Goodbye, Washington!

Apollo and I spent a lot of time in Washington.  So much that some days it felt like we'd never see another state border again.  Three whole months, in fact! But if I had to be stuck somewhere, Washington was a good place to be.

We entered Washington in Vancouver, rode to the Olympic peninsula, then to Seattle area, then over the Cascades and south east as directly as possible to eastern Oregon, a total of approximately 570 miles.

We crossed into the state in the pouring rain, aboard a truck and trailer due to a lack of safe options to ride over the Columbia river from Portland Oregon.

We rode up the western side of the Cascades, straight to the state capital of Olympia. 

Washington, like Oregon, has drive through coffee kiosks everywhere.  We stopped at a lot of them!

As we neared Seattle, Mount Rainier occasionally peeked out of the rain clouds.  What a magnificent mountain she is!

We got waylaid in Seattle area for two months waiting for the pass to stop looking like this.

I enjoyed my "Seattle vacation."  It's one of my favorite cities in the world, and I had plenty of time to explore to my heart's content.

And eat to my heart's content...  There is so much good food in Seattle!  My favorite, naturally, was ice cream filled donuts (at Chick5 near Mill Creek, for you Washingtonians that now need to rush out and eat one).

Apollo also enjoyed the time off!

My "vacation" was not all idle sightseeing and eating.  I also helped with the crafting and cooking for my friend's bachelorette party, attended her wedding, took martial arts classes (kali/escrima and muay thai kickboxing), and repaired and resupplied for getting back on the road.

Apollo and I also took a ferry ride...

...to Bainbridge Island Historic Museum, to talk about the historic Overland Westerners, as well as about our ride and about domestic violence.

Finally it was spring and we could get back on our way.

We crossed the mountains, where I finally got to use my tent in dry (but a bit chilly) weather.  The last snow of the year had happened only half a week earlier but was melted by the time I got to snow level.

What an interesting and diverse state this has been!  We started off along the coastal side of the Cascades in the rain, where everything is green.

And then headed back south on the east side of the mountains, where the irrigated land is green, and well known for producing grapes, hay and other crops...

...but the natural state of the land is dry, sagebrush-covered high desert.

Now we're in Oregon (again)! So goodbye Washington, it's been great getting to know you.