on Labor Day Weekend. This means that everyone who lives within a 100-mile radius is wandering around "downtown" Packwood, snarling traffic on US-12. I was not impressed.
After that ugly scene, I started up the mountain slopes:
White Pass (not white in late-summer):
Just over the crest, some kick-butt scenery:
Into Eastern Washington, a stark contrast to the western half of the state:
Here's a top tip. If you want to find a fun road, look for one that runs along a river. If that river is in a canyon, even better, because it forces those lazy asphalt guys to follow the twists and turns of the water
. After reaching Yakima, I turned north into the Yakima River Canyon. Excellent.
We don't need no stinkin' freewa...Okay, I'll take I-82 the rest of the way to the Tri-Cities...I'm tired, and I don't want to miss Wheel Of Fortune tonight.
Yakima, with Mt. Adams in the background (and an ugly big-rig in the foreground):
The Tri-Cities (Richland, Kennewick, Pasco) are situated at the confluence of the Columbia and Snake rivers, so there are bridges going everywhere:
Just east of Pasco is Sacajawea State Park:
The sun sets on Day One:
Day Two:
Tri-Cities to Spokane: 374 miles, 8 hours 12 minutes
Morning...off into the vast nothing!
I mentioned up above that the inspiration for this whole trip was a single picture on Google Earth...of Palouse Falls. I like the allure of a stunning sight which is in the middle of nowhere and a bit tricky to get to. After driving about 90 minutes without seeing another person or building, I reached the park entrance, which is a tiny sign pointed at a dirt road.
Dirt-tracking! I looked just like Steve Kinser, apart from the fact I was pointed straight and driving 10 mph in a lowered, obnoxiously loud rice-burner.
After two miles of that gravelly nonsense, I arrived at the park and got my first glimpse of the falls:
These are called "basalt fissures", but I think "butte cracks" is better:
Just south of Palouse Falls is Lyon's Ferry. There used to be a state park there, but now it's a city park or something, and they charge money to enter. No thanks. I'll just get a crappy shot of the railway bridge through my cracked winshield and be on my way:
Cruisin' back north:
One of the things I did not consider very well before I left home was that rural highways don't have 4-star rest areas. Or any rest areas at all. Planning "breaks" is tricky business. Sure, a guy can stop on the side of the road and let loose into the farmlands, but that asparagus you're peeing on might very well be the same asparagus you eat with dinner two weeks later. Plus, some of those farmers are insane, and they have pitchforks. At this point in the day, it was starting to hurt. I did have a contingency plan:
Then, like an oasis appearing to a thirsty camel, this savior emerged from the desert in Othello:
I don't like Walmart, but they do have nice clean restrooms, and no surly gas station manager as the gatekeeper. You also learn a few new Spanish words every visit, too!
Just north of Moses Lake is Grant County Int'l Airport (yes there is an airport in that shot). The only reason I mention that is because it is an alternate landing site for the space shuttle, and the military uses it for testing experimental aircraft:
The next leg of the journey was to Dry Falls and then on to the Grand Coulee Dam. Absolutely gorgeous drive along WA-17 and WA-155.
Get the 🤬 out of my way!
Motoring bliss:
I stopped at Sun Lakes State Park to have lunch:
Just up the road from there is Dry Falls. This used to be a huge waterfall, but it dried up in 1994, coinciding with the start of America's love affair with SUV's. Thanks a lot, soccermom! Lol j/k ntrly
. It was a prehistoric waterfall, which would have been awesome to see, aside from the fact it was flooding the land and drowning every living thing within miles:
On the road to Grand Coulee:
As I approached Electric City, I was balked by an SUV from Michigan plodding along at 58 mph (limit 60). At the city limits, the speed limit drops to 35. City cops in rural towns love to enforce that kind of thing. Sure enough, my trusty V1 lit up like a Christmas tree as we entered a blind curve. Mr. Michigan didn't bother to slow down, and as I came around the bend, a friendly officer was turning around to give the SUV a friendly "hello". By "hello", I mean "speeding ticket", and the officer probably wasn't friendly about someone driving 50+ through his town. Lesson learned: if you're going to do the speed limit, do it EVERYWHERE, not just when you have the opportunity to hold someone up. That made my day
.The Grand Coulee Dam really is impressive. It's dam big. Very difficult to capture the grandeur in one picture, but it certainly is an engineering marvel:
Lastly, into Spokane for the night:
Day Three:
Spokane to Omak: 345 miles, 7 hours 27 minutes
The great thing about a roadtrip is that it can be changed constantly. I had no intention of visiting my next destination until the night before. Again, looking at Google Maps, I saw Steptoe Butte, an hour south of Spokane.
Let's go!
Unfortunately, this put me a bit into enemy territory. Time to fly my U-Dub flag loud and proud
.
Where am I going? Probably to that cool-looking thing in the distance:
Steptoe Butte rises about 1500 feet above the surrounding farmland, and offers a stunning 360-degree view. Again, difficult to capture in pictures, but trust me, it's awesome. I just love getting high.
If you're going to drive up there, don't be afraid of heights:
After that, it was back through Spokane, and then north to WA-20, mostly known as the North Cascades Highway. This is the definition of a scenic drive. Unfortunately, the weather was moving in.
This road goes into those mountains? Excellent!
Mountain highway goodness:
As I reached Omak/Okanogan, the skies opened up. Fortunately, I was done for the day:
Day Four:
Omak to Olympia: 303 miles, 5 hours 46 minutes
Alas, it was time to head home. Still, there were 200+ miles of twisty goodness to be had, so it wasn't too sad. The weather, however, was atrocious. Heavy rain, dense fog, and severe crosswinds made for some nervous moments.
It may be summer, but it's still the mountains.
As I was driving through the woods, I noticed a large number of Bible camps and rehab retreats. I guess Jesus is alive and well...and hiding in the woods near the Canadian border. I might have even seen him hitchhiking along the road. He should probably take a shower, comb his hair, and put some pants on if he wants anyone to give him a lift. No wait, that was probably an escaped meth-addict. Nevermind.
And so, it came to this...a two-hour blast down I-5. The fun was over
.
Seattle marks the beginning of the final hour behind the wheel...
And so it ends...1383 miles, 22 counties, 29.5 hours on the road, $126.36 in gas, and yet just one state. What a journey! It's true: the simplest things in life are often the most fulfilling. And to me, there is no simpler vacation than simply getting behind the wheel...and heading out for a drive
.
. 
