The objective for the day was to change the oil in both bikes. We contemplated do the change ourselves ($), but opted for the convenience of having a Harley dealer do it for us. ($$$)

We said goodbye to Tamera and scooted off down the road, while Rani took a video of us.

Sound Harley in Marysville, WA, did the oil change for us.

We made a reservation at a campground in Soap Lake while we were waiting for our bikes.

We ate our lunch outside the dealership and headed for US-2 East.

Have you ever seen a motorist do something they shouldn’t and there were no cops around? We followed a car going down the shoulder lane for a few miles. Riding on this particular shoulder is allowed from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., but it was 1 p.m. Soon, not one, but TWO motorcycle cops zoomed past us and stopped the car. That’s something we almost never see.

The weather all morning was great. It was cool and sunny. At the top of Stevens Pass it was 75 degrees. We stopped for a couple of pictures along the road.

We stopped for a snack at this fruit stand. They had a beautiful picnic area beside the shop.

When we got down to Wenatchee, the smoke from a fire dominated the skyline to the north as the temperature rose to 105 degrees. We pressed ahead and drank all the water in our Camelbacks. It was a relief to get to our campground.

It was also a surprise to see how nice the campground is. Smokiam RV Resort is the best we’ve encountered. All the sites are shaded; there’s a pool, hot tub, and sauna as well as a beach on the lake. Soap Lake is filled with minerals and has been sought out for its therapeutic benefits for many years.

There is a stark contrast between the landscapes of Western and Eastern Washington. There are millions of trees in the west. There is brown, dry, desert in the east except where there is farming with irrigation. Notice the rock uplift above the lake. Uplifts like these line both sides of the Columbia River in this area.

Agri-business is huge here. With water from the river they are able to grow a variety of crops. We saw very large fields of fruit trees, grapes, and corn. The processing plants along the highway are enormous.

We especially like the shaded sites. There has been a constant breeze keeping us comfortable.

In addition to campsites, the resort has cabins and tipis.

There are many people of Russian and Ukrainian heritage staying here, so the signs are in English and Russian.

It’s interesting to see all the stuff the tent campers have brought with them. I assume they’ve come for at least a week. They have screen rooms, refrigerators, cooking equipment, hover boards, bicycles, electric scooters, and even a Coleman portable spa, which they are using a a kiddie pool. The kids have lots of fun in the evening riding their bikes and scooters and congregating on the basketball court.

On Hiatus

We like it here so much we have booked two more nights. It’s time for a break and this is a great place to relax. Over the next couple of days we’ll go grocery shopping and perhaps ride up to Grand Coulee dam. We’ll report back in a couple of days.