Das ist Gut, Ja?

Almost my last leg of journey north

I was tempted to spend another night at the beautiful Yakima Elks Lodge and Country Club but decided I need to hit the road and stick with my schedule.  So I packed up and headed for the last stop before I landed at the campground where I will be camp host.  My destination was Mount Vernon, WA.  The map showed about 225 miles thru the mountains.  I had to get gas so wound up going back to Yakima to fill up.  The Elks Lodge is actually in Selah, WA a small town next to Yakima.  The interstates going north are confusing and I got on the wrong one and had to back track.  Thus the total mileage for the trip north turned out to be 252 miles.  It was a long day as it was raining almost continuously and it was a lot of mountain driving.  I am glad that is over.

Stopped in Leavenworth

When I had posted my route many people mentioned that I should stop in Leavenworth, WA.  It is right on highway 2 which is the road I take to Mount Vernon, WA.  I was able to find public parking for my RV right at the end of town.  Fortunately it was not raining when I got there, so parked the rig next to a sports shop and walked a few blocks back into town.

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This is a really unique little town that is modeled on a Bavarian Village.  What a trip!

Good Mood Food

I thought this was a cool name for a restaurant.

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They even had a small par three golf course.

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These guys kept the golf course well manicured.

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Beautiful Mountains

This is a ski town and the mountains still had snow.

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Lots of very neat shops

This is the downtown portion.  Lots and lots of small shops.

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Here is one of the many hotels with a beautiful mural painted on the wall next to it.

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I loved the many murals painted right on the walls of the buildings.

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Another view of the town and local mountains.

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Pizza anyone?

I thought this was a really neat name for the local pizza joint.

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Great stop

I loved this town.  I really didn’t go into any of the shops as it was getting late and also started to rain.  On my next trip up here I would like to spend a day walking thru the many shops.

Lots of rain and traffic

I took highway 2 over to I5 and then headed north to Mount Vernon.  It was raining so hard I could not see much of the local scenery.  On top of that I hit Everett, WA and headed north during rush hour.  The gas tank was very low, but I knew I could make it to my destination.  I had called the camp host at the Mount Vernon Elks in the morning and he stated they had room.  He greeted me when I got there and showed me where to park.  WHEW!  This was a tough day of traveling.  Lots of mountain driving in the rain.

Pip Pip Ole Boy. I’m off to MY country club today.

Yakima Elks Golf and Country Club

The Yakima Elks Lodge is right off 97.  My GPS took me to this road and I thought The GPS had guided me down the wrong road.  But the sign reads Yakima Elks so it had to be right.

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The entrance and down a long road to the lodge.

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What a place.  This has to be the most fantastic Elks Lodge I have ever stayed at.   There was no camp host to tell me where to go so I just pulled over, went inside, showed my card and paid.  Then I could pick any site that was available.  I grabbed the one closest to the driving range.  I never in my wildest dreams ever thought I would have golf course property.  At least for two nights.  Whoopee!!!

View out my window

I took these pics out my window so they are a bit dark.  The first one looks out to the driving range.

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This guy pulled up in a real fancy golf cart with sides and chrome wheels.  HA!

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This is a view of the course and the practice putting green.  The course is highly manicured.

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This shows where I am parked for 2 nights.  They park the rigs right on the edge of the golf course.  It was $25 per night and well worth it with water, electricity and dump station.  I’m the little guy on the end.

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They serve dinners here  from 5 to 8 pm Wednesday thru Saturday.  I got here on Tuesday so heated up some frozen Trader Joe’s pizza and scarfed.  It was good, but plan on going into the lodge tonight for dinner.

I have stayed at many Elks Lodges since joining, but never anything like this.  I feel like I just joined the rich and the famous.  Even Chica is strutting her stuff on her walks!

Camp Host – Panorama Point

Camp Host

In case you haven’t heard yet I was hired by Hoodoo to be their camp host at Panorama Point, a NFS campground on Baker Lake in the Cascades in Washington.  I got the job while touring the big tent in Quartzsite last January.  I have to report there on May 14 so will begin heading up there in the next couple of weeks.  I am really getting excited about spending my entire summer in this beautiful spot.  I copied a few pics to show you where I will be camp hosting.

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It is located about 17+ miles from the small town of Concrete, WA where I will be doing much of my shopping.  The next largest city is Bellingham, WA which is about 70 miles from the campground where I will probably do major shopping.

Last state to visit in the west

Washington is the only state in the west that I haven’t visited.  I will now be able to fill in that empty spot on my map.  At last!!!

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Drop on by

If you happen to be in the area please drop on by, say hi and enjoy a beautiful scenic park.