August 21 - Monitor, Washington

We left Tulalip later than usual this morning since we "had" to wait until the shops opened at Seattle Premium Outlets next door to the Casino. With Columbia, Mountain Hardware, Eddy Baer, and NorthFace all represented, we had to take a cruise through them but didn't leave any money behind.

We ate at the Resort hotel last night at Cedar's Cafe. Really good food. I would never have dreamed of dungeness crab enchiladas, but they were wonderful!

The RV parking was a bit noisy (traffic) and bright (street lights) but the price was right and I'd do it again if we needed to stay in the area.

The drive over Stevens Pass was beautiful as usual. It's not fast since you drive through the middle of a bunch of small towns, but we weren't in a hurry. Turns out it was good timing. The Evergreen State Fair opens tomorrow which means traffic will be a zoo, at least for the western portion of the route.

Highway 2 between Everett and Wenatchee is part of the Cascade Loop, a one (in a car, not stopping) to many day trip that should be included in any summer visit to Washingon State. The North Cascades portion (which we didn't drive this time) is closed in the winter but gives Alberta's Icefields Highway a serious run for the money. We did stop at the top of Stevens Pass for lunch where the ski area was obviously silent.

The rivers that parallel the route were the lowest I've ever seen them. This portion of the Tumwater Canyon is normally a Class 5 run, but it sure didn't look that way now. Technical, yes, but not as tough as normal.

They've been dealing with forest fires in the area so the sky is smokey, but not enough to smell it.

Home for the next four nights is the Wenatchee River County Park in Monitor. It's the same place we stayed the night before we crossed the Canadian border northbound in May. With the mid 80 temps, the AC is nice!  For the next couple days we'll be working with siblings to move Mom from one apartment to another in her retirement community.