Idaho

We woke up to a warm sunny day in Priest Lake, Idaho.  We had a yummy breakfast of sausage, eggs from Colleen’s chickens, plus hash browns.  Ashly & Taylor left early to head home, so the 5 of us went out to a great beach area at the lake to take in the local scenery.  It is so beautiful here!  Too cool for a swim, but beautiful!

Around noon we finally packed up the Buells and headed down the road.  The route would take us into Washington across 410 which would go over the Chinook Pass.  Originally we thought we would drop down 123 and visit Mt. Rainier, but we spent the morning with friends instead.  I told Shawn that the mountain would never remember us, we should spend time with Matt & Colleen.  🙂  We did get some great mountain views as we crossed through the pass.  We’ll come back someday to visit Rainier.

Riding today was really interesting.  We saw so many different ecosystems and weather patterns in just 1 day.  The beautiful mountains in Idaho, the high desert in Washington, then the snow covered passes in Washington.  We also saw some beautiful old lava flow areas in Washington.

Chinook Pass was COLD.  It was about 35′ and super foggy in places.  It was a pretty ride with tons of snow on the mountains.  Sadly, my Virb only captured a few of the pictures I took.  I am hoping that Shawn got some good shots.  We passed lava rocks, rivers, and gorgeous peaks.  Other than nearly freezing to death, the ride was amazing!

We buzzed through Seattle with very little traffic and arrived at our hotel around midnight.  Another long day, but one that was scenic!  Like every other day (except day 1 when we nearly roasted in Iowa), we drove in & out of light rain.  Tomorrow is Olympic National Park.  I am really excited to see the Hoh Rainforest.  When I was planning the trip, this is the day I expected to encounter rain.  I didn’t know we would see rain everyday.  I packed too many t-shirts & shorts and not enough long pants & shirts.