Originally Posted by Kwikkordead

Ernest have you ever been to the Pacific NW? There is no better place to be on Earth than in July, August and September. Daily high temps average around 80 and the night time lows are about 68. And no rain. Or at most a sprinkle and then it stops.
Some of the most beautiful scenery to fill your eyes and good clean air too.
There's a ton of great RV parks around here that you can stay in.

Originally Posted by ernesteugene

Thanks for the tip, but I know all about promised cool weather. We spent Jul, Aug, and Sept there in 2004 during your all time record July heat wave. Got some rain which didn't seem like much to me, but the flash floods were everywhere because none of the storm drains had gotten their annual cleaning yet. Visited the Boeing plant, and no one was home, the place was deserted as everyone had been laid off. Then we had 1 week of decent weather in Anacortes, and then your stupid winter storms started about 2 months early, and by the time we got to Gold Beach the trailer came close to blowing over on its side.

Yes, we know all about your nice weather this time of year, and might even come back for some more. We're in the UP of MI now, and are considering the possibility of a trip west on US 2. I have no idea how that might work for towing, but it would be something different to see how far west we can get from here without going on an interstate.

Originally Posted by Kwikkordead

Well, at least we don't get tornados.
Never heard of Gold Beach, perhaps you meant Long Beach? It will never warm up past 75 degrees even in August, so if you want to stay cool, go there.
You can drive out on the beach if you want, but I wouldn't recommend it without 4x4. The sand is ok in the wet zone, but you must cross the dry zone to get there and it's pretty soft.

US 2 is an excellent route if you want scenery. Heading west from Spokane you will go through a lot of wheat fields and very small towns. I've done that route in the past and very much recommend it. You may want to divert a bit North and check out Grand Coulee dam. It's the largest concrete structure in N. America and is quite a sight. The MASSIVE generators can be viewed from the observation platform along with a few displays that people built in the past that explains electricity and how it works. Things like hand cranking a generator to light a bulb, etc.
Years ago I was fortunate enough to be a participant in a tour that took me down into one of the turbine housings that actually drive the generator. It looked exactly like the inside of an exhaust housing on a turbocharger except it was big enought to stand in. My jaw was dragging in the dirt the whole time!
If you are there at night time they have a laser show that is directed onto the spillway.
Proceeding west from Wenachee it starts to get crowded and the freeway ends before you get to Leavenworth. Leavenworth is a fun little tourist town if you can find a place to park your rig. Bavarian themed town filled with all kinds of tourist traps. There's a few RV camps in the area and a KOA on the east end of town, but I don't think they can really accommodate anything larger than 30'. It's pretty tight getting into that one. I'm not very impressed with KOA in general, not a very good value compared to the nice places.

Ok, proceeding West from Leavenworth, the road is two lane all the way to the West side of the pass, but it's plenty wide and VERY scenic. Halfway up Tumwater canyon on the South side there is an old dam with a fish ladder that I like to stop at and try and spot a fish. At the end of the canyon road it opens up quite a bit, but the scenery doesn't dry up. It's a beautiful place.
You'll find a rest area about ten miles outside of the end of Tumwater canyon on the North side of the road. It's the last one for a long time, so I recommend stopping. If not to take advantage of the facilities, at least to turn off the engine and take a walk around and smell the alpine air laced with evergreen trees.

Now a bit of trivia, one mile west of that rest area, on the opposite side of the highway you will find a driveway going into the woods on the South side of the highway. There is a small housing developement back there, all on 5 acre lots. For 25 years my Dad and Stepmother lived back there in a very nice house that they built together. That house has been sold nearly ten years ago now, but I have spent a lot of time in this area of the country for obvious reasons.
From there you'll be climbing up to Steven's Pass. The West side is 6% grade with a "dead mans" curve at the bottom. The yellow safe speed sign at the bottom of the hill is 40 mph where you will go around the corner and then proceed down some more for a few more miles and then it flattens out.
If you feel like stopping at Deception Falls for a look around, there is a nice trail that goes down under the bridge with a good platform for viewing the falls right in front of you. It's kind of small but worth it if you like natural beauty.

After that, it's mostly a highway through the woods and will bring you to Monroe, WA where the traffic jams begin.
One thing about the PNW, is that it's not hot enough to overtax your cooling system and that's how I'm avoiding a thread highjack, LOL.

<TABLE><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="100%">If you really want to get scenic go US 20 out of Winthrop, but don't do it pulling the trailer. It's passible with the trailer but you'll be concerned about the axles when you finally arrive at Marblemount. Safe travels where ever you end up.

Originally Posted by Kwikkordead

Never heard of Gold Beach

Originally Posted by John311t

Ernest where are you at in the UP? That my winter playground!

Originally Posted by Kwikkordead

Sorry guys, but what is the U.P. area?