The Way West~

 We were making this trip to attend Grandson Mason's Celebration of life.  The gathering would be held on August 11th - what would have been his 23rd birthday.  We discussed flying out, but both of us felt like traveling cross-country. 

8-7 Crossing the Missouri River at Chamberlin, SD

We left bright & early Wednesday morning the 7th.  Butch had made it home a couple days early, so we had plenty of time to plan & pack the Explorer.  We'd sent both the girls our itinerary & maps of our planned daily drive.  This drive is now more familiar to Butch than it is to me.  My last time was going the opposite direction when we made the move to IA from WA. 

Rain, passing Sheridan, WY

We'd planned our first nights stop for Rapid City, but The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was in full swing & room rates were outrageous.  We decided to drive 620-miles to Sundance, WY.  We think it was Finn's first time at a motel, but he was so good!    

8-8 We ended our drive with a cool one~

The following day, Thursday the 8th, we finished another big drive of 636-miles stopping in Missoula, MT for the night.  We put Finn's bed in a quiet spot & fed him dinner before we left for ours.  When we returned, he was waiting patiently & very happy to see us!

The following morning, our goal was within reach!  Camano Island, WA where our youngest daughter & her family live.  Things greened up as we crossed into ID & WA.  Spokane traffic had tripled since my last time through.  It was our first real slow-down of the trip.

The Columbia River at Vantage, 2:19 p.m. ~

Once we crossed the river, we made a stop at the fruit stand just outside Cle Elum. Smoke was thick in the air & had been off & on the further west we drove.  

We'd be coming down Snoqualmie Pass & into Seattle during the Friday afternoon rush hour.  I-90 jammed up early on. Both the exits for the back roads we used to take to go north, were backed up for miles. 

I-90 West Bound, 4:38 p.m.

Taking the exit ramp off I-90 & finally going north on I-405, I was amazed at how Bellevue had changed!  More high-rise buildings & cranes in the air!  I'd commuted to my office in Bellevue from the Homestead for several years.  In those days, it had taken under an hour each way.    

I-405 northbound - Bellevue, 4:52 p.m. 

The highway was undergoing yet another widening as we approached downtown.  After merging onto I-5 near Lynnwood, it took us 40-minutes just to pass the Bothell exit.

Bothell 5:28 p.m. ~

Rather than continue to sit in standstill traffic, we decided the state could send us a bill & took the HOV lane.  If you enlarge the photo above, you will notice the fine for violating the HOV lane is $536. There were other signs stating that if you had two occupants or more & didn't have a pre-pass, you'd receive a bill in the mail.

North Broadway, Everett - 6:07 p.m.

I finally asked Butch to take the Everett exit so we could take a potty break!  I was hopeful we'd be able to follow Broadway north, cross the Snohomish River Bridge & return to I-5. Plenty of people had the same idea.  The other thing we didn't expect - was to find the bridge closed down to one side, only one lane each direction due to construction.

Our camp!

Jentry had messaged me & sent the above photo of our camp!  She had left work, gone home for her trailer & set it up at the campground!  It looked so inviting & kept us motivated to finish the 540-mile drive that was taking hours longer than it should have.  

As we took the Stanwood exit, we left the traffic behind.  We stopped to pick up a few things at the store, before crossing over to the island.  What a relief it was to pull into our camp site!  It was about 7 p.m. & dusk.  Jentry, Ben, Skyla & Josie drove over to welcome us!  Finn was ever so happy to meet our family!  The hugs were the Best!  After the kids left, we sat outside for a while to enjoy the peace & quiet.  We'd missed the fresh, clean air of the Pacific Northwest.