Kirkland to Salt Lake City is about a 13 hour drive - including one time zone change - Through Washington, through a corner of Oregon, through a bit of Idaho and then into Utah. We recently made the trip to see Michael Todd and his daughters. Click here for more on the trip.
I like to look at a map to get an idea of where we're going and how to get there. Joe likes the GPS. Long ago he named our GPS Eloise. He and Eloise have had a love-hate relationship over the years. He thinks Eloise has an attitude, especially when she tells him she is "recalculating" because of a turn Joe did or didn't make. Her exasperation increased with each recalculation. You could hear it in her voice. This trip he decided to dump Eloise for "Alice." Alice is from Australia and doesn't seem to have quite the attitude that Eloise did.
Just an hour from our house, you’re into the mountains with dense, dense forest and lush green landscapes. The end of April - there was still snow on Snoqualmie Pass, about an hour east of Kirkland.
left - ski run at Snoqualmie Pass
right - snow on the sides of the road is piled almost to the top of the road signs
Once you cross over the Cascade Mountains the terrain changes dramatically. These wind turbines are near Ellensburg, Washington - not quite two hours east of Kirkland.
Central Washington, on the east side of the Cascade Mountains doesn't get much rain. Sprinklers are widely used in the fields. The valleys are filled with orchards.
Interstate 82 crosses over this beautiful bridge near Yakima, Washington.
Going west into the snow-covered Cascade Mountains (at the end of our trip)
On the route to Salt Lake City through the corner of Oregon, Idaho and into northern Utah, most of the mountains are treeless.
The vistas are breathtaking - much more so than these images convey. 
You cross the Snake River a number of times.
Monday morning we spent at few hours at the Oregon Trail Interpretative Center, about five miles outside Baker City, Oregon. The center is near the entrance to Hell’s Canyon.
The green growth on this rock looked like it might glow in the dark.
Oregon Trail ruts
Snow-capped Blue Mountains from the Oregon Trail Center
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