6/29 E-Bug/Yak/Wenatchee - driving
 

Going for a drive this Sat.
Over I90 to Ellensburg to do the Yakima Canyon Road.
Back to E-bug to take the Old Vantage Road over the river and up to Wenatchee.
Stop off at Dusty's (try the cherry shake).

I'll be heading over 97 to I90 and back to town. Others could follow 2 through Leavenworth.

Be sticking mostly to limits.
The canyon is usually patrolled and I'm expecting some extra scrutiny for motorcycles on a nice weekend.

I'll be at the Issaquah Triple X (XXX) leaving at 11am.

Anybody who wants to come along to stop, take pictures and look at scenery is welcome.

Sounds fun. There's a meet at alki also.

Took a ride around Central WA today. Played some tag with a thunderhead once I got over the pass.
Took Hwy 10 from Cle Elum to replicate (sort of) the only photo I had of my Alfa GTV with the FR-S.

http://www.eskimo.com/~johnsen/car/N...kimaThorpe.jpg

http://www.eskimo.com/~johnsen/car/alfa0003.jpg

Found the same turnout and tried to position it about the same. The trees have grown considerably since then.

South from Ellensburg I took the Yakima Canyon road and stopped of to get a river pic with included rafters.

http://www.eskimo.com/~johnsen/car/N...kimaCanyon.jpg

There was a big thunderhead to the south of 90 and west of the Canyon road to Yakima that I was able to drive around.
It blew over Ellensburg and inundated it while I was south of there.
This is a picture I took from the viewpoint up on Manashtash Ridge. It's dumping rain and blowing the heck out of Kititas here.
Thunder and Lightning and all the extra effects. When I got to E-bug the gutters and streets were full up all along the lower part of town.
Trees were blown over and branches were across the road when I got over to Kititas along the Old Vantage Road.
Looked like there was a critical lightning strike along the way with fire, smoke and fire department response.

http://www.eskimo.com/~johnsen/car/N...htashRidge.jpg

Stopped off at the Wild Horse Monument on the east side of the Columbia from Vantage to tag that along the way.

http://www.eskimo.com/~johnsen/car/N...seMonument.jpg

Went through George WA, Qincy and Wenatchee for a stop at Dusty's.
More thunder and lightning from the thunderhead just coming over the ridge from the south with increasing rain on the way west out of town.
Had a serious downpour on the way up 97, but that was only the trailing edge of it.
Managed to circumnavigate it and the weather got increasingly better on the way down the hill to Cle Elum.
Hot and dry all the way back over the hill on 90.

Maybe make this a group cruise sometime?

Had the opportunity...
see post #1
Even gave several days notice :w00t:

I'll post up others as they strike my interest