Made it to Washington State

We left Bend this morning. But not before stopping off at Bend RV and Repair. That darned right back jack retracted yet again over the weekend. Jeff cleaned out a speck of debris in the new solenoid and we waited for about an hour with the jacks down, to test that the right one would hold. It did and by 11 AM we were on the road, heading north to our next stop at Yakama Nation RV Park in Toppenish, Washington.

My clicking finger was busy on this leg along route 97, which we have driven in the past. This is also the "Journey Through Time Oregon Scenic Byway." I wish I knew more about geology to be able to read the history of the topography in this region. What I do know is that tremendous forces shaped this terrain which changed dramatically as we drove along.

Here is what we saw along this scenic byway:

It was a clear, sunny day and Mt Hood's pointy peak was visible for miles.

Flat topped buttes began to appear - 

Followed by sections which looked like they had been mixed but not quite blended together..

Followed by rifts and chasms...

and a deep gorge with a river..

Then the land flattened again, enabling farmers to grow crops and trees.. with Mt Hood still visible to the west..

Once again we climbed and entered a landscape of eroded gorges...

At one point, the hill tops looked like stair steps descending into the valley below...

The landscape became a jumble of textures and colors...

We wound our way between the rocky outcrops...

On the horizon the next volcano appeared, Mt Adams with its rounded peak..

Along one section, we could see Mt Hood in the driver's window and Mt Adams in my window..and I wished that I had a panoramic lens to catch them together.

We began the descent towards the Columbia River, and were amazed at the number of wind turbines on the horizon.

There were hundreds of these turbines, doing their crazy three-legged spins.

We crossed the mighty Columbia River leaving Oregon and entering Washington.

Looking back, you can see the enormous gorge cut by the river, and the fields and orchards hugging the slopes.

We climbed back up above the gigantic gorge...

About another hour to Toppenish, which is right before Yakima.

This is the closest we have been to these wind giants, and they truly are huge.

Mt Adams loomed even larger along this section.

The road wound its way through a forested patch where there had been a recent fire.

The Yakima valley appeared in the distance now.

We arrived at the Yakama Nation RV Park, with its large community building, museum and gift shop. It was a warm afternoon and we went for a walk after our 4 o'clock tea. Later as the sun was setting, I took these shots of the dramatic sky.

And in the after glow, Mt Adams was a spectacular silhouette in the distance.

Tomorrow's agenda is to stop in Yakima, the birthplace of Alpine. There is an RV store that still carries some Alpine parts and we will go there to take a look. From Yakima it's a short distance to Bellevue, where we will stop at home to pick up our car and then drive to Anacortes where Alpine will be in residence until our next trip in a couple of months.