road trip!!!

when returning from lopez last month i took the back roads home.  i love the back roads. they are so pretty, rural and make me feel so content with the world. especially on a sunny autumn day.  i thought my friend paul would like to get out of town and look for a pumpkin patch so we tentatively decided that if is was sunny on our day off we would go.

it was sunny.

and we went.

for 350 miles.

a whole lot farther than i had intended but it was necessary because we went east over the mountains and then into the agricultural part of the state and then, to get home, we had to head some distance south and come back over the mountains again.

we started out at the maltby cafe for breakfast, and a little walk around the grounds there.... where i saw something that i might have to go back for, something that will take some reconditioning but will make everyone super, duper green with envy and something that i will have in my ever expanding collection of stuff but probably will never use...  we will see.  i can't show you, because i didn't take a picture, because, i am not so much the photojournalist i should be as blog owner - and sometimes poster.

this is what we came to first... snow!  it was beginning to melt in the sun so it was dripping and plopping from the branches and sounded so peaceful - when i got far enough away from the still running car and stopped talking and looked away from the highway and the ski resort right there in the middle of things.  still, it was quite wonderful.

this is the wenatchee river.  the highway follows it as it runs east down from the mountains.  i love the drive because around the turns the river comes into and out of view as you roll along, always with a peek at the running waters.  we had to stop here because i couldn't take it any longer just spying it from the car.

this is for julie.... except for the beer can - that escaped my notice until just now.  this isn't so far off the beaten track that all kinds of garbage wasn't strewn about. 

people.

 
this was real pretty too...  we didn't see any four legged animals on the drive but here it would have been lovely to have a deer walk up and lap at the water's edge.

 
this is paul, humoring me.  i humored myself by not getting in front of the camera.

 
i did have to take some pictures of the rocks and the water.... and i took a rock too. because i always take a rock.

and then, we got back in the car and carried on our way.  and i forgot that i brought a camera along and i stopped documenting the journey.

so, you won't see photos of leavenworth, and the nutcrackers and the pastry shop and the  lederhosen that paul bought to wear for halloween - ok, not really, but he considered the idea.

and you won't see us drive out of leavenworth heading east through the apple orchards and into wenatchee and past the sonic drive-in. the same sonic we had been talking about earlier in the day because two gals from work drove over the week before just to eat there and we thought that a bit far to go....

and then you won't see us driving even farther east - after a slightly wrong turn toward mission ridge, and then a turn around toward east wenatchee...

and then you won't see me driving and gazing at the river and the apple orchards and the cherry orchards, hoping to see a pumpkin patch since that is really what we were after.  i say me, because at that point paul was taking a nap.

so, he missed (and so will you) the rappellers skittering around the enormous chainmaille being hung and anchored from the cliff face in order to hold back any rocks that wanted to errode onto the highway. but, when i say skittered i don't really mean that, they were being very careful... very, very careful.

and, you won't see us pass the rocky reach dam and journey on toward ephrata.
but, then, take a little turn off at a rest stop - and the rest we took. then the assessment of our location - realizing we were more than half way across the state and our decision to head along the columbia river south toward home.  paul found a nice pod on the ground so that was considered a success in my book.

so, you won't see the farm stand we finally came upon that sold apples, and pears and ripe little yellow tomatoes and butternut squash... and pumpkins.  i bought all those things.  well, one pumpkin, that took much too long to pick given that they really all do look alike.

you won't see all the birds of prey sitting on the fence posts along the fields of alfalpha, grass hay, spearmint, field corn and peppermint.

or the magpies and kestrals along the wires.

and, you won't see us drive through cle elum, and try to have bar-b-que but didn't because they were closed, not because they had john mccain and sarah palin's names on their big sign along the road.  we had mexican food instead. and when we were stuffed we headed west some more...

but you won't see any of the drive over snoqualmie pass, and past another ski resort either. or north bend where we had to stop to use the facilities...

nor the heavy traffic at 6:30 pm as we rolled back into town just moments after i suggested how smart we were to have planned the trip, coming back just after the rush hour and avoiding all the grid lock... moments after.

it was long, and fun and pretty.  exactly what i wanted it to be.

ps.... i don't think we took what could be considered any back roads on this trip, if we did, we could very well still be driving...

Comments

[julie]

oh steph, how beautiful!!! what gorgeous colours. wow.
and thank you so much for the picture!!! i LOVE it (even if the beer cans there). i just cant get over how many colours there are!
and i like how you said at the beginning how these surroundings make you 'so content with the world'. i know this feeling. xxx

[debra]

as always, wonderful photos and lovely thoughts :-)

[Jen]

Well, it all sounds gorgeous, and I have a good imagination, so who cares about the 45 missing images?

[Lisa]

Wow! What gorgeous colours! What a delightful day. Pity we didn't see all of it. I can only imagine!

[Sonya]

Oh those autumn colors and snow! What a wonderful road trip. We've gone 100 miles roundtrip for a pumpkin farm before.

[dottyspots]

LOL! I had to do a double take because the link to Maltby cafe was highlighted, so naturally it was the first thing my eyes noticed. We live near Maltby (in the UK) and I had a moment of scatty confusion at the photos :)

Absolutely beautiful photos, I love autumn so much because of the colours it brings!

[Jeannie]

Ah, the memories! My Dad grew up on a farm in Cathcart and when we go to visit the farm, we stop in at the Maltby Cafe (as well as the Flower Farm). I miss that area, but over here in the desert has it's pluses, i.e. less rain! Have a great week. Cheers.

[amisha]

thank you for this virtual road trip :) these photos are so so gorgeous... i feel the essence of autumn in all of them! and now i'm craving the open road too...
xo

[ambika]

This *really* makes me love where I live. Such fantastic pics.

[Jackie]

My first visit to your blog - your photos are stunning! Your blog is wonderful! Love your fresh outlook on life - 'will be back!
May 24/09