The rain from yesterday was gone this morning and the temps were in the mid to upper 50’s. Kelso had a good walk and we were underway at about 7:10 am. The traffic was light going out of town. It turned out the USA Border was only about 20 miles. The Customs Agent seemed to be a little on the surley side, even commenting that he had never seen a custon license plate on a commercial rental vehicle like this before. He appeared to soften quite a bit after I told him that I had driven thru Canada from Michigan, into Alaska, toured Alaska and was now headed to visit familiy in Leavenworth WA and Portland OR. He kind of looked at me and said “Welcome Back” and said I could go.
The scenery in the lower part of British Columbia was pretty low rolling hills but after about 20 miles into the US the Cascades were approaching and the scenery improved tremendously. The mountains are very close together and most have multiple peaks and I know the pictures do not do them justice. Fortunately with Donna along for the ride the next few days, I have someone that can concentrate on taking pictures while I do the driving. This was especially important driving thru the Cascades with the winding roads and tight curves. We went thru one pass that said we were 4,200 feet above sea level. The ears pooped a couple of times as we rose in height for that one.
One of the things I wanted to do on this trip was to visit with Lenore’s brother in Leavenworth WA and her sister in Portland OR. I had called then from Anchorage several weeks ago when I could better estimate when I could be in their area and I was met with a warm welcome and agreement to meet. They were especially thrilled when they found out Donna would be with me. Today was the day we were meeting Lenore’s brother Frank and his wife Ruth at their house in Leavenwork WA. We had a great time and spent about 3 hours talking about various things. It was a great visit and Donna & I are really glad it went this well. Donna and I had not seen Frank in 40 to 45 years. Kelso was great during the visit and I think he impressed Frank & Ruth.
After seeing Frank & Ruth we drove thru Leavenworth and got some pictures. About 50 years ago the lumbering business was petering out and the City Fathers decided that they should make the town over using a Bavarian theme so people would remember it and come back if the liked it. I think they did a great job over the last 50+ years.
Tomorrow we are going to take a ride down to Salishan, which is the community that Lenore’s parents retired to back in 1969. It is on the Oregon coast about 90 miles southwest of Portland.
View as we are driving thru the Cascades.
A good view of a mountain top formation.
Just starting to come into Leavenworth with the mountain backdrop.
Getting closer to the commercial area with a great mountain backdrop.
The Bavarian style of the town buildings. When was the last time you saw a Howard Johnsons?