We got home from vacation yesterday a bit after four in the afternoon.
Day 1 [Monday, 11/21]: We drove down to Whidbey Island and caught the ferry to Port Townsend. Then we headed around the Olympic Peninsula for the pretty drive. We stopped in Ocean Shores ands stayed the night at the Quinault Casino.
Day 2: Portland is on the ‘Do Not Go There Unless You Have To List’, so we took the bridge over the Columbia River to Astoria (Mrs. L.A. ‘made’ me drive because she doesn’t like to drive on that bridge), and took the 101 down the coast for some pretty scenery and some driving rain and gale-force winds. We cut over to Eugene south of Coos Bay, then took the 5 to Anderson, CA to RON.
Day 3: Down to Orange, CA to see my 96-year-old aunt and a cousin. I didn’t know the address, but I knew the intersection. Unfortunately I used Magnolia Avenue instead of Magnolia street, and Waze took us to Garden Grove. I called my cousin, and we got to the house for a nice visit. Note to self: If you (generally) know the way, don’t use an electronic navigator. Up to Anaheim to RON at a hotel near Disneyland.
Day 4: I ignored Waze for the drive up to the Antelope Valley. We visited Wifey’s relatives in Mojave and then took off for Las Vegas. In accordance with tradition (well, my tradition anyway) we stopped for gyros at The Mad Greek in Baker. We stayed at the Boulder Station Hotel and Casino in North Las Vegas. That was a disappointing stay. I posted my Yelp review in this post.
Days 5 & 6: Cortez, Colorado; our destination! The Days Inn was perfectly positioned to serve as our base for our excursions out to Mesa Verde National Park. Tours closed in October, but we were able to see the cliff dwellings from afar. I’d forgotten my hiking stick, so I bought one in Cortez. I wanted to hike a couple more trails, but The Missus was worn out after a hike at 8,000 feet and we decided to head home early.
Day 7: We were concerned about snow in the passes, so I planned a route from Salt Lake City to [ugh] Portland. Checking conditions the next morning, the Snohomish Pass looked passable. Man, I loved seeing the 80 mph speed limits! We were so enthralled by the scenery between Cortez and SLC that we went over 20 miles past a turn. But hey, we’re on vacation. We ran into heavy, almost blinding, snow in Salt Lake City that put some heavy ice on the front license plate and the front of the car. I eventually pried it off somewhere in Washington. The windshield washer stopped working, which was a pain because we couldn’t see when the semis threw up their spray. Me hit more blinding snow, this time with gale-force winds, around Mountain Home AFB. We stopped in Baker City, OR. Conditions between there and Pendleton were nasty. We lucked out and found a hotel room where someone had cancelled.
Day 8: It was a slow drive to Pendleton. Ice and snow and slow trucks and now windshield washers. Once we were past all of that, the drive was good until we got to the Snohomish Pass, I think he RAV4 has AWD/4WD, but it doesn’t work like it does in the Jeep. I think it might be automatic or something. I would have felt better if I knew how it worked. Chains were not required, but traction tires were ‘advised’. Later there was a sign that said ‘traction tires required’. Too late. We were already at least halfway through. There was a bad crash on the downhill side involving a semi. The trailer was upright, but the tractor was on its side. It hadn’t happened very long before we got to the site, as the backup was short and the WSP were just arriving. Once through the pass, we took the 405 to the 5, and we got home about a quarter past four. We were surprised at the snow. We hadn’t expected any on the final leg. The roads were snowy and icy when we got off of the freeway. This morning, it’s mostly all melted.
Today we’re picking up the kitties from Cat Country Resort. I just need to shower and shave. And I’m off work for the rest of the week.
Good vacation. We saw the cliff dwellings and there was all sorts of pretty scenery. 
