We awoke to the morning sound of rain and thunder. We prepared to leave our campsite in Fall City and head toward Moses Lake where we would stay for one night. We had to cross Snoqualamie Pass, elevation 3,200 in the rain and fog. Once we reached the other side of the mountain it was like a different world. The first thing we saw was a huge lake called Lake Kachess at the summit of the pass. The lake is both a lake and a reservoir and is part of the Columbia River basin. Due to the bad weather we did not get good pictures of the beautiful lake. The water from the reservoir is used for irrigation. 
At the base of the summit we began to see open farmland for as far as the eye could see with huge stacks of hay waiting to be loaded onto trucks. 
The grass along the side of the road and in some of the fields appeared to be brown and burnt, so unlike the lush green of western Washington. So much of the moisture is trapped to the west by the mountains, leaving the east hot and dry. We saw many windmills 
and some signs of irrigation, and the irrigated fields were green with crops. The sky continued to be ominous with heavy threatening clouds for most of our trip. We passed through Grant County, Washington which had a sign along the roadway stating it was the largest potato growing county in the nation. We thought those honors would have gone to a county in Idaho! Also along the roadway we saw signs on fenceposts telling us what crops were growing in the fields. What a great idea as this kept us fascinated as we passed sweet corn, potatoes, peas, alfalfa, onions, wheat and Timothy which we learned is a major source of hay. We also watched as a couple crop dusting planes were flying over the fields.
We pulled into Cascade Campground, a beautiful campground owned by the city of Moses Lake and located right on their large lake. We barely had time to pull into our campsite before a huge wind storm hit the area blowing over tents and trash cans and scattering items everywhere. After about twenty scary minutes it quieted down but stayed windy for the rest of of the evening. We would have liked to stay longer here since it is a beautiful location, but we needed to continue to move east.
The next day we headed further west, passing through Spokane. After six weeks in Washington state we were excited to be moving on to Idaho and Montana. 
We arrived in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho, population 45,000. We stayed here three nights to visit with Bill’s cousin Sue and her husband Steve. Coeur d’ Alene is the second largest metropolitan city in the state of Idaho and the largest city in the northern Idaho Panhandle. Coeur d’ Alene is named for a tribe of Native Americans who lived along the lakes and rivers when the area was discovered by French fur traders in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Today it is a resort town which relies heavily on tourism. Barbara Walters called it a “little slice of heaven” and listed in as one of her most fascinating places to visit. Good Morning America broadcast the Christmas tree lighting ceremony there several years ago because it is one of the largest in the United States.
We had a wonderful visit with Sue and her husband Steve in their lovely home. Sue showed us her yard with gorgeous flowers, herb gardens, and we were able to pick raspberries, strawberries and blueberries fresh from her garden. In the fall they will have a harvest from their apple trees. Sue also makes wine and has won several ribbons at the Idaho State Fair. She gave us several bottles to take with us to enjoy in our travels. Steve is a fantastic cook and we enjoyed the meals he prepared for us during our visit.
Sue took us on a tour of Coeur d’ Alene and we toured the area around beautiful Lake Coeur d’ Alene. We also introduced Sue to geocaching by finding a cache downtown by the lake. 
