Snow, Cold and One Last Drive Over the Mountains

It's that time of year when trip planning involves a check of the mountain pass conditions. This weekend we popped in on our daughter attending Central Washington University. Before hitting the road Friday afternoon, we thought "we should check the pass conditions on Snoqualmie Pass." The pass report said rain mixed with snow.

Wow! Is it really that time of year already when we have to plan for winter conditions? I think so.

Overnight Snow on Snoqualmie Pass

We had the mistaken impression that our three hour drive East over the mountains would be rewarded with a  couple of warm sunny days in Ellensburg. Uh...nope. Nevertheless, we were looking forward to a nice visit like in previous years. 

After a dark and rainy drive on Friday night, we arrived in time for some pizza and "socializing (wink wink)" with the college kids in their house. It was a late night but a good time.

The next day, I headed out for a cool morning run around town. The thermometer read 42 degrees, but the sun was out for a bit. I mapped out a nice route that would take me through the rural country side and loop back to the RV park.

Photo taken on my morning run around Ellensburg

I was starving after the run. So the kids and I met up and walked over to the nearby Flying J for a hearty trucker's breakfast. I had to unbutton the top button on my jeans for that meal. Yeah...good stuff!!

Brrrrr!

Parked at our usual place

Saturday night the temperature dropped down into the 20s. We hunkered down with a couple of movies and kept warm. Realizing that the DVD bin in the RV has had the same 30 or so DVDs for the last few years, we vowed to reload it with a new set of DVDs. But on Saturday night, we picked Shawshank Redemption and The Hunt for Red October. Can't go wrong there. "...One ping only..."

After another meal at the Flying J Truck Stop, we started heading home. We decided to wait until early afternoon until it warmed up and the weather advisories on Snoqualmie Pass were lifted.

Class A in my rear view

Sunday afternoon there are always other RVs and campers heading back over the mountains to Seattle and Tacoma. Today was no different. We played leap frog with several RVers heading home. The mountain pass was ok, but we drove through a downpour near Tacoma which caused a few fender-benders and traffic.

Last Trip East this Year
This will be our last trip over the mountains this year. Old Man Winter will take over the passes for the next few months. This will make weekend RV getaways to Central Washington too risky for us.

Perhaps a Winter getaway to the Ocean is next. I love the Northwest!!

What kind of getaways are you taking this Fall/Winter?