OK- again it's been a few days so here is a summary:

Met up with Kathy in Seattle and spent a day with Kathy's cousins... they live 6 blocks from where I had to work on Thursday which was super handy. Went by the BMW shop also to do a quick check-up on the bike and passed with a clean bill of health.














Thursday night was catching up with Kim and Chris and the kids in Issaquah and getting ready for Dave Matthews at the Gorge. Was great to catch up and see the kids again.



Snoqualmie Pass from Western to Eastern WA was a fun and pretty ride. But you can see immediately the different climate between the two sides of WA. Gone are the tons of green trees and mountains and here are the plains and grasslands.




The Columbia River gorge is super cool. A great windy ride with lots of great views.











The concert was awesome... but I realized how old I am! The venue was amazing. I think I am 15 years older than the median age there but it was still fun.

The kids next to us were funny... they showed up with a case of bud light and paid $75 to park for the weekend and had nothing else. No food, no ice, no tickets, no camping gear... NOTHING. So when we got back from the concert they had finished the case of beer and were looking for handouts of water, blankets... anything.
When we finally tried to pass out ourselves, one of them spent the next two hours puking. Good times. Kathy insists that it's because they were WSU students and that UW grads are WAY smarter than that!!! I told her she should probably keep that information to herself as we were WAY outnumbered.
It really is an epic venue though and I would love to see another concert here.












Art pic from Kathy- it was a full moon but threatening to rain. I learned from a mistake in Seattle to cover the seat with the jackets(sheepskin cover purchased in Portland) if it look like it is going to rain!

The forecast for Sat and Sunday was for rain in Western WA so instead of going back west (and getting soaked) we headed to Spokane to visit Shawn and the family. It was a long day (over 400 miles) and it was made harder as apparently I did some damage to the bottle of run at the concert but it was a pretty ride... very different from the last few weeks of mountains and trees.





Followed the Columbia River for probably 100 miles down a great curvy road. No traffic and scenic vistas.


















Another 250 miles on the Interstate (boring) and we are in Idaho!!!!

The plan for today is to visit a winery and see the sights of Boise with Shawn and Brian and then leave the bike here for a few weeks so I can get some work done in CA. I'll come back and ride the bike back to nor cal in a few weeks.

It's been a great two weeks riding all over the north west and catching up with friends and thanks to everyone who could join me for the various legs and especially for those who put me up in their homes!