Monday August 13 – Days Inn, Everett Mall Way, Washington WA98208

The smoke smog is thick again this morning as we leave Spokane and set off along the I90 to get some miles under our belt, we have about five hours drive today to the Washington coast.

After nearly two hours we decide to change to the more scenic SH2 through Quincy, Wenatchee and Leavenworth, which adds hardly any more miles but about an hour drive time to our expedition.  There is much more to look at this route.  We’ve always wondered what some of the crops are we see growing beside the road, some are obvious like corn and grapes.  Along this stretch there are signs on the fences telling us what crops are being grown in that particular field, everything from apples of all kinds, sweet corn and field corn (who knows what the difference is), alfalfa, pasture, carrot seeds, beans and even rye whiskey!

We are lamenting the thick smoke obscuring the views then discover a camera setting for ‘clear scenic shots’.   I think it does make a difference.

Smoke still obscures the distant hills

Scenery after changing the camera setting

We are in the Cascade Mountains and stop for some lunch at Leavenworth, a Bavarian town which was so pretty with alpine style buildings, restaurants serving German beer and food. The Wenatchee runs alongside and is a habitat for ospreys and eagles although we don’t see any today. The village is a gateway to nearby ski areas and the Wenatchee State Forest.

Horse and cart - that's obvious isn't it?

Main Street Leavenworth

Beautiful window boxes

We arrive at Everett about 3.45pm where we are booked into the Days Inn for the night.  We have a ground floor room and can park right outside which makes a nice change for Kim who usually has to lug our suitcase up flights of stairs.

I intended to go sit by the pool but start up the laptop to do a quick couple of things first and before I know it it's after 7pm and we really should go get some food.  There is a mall across the road so we figure we will get food there before they close at 9pm.  We duck into Buffalo Wild Wings and choose the tasting selection to share.  Just right!