Weather advisories, there were a bunch of them for a good portion of Washington state including our home area of Spokane Washington. Time to get out of town and head south to warmer climates. Well not that far south, just about a 2 hour drive south. Our distention was the Snake river about 20 miles downriver from Lewiston / Clarkston. It is usually much more mild there since the elevation is right at 700 feet in the river valley. While not any 80F weather during winter, a good 10 degrees warmer makes the difference. Especially when they were calling for wind chills in the negatives and highs in the teens with snow and blowing winds. So yeah, I will take a bit warmer temperatures when I can.
We left Spokane around 10AM and made our way south. We stopped for a couple geocaches along our route then eventually found a spot to camp at. There are many free spots to camp along the Snake river. There are also a couple of campgrounds but we did not want to pay for a spot.
Leaving Spokane heading south of town.
Stopped to look for a geocache.
Joanne and I checking out a county park and campground. Looking for a geocache there as well.
A nice park here.
Lots of history along the Snake river.
We eventually looked for a spot to camp. We checked out a couple spots before returning to one we saw earlier. We got our things set up and relax time was on. It was a bit cold with a skiff of snow on the ground but no where near how cold it was turning out to be back home. So it was not Mexico warm but we enjoyed it still.
Our spot for the night.
Sitting under the pop up and watching the river go by.
It stays pretty warm with the little red campfire under the pop up.
Eventually we started a bigger wood fire out in the fire pit.
After dinner and after sitting around the campfire for a while it was time to go inside. Joanne and I played a game of dominoes before calling it a night. It was very peaceful that night.
Early morning I woke up to hearing the wind blow outside. Seems the winds picked up. Once daylight came around and I went outside, I could feel the warmer weather. Winds came but they brought some warmer weather. The little bit of snow was melting.
The sun was out and snows melted.
Looking up river.
Another view of our spot that night.
Joanne and I looked for a geocache nearby, no luck finding that one. Then we talked about the wind. I can deal with lots of weather but I grow very tired of winds. So we packed our things up and searched for another spot that was out of the wind. We eventually found a very nice spot for the night. This spot had trash service, a boat launch and even a pit bathroom. We got our things set back up and had lunch.
Our new spot for the night.
A great spot really and free too.
Another view of our spot.
Our river view very near the camper.
Soon afterwards a friend came to our camp for a visit. Our friend Sally even brought steaks for us to have for dinner. Yum! We set out to find some geocaches then returned to camp for the night. We found most of the caches and saw some great views.
I always love the views of the river.
Sun reflecting of the water.
Joanne and Sally geocaching.
Checking out the rock formation and looking for a cache.
A view point on top of a rock formation.
Looking down at Joanne.
Sally and Joanne making their way back down.
Joanne and I.
It was time to head back to camp after caching. We started up a fire and chatted. Soon dinner was made, steaks. Some other geocache friends stopped by as well for a visit. It was a nice way to end the day.
Fire going.
Looking out towards the river.
During the evening the winds had come back. We paid no attention to them since Joanne and I were warm and snug in bed. The furnace kept us plenty warm. I woke up just a bit before sunrise and saw a lot of white stuff flying around and on the ground. What the hell? Wow, it was snowing really good. Well, we got one day of no snow. Yeah the weather had changed.
Looking out the back window of the camper.
Our spot was not so green anymore.
This really was a great spot to stay.
We were going to leave much later to go home but with the weather really turning ugly, we decided we would go earlier. We knew it was going to take longer to get home. So we packed up and after eating breakfast we left. We would have to make a stop in Lewiston first to dump the tanks. A fun chore as always.
Leaving camp and heading towards town.
A fun chore made even better in the snow.
The drive home was pretty intense. I was really surprised that the highway from the top of the Lewiston grade to Colfax Washington was not closed. The snow drifts were bad and visibility was not very good at all. Sometimes it was non existent for a few seconds. Top speeds of 30 was the best we could do. That was when we could see.
Eventually though, we made it home. Only to get into the driveway and see how much snow removal we had ahead of us. Sigh. How much fuel do we have left and how far south can we get?
weather advisories 2/8 – 2/10 2019
