Day Six – Farm to Forest

The hotel was loud. The fan cycled all night with varying degrees of intensity and our room was near an exit door that slammed shut every time someone entered or exited. Needless to say, we were ready to leave. We got on the road at about 9:00 am.

Tom usually spends countless hours plotting our routes and entering them into the Garmin Zumo but because of the change of plans, we just entered the destination and chose the adventure setting. As we left Umatilla, we began to see that it was just coursing us through various residential neighborhoods. Not the adventure we were hoping for. Once we got out of the city and away from the Columbia, the scenery improved.

We crossed over the Columbia and re-entered Washington. We found ourselves riding through high desert and agricultural areas that were producing corn, hops, wine grapes and apples.

After two hours, we stopped in the cute little town of Naches for coffee at a fantastic little coffee shop that was located in a former bank building.

Spot the old vault?

After a nice break, we rode on. We started to climb into the Wenatchee forest following along the Naches River. The Wenatchee forest is dense and imposing but just beautiful.

The road was very nice and we got a little drizzle as we headed up into the clouds.

Soon we were at the turn off for Crystal Mountain and checked in. Because of the low cloud deck, we have not seen Rainier. Maybe tomorrow.

We walked to the Snorting Elk for dinner and then back to the registration office to purchase ice cream sandwiches for dessert!

Tomorrow will be a longer day so we will get out early. Hopefully the Zumo doesn’t take us on another residential tour and we’ll see some interesting sites on the way to Albany.

Cathy’s Barn Pic of the Day…