On to Washington and a Bluebird Rally, and plans for August and September

We had noticed that there was a Bluebird Rally planned near Olympia, Washington, starting on July 30... we looked at the map and decided that we could make that drive when we checked out of the Thousand Trails campground near Bend on Monday, checked with the organizers to see if there was space for us, and decided that would be our next destination!

Mount Hood filled our windshield view for some of the drive...

... sometimes peeking over the trees...

...sometimes out of sight around a curve (and an "Extreme Fire Danger Use Caution" sign)...

... but then it would re-appear...

So beautiful!

 We drove up through Gresham, Oregon, got on I-84 west, then I-205 north out of Portland and into Washington, and up I-5 to near Olympia.

We've arrived at Evergreen Sportsmen's Club. Fellow Bluebirders Ray and Leslie (of the Quartzsite Prime Rib fame!) are hosting the rally here. We're looking forward to meeting some new folks and getting to know some of the other Bluebirders better.

So far, there are 7 buses here - 3 on the front row...

... and 4 on the back row.

It is a little warm here (mid 80s - not as warm as it was in the Bend area - Bend was in the 90s), but predicted to cool a little for the days we'll be here.

We also have some bookings for the next couple of weeks...

Link to Google Maps

We wanted to visit Victoria again - we visited there after our Alaska cruise in 2005. Since it requires a ferry to get there, and the fare for a bus is pretty high, we decided to leave Miss Doozie and the cats in a campground near Anacortes, and just take the Jeep over on the ferry through the San Juan Islands. That's planned for Monday-Tuesday, 8/6-7. Then we have reservations to stay at three Thousand Trails campgrounds across Washington state... ending up north of Spokane, WA. We are thinking that we may go from there into Canada - I would like to visit Lake Louise, and we need to "collect" the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba (Dwayne and I have been to Manitoba previously, but not with Miss Doozie, and neither of us have been to Alberta or Saskatchewan). We plan to visit friends in Geneseo, IL, near Cincinnati and Mount Gilead, OH. We also would like to "collect" the last of the 48 states, Michigan - but, as you see by the map, I don't have figured out exactly when that might occur!

Our reservation at the Newport/Little Diamond Thousand Trails (paired with a KOA) has us leaving on 8/20... so we have a little over a month to make it to our next reservation at a county park in Fairfax County, near Reston, VA, before dropping down into Virginia to see Regina and Kendra at the Dairy Show in the VA State Fair, attending a Vintage Birds Rally in Williamsburg, and staying on the farm in Virginia and getting a good dose of family!

Of course, all of these plans are subject to change at the drop of a hat! Or, when something else interesting or important comes up!