It’s Labor Day weekend. We’ve made our way to the west side of Washington. Here’s how we got here.

Saturday morning, Jimbo picked us up and we went out for breakfast at  the Mangy Moose in Priest River. I had biscuits and gravy with sausage, egg and hashbrowns. The server talked me into ordering the half-size serving and she was right. The half plate was more than enough. I can’t imagine anyone eating the full plate.

We had the slides in and jacks up around 11:30am. I stole a line from Captain Ron (starring Kurt Russell) and said, “It’s time to kick the tires and light the fires. There’s a big road ahead. If it’s gonna happen, it’s gonna happen out there.”

We drove down to I-90 at Sullivan in Spokane, then exited I-90 at Airway Heights. We crossed eastern Washington on Highway 2. This route is rural and takes you through wheat fields, sagebrush and small towns. I recognized many of the town names.

My kids were raised in Darrington, a small town in the north Cascades on the west side. High school B league basketball was high entertainment in that small logging town. Most years, either the boys’ team, the girls’ team or both would qualify for the state championship tournament in Spokane. Many of the little rural communities in eastern Washington would also qualify and compete in the tournament.

We left Highway 2 and drove up past the Grand Coulee Dam and Chief Joseph Dam. We hit Highway 20 and headed west into the north Cascade mountains. I was getting tired. I wanted to stop in Winthrop. We arrived there a little past 5pm and found the town was hopping. There were people in the streets and cars everywhere – most likely Westsiders coming over the pass to eastern Washington for a sunny Labor Day holiday. The rainy season starts earlier on the west side.

I looked for a place to park. We pulled into the Red Barn parking lot. Another RV was parked there, but it was posted “no overnight parking.”  I found another good-sized gravel lot that was empty across the street. I parked there and walked to the bicycle shop to seek permission for overnight parking. I was told it might be okay, but the lot belonged to the city and technically overnight parking wasn’t allowed.

I didn’t want to take a chance and have a knock on the door in the middle of the night. We backtracked towards Twisp and drove out to the rodeo grounds. There was a rodeo this weekend. We found a pasture full of trucks, trailers, tents and horses.

We pulled in and set up among the rodeo crowd. It was a beautiful spot and no one paid us any mind. Later the pasture turned into quite the party for the rodeo participants and their followers. We joined in with our neighbors from Texas.

Twisp – Winthrop rodeo grounds

In the morning a concession stand served Blue Star coffee, roasted in Twisp, Washington. I think it was the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had. We kicked the tires and lit the fires around 8:30am and drove up the North Cascade Highway.

Since it was Sunday morning on the holiday weekend, we found very little traffic. We climbed through Washington Pass and Rainy Pass without drama. Coming down the west side, I kept our speed in check and we enjoyed the scenery. I was pleasantly surprised as the skies stayed blue and clear after we crested the Cascades. I expected rain.

When I lived in western Washington, I was told to look south. If you can’t see Mount Rainer, it’s going to rain. Then look south. If you can see the top of Mount Rainer, it’s going to rain. It’s pretty easy to predict the weather in western Washington.

Ross Lake

We stopped at a scenic overlook above Ross Lake. I would’ve liked to pull in at Diablo Dam, but one of the drawbacks with a big rig is that you can’t always stop where you wish. I couldn’t remember how big the parking area was across the dam. If I pulled in there, I would be committed and might have a real problem getting back out of there.

Sunny day over the pass

We made a stop at Rockport at the junction of Highway 530. I told Donna that bald eagles are usually roosting there. We walked a quarter mile down to the bridge over the Skagit River. No eagles were there. It must be too early in the season. I’ve seen dozens of eagles there at times. They feed on salmon running up the river. We saw several fisherman fishing for humpback salmon.

We pulled in to the KOA in Burlington a little past noon. We set up in the crowded campground and were joined by my daughter, Alana and her children Lainey and Gabi (Gabriella). We spent the afternoon together. The grandkids took advantage of the heated indoor pool.

I roasted fresh local corn on the cob and grilled marinated flank steak for dinner. We had the obligatory camp fire and roasted s’mores over the fire. Lainey and Gabi spent the night with us. All in all, a very enjoyable day.

Marinated flank steak

Today we’ll kick back with the kids. We’ll probably have to dodge a few rain drops. Tomorrow we’ll move on.

Gabi enjoys s’mores