We've come full circle and are back in Anacortes. Alpine is parked, plugged in, and back in our same site at Fidalgo Bay Resort.
It's strange to be back, without a destination to anticipate, and it already feels like our trip was just a dream.
As if on cue, as soon as we turned on to route 20 from I-5, gentle raindrops greeted us. The winds picked up and it felt freezing cold when we pulled in at the casino right before Fidalgo Bay to fill up.
I don't remember the last time we saw rain but now that we are back in the NorthWET, as I like to call it, we have had our wet welcome!
This morning, we left Toppenish and drove to Aubrey's RV Center in Yakima. I didn't really know what to expect but I certainly did not anticipate seeing walls of animal trophy heads staring back at me in an RV supply store. That was a surprise. The animals look to me as if they are just as surprised to find themselves gazing at spare RV parts. Of course I was curious and asked Carolyn why kudu, wildebeest, and gemsbok heads were keeping watch over rows of RV parts here in Yakima. These are African animals after all!
She told me her father and brother have hunted in Montana for the past thirty plus years and that it was their dream to do some big game hunting in Africa. That dream came true when they went on a safari in Namibia and brought back their trophy animals.
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| Kudu |
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| Blue Wildebeest |
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| Gemsbok |
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| Black Wildebeest |
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| Impala |
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| Red Hartebeest |
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| That's our Alpine outside Aubrey's RV Center in Yakima |
Carolyn at Aubrey's also told us about the history behind the Alpine manufacturing plant that was here. She now has a collection of bits and pieces unique to the Alpine coach. We picked up a few items as spares and now that we know about Aubrey's, have a contact person if we ever have questions about our coach interior.
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| Yakima and Union Gap are just beyond this gap between the hills |
On the way to Yakima, we drove through the town of Union Gap, which is of Gary Puckett and the Union Gap fame - he grew up in Yakima, close to the town.
From Yakima it's a straight and simple run on I-90 to Bellevue. Whenever we travel along this stretch, it reminds me of the time we first drove I-90 to the Seattle area when we moved from New Jersey. The scenery was spectacular then and 35 years later, it still is just as spectacular.
Eastern Washington is dry and brown, and also the fertile area where crops and fruit trees thrive in the sunshine and warmth. Washington Sate is one of the major growers of apples and pears.
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| a typical scene with orchards and packing boxes |
The landscape becomes more dry again, with gorges and chasms, before climbing up and then descending into the valley and the town of Ellensburg.
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| more rifts and gorges |
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descending into Ellensburg in the valley below (this one for you Graz!), with
the snow capped Cascade range ahead |
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| still in the sun, driving towards the mountains ahead |
Once we crossed the Cascade Range at Snoqualmie Pass (3,022 ft), we were back in forested and green landscape. This is where the gray clouds gather and shower us with their abundant rain. The tall peaks are still as impressive as when I first saw them as we crossed them for the first time in 1980.
We stopped at home in Bellevue very briefly just to pick up our Audi. Michael negotiated the tight turns and the overhanging trees in our neighborhood expertly and we were able to park outside the house. Our neighbors came running over to check out the Alpine. Said they couldn't miss it as we drove past their house. Ha! Any excuse to come aboard. Others coming up our hill had to give the Alpine a wide berth, and gave me a quizzical look. I suspect the word has spread about that enormous bus the Weitzes had outside their home.
Following behind Alpine, I sneaked a couple of shots of our home on wheels as we made our way out of the neighborhood. This is what we look like on the road.
We will spend the night in Anacortes then head home tomorrow. It will feel strange to be back home and I know that there is a lot of work awaiting us since our absence. I would much rather be on the road still. It's been a wonderful trip, with a mix of relaxation (at Pismo); spending time with friends (the SoCal group); meeting new friends (the Alpine group and other Washington folks we met along the way); touring (the Reagan Library and the Nerthercutt Museum, Lone Pine, Alabama Hills, Manzanaar); learning a lot of new information about the inner workings of a coach (at the Pomona rally); spending time with family and new Alpine friends (in Bend); having service and repairs done on Alpine; and traveling a route new to us. And all of that in a matter of seven and a half weeks and 2,700 miles.
Life sure is an adventure in our Alpine.
That's it for now.... I'll be back once we are back on the road in a couple of months again. Can't wait!
