Union Gap, WA

We finally made it to our Yakima, Washington goal!  We have been scheming on getting here for many, many years and this month the dream became reality.  We are very happy and enjoying the area we call Yakima, Washington.  Actually we are in the outskirts in a small rural town called Union Gap.  There is a Lowe's in Union Gap, but the closest Walmart is actually in Yakima, but that's not far away.  So we have everything we need and are enjoying the area and weather.  Yakima is sometimes known as the Palm Springs of Washington.  I believe that is because of the fine weather.  It rarely rains here, although we did have a shower blow through yesterday.  I doubt there was a 1/10 of an inch of rain over 3 hours and the wind didn't get over 3 mph.  It did keep the sun from becoming so hot.

We are working with Gari's dad on his pet project, which is the restoration of a 1942 Willy's Jeep.  Dad got it from a local family that had lost their son in Vietnam.  The hero's parents hung onto his Jeep as a keep sake.  The son had named the Jeep Ol' Snort.  Dad is lovingly restoring Ol' Snort and will maintain her in respectful memory of the previous owner and our country's fallen hero.

We departed the Moses Lake area and headed west and we found ourselves approaching a bridge over the Mighty Colombia River.

We stopped at the first rest stop west of the Colombia River Gorge.  It was up and out of the river gorge and the wind blew quite strong there.  We saw a bunch of wind generators there as well as the awesome sight of Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams

We weren't sure if we could get our rig onto Gari's dad's street or if we could fit into the available parking area. Happily we were able to negotiate both.  This is where we've parked Pepe and Penelope on Locust Ave.

Working on Ol' Snort;  tracing down a wiring error...

 Can you see that wire??? Neither can I...

 Gettin' the horn honkin'

 This ignition switch isn't quite wired right...

 Tightening things up and torquing head bolts

Taking Ol' Snort out for the Maiden Restored Voyage
Loading up...

 She's moving...

 Almost out of the shop...

 Sneakin' past Penelope...

 Hot dog! Snort's in the street!

 Ol' Snort has left the street!

 Coming 'round the block

 Mission accomplished!

 My turn for a ride

Hello NE, WY, MT, ID and WA!

Gari and I have been dreaming and scheming for 10+ years on getting ourselves to Idaho, this week we finally achieved that goal :-)

First night out we stayed on a Nebraska farm in Big Springs.  Second night we made Glendo, WY and stayed at a RV park overlooking Glendo Lake.  Third night we made Billings, MT and stayed in the busy Walmart parking lot there.  The weather was finally cool enough that we didn’t need air conditioning.  The next day we rolled into Great Falls, MT where my old high school buddy lives.  He relocated to MT right out of high school and studied Forestry at University of Montana.  After 30+ years working in our country’s forests, John is among our country’s top forest fire authorities.  John married his high school sweetheart from Ohio and it turns out I was friends with Terri too.  It was fantastic to be able to reconnect with these two high school best friends.  What a wonderful life these two have carved out in Montana.  Our visit this trip was short, but we know we will be back to stay longer in Montana and experience new adventures.

Sadly we departed Great Falls after two nights and continued our route west making Coeur d’Alene, ID.  Idaho at last!  This is the day we were informed of the death my longtime NASA mentor, our true friend Wayne R. Powell.  We were stunned by this devastating news.  We were so happy to finally arrive in Idaho after 10+ years of dreaming, then the sad news came.  I felt both great happiness and simultaneously great sadness.  The feeling was odd and powerful and completely overwhelmed me for a few days.  Now after three days in central WA near Moses Lake I am starting to feel like myself again.

Later this week we will finish this trip with a last leg into Union Gap, WA just outside Yakima.  We are excited to see Gari’s dad there and her step sister Sandi and husband Sam, plus many other relatives on Gari’s dad’s side of the family.

Nebraska - Castlerock

 

Wyoming

 

Glendo, WY

 

Great Falls, MT

My high school best pal John

Terri and Gari in the bakery, YUM!

 Sidewalk Bluegrass

Farmer's Market downtown Great Falls, MT

 

 Dog Agility Trials, King Ranch @ Great Falls, MT

 John's hunting companion Brandy

 Fire Authority John putting a Prescribed Burn on a group of Filet Mignon ;)

 The sad but majestic departure out of Great Falls, MT

Idaho - we plan to return and explore on our own terms...

Welcome to WA

Sun Desert RV Park

 Site 9A

 Free Farmer's Market in the RV Park - the very best kind!

Next stop Union Gap, WA!