Day 7 (August 3, 2000) - Over The Cascades To Seattle
   
 
Day 7 started in Ellensburg, Washington on the eastern edge of the Cascade range, about 100 miles out of Seattle. We stopped in Ellensburg so that we would have daylight with us for the final stretch through Cascadia. We crossed the snow capped Cascade mountains and descended into Bellevue at 2:30pm. Snow capped Mt. Rainier rises to the south of Bellevue and the towers of Seattle can be seen to the west. Total trip mileage, Charlotte to Bellevue, was 3285.
 
Ellensburg_morning.JPG (25470 bytes) Ellensburg_morning2.JPG (32399 bytes) The Best Inn at Ellensburg, Washington. The Cascades within sight...
 
Downtown Ellensburg, Washington...
 
Ellensburg_downtown1.JPG (65125 bytes)  Ellensburg_downtown_lunch.JPG (85441 bytes)  Ellensburg_downtown3.JPG (68386 bytes)  Ellensburg_downtown4.JPG (69833 bytes)  Ellensburg_downtown_Chieko.JPG (106324 bytes)
 
Ellensburg_downtown_Chieko2.JPG (87457 bytes)  Ellensburg_downtown5.JPG (65932 bytes)
 
WA_Cascades1.JPG (21604 bytes) The eastern edge of the Cascades...
 
Crossing the Cascades...
WA_Roslyn.JPG (66885 bytes)  WA_Cascades2.JPG (51940 bytes)  WA_Cascades3.JPG (56723 bytes)  WA_Cascades4.JPG (53377 bytes)  WA_Cascades5.JPG (44979 bytes)
 
Bellevue, Washington...
 
Bellevue_lake.JPG (89951 bytes)  Bellevue_entering.JPG (52960 bytes)  Bellevue_entering2.JPG (65591 bytes)  odometer8.JPG (49166 bytes)  Bellevue1.JPG (34433 bytes)
 
Bellevue_Ridgewood_G.JPG (72175 bytes)  Bellevue2.JPG (34659 bytes)  Bellevue_distant_Seattle.JPG (44421 bytes)  Bellevue3.JPG (34927 bytes)
 
Seattle, Washington...
 
Seattle_bridge.JPG (51051 bytes)  Seattle_tunnel.JPG (35581 bytes)  Seattle_downtown1.JPG (51968 bytes)  Seattle_downtown3.JPG (78127 bytes)  Seattle_Pike_Place2.JPG (58544 bytes)
 
Seattle_Pike_Place.JPG (51253 bytes)  Seattle_Pike_Place3.JPG (56640 bytes)  Seattle_Mt_Rainier2.JPG (44766 bytes)  Seattle_Mt_Rainier.JPG (37075 bytes)  Seattle_Space_Needle.JPG (30306 bytes)
 
As we descended the western face of the Cascades down into the Seattle area I felt a slight melancholy coming on. The time with Chieko had been wonderful and it was great to see Seattle again... but deep inside, I didn't want to stop. This cross-country drive was among the greatest experiences of my life and I did not want it to end! I would have been quite happy to spend a couple of days in Seattle then pick the trail up again, north... to Alaska.
 
I kept thinking about something Capt. Gus McCrae, Texas Ranger, said in Lonesome Dove: "Ain't nothing better than riding' a fine horse through a new country. That's exactly what me and Woodrow was meant for." I felt like I was meant for being on the road...