Met up after an early breakfast for a group photo and then off to the depot to pick up our bikes.
Set off skirting Seattle and headed along the I90 freeway up a pass through the Cascade mountain range. Stopped for a coffee at the top of the pass - some 3,000 feet above sea level.
Unfortunately the forest fires burning in British Columbia and Washington State had caused a haze which obscured some of the views. The following image (off the internet) gives a better impression of the scenery of the Cascade range.
Leaving the mountains we entered the Columbia plateau landscape - semi-arid and ranging from sage grass scrub to rolling baked, golden grassland with areas of arable farming aided by intensive irrigation.
Stopped for lunch after another hour of riding - at a cafe housed in a former church.
Spotted some columns of basalt off the side of the road (as per Giant's Causeway and Fingal's Cave) - and subsequently found out that the entire Columbia plateau was formed from lava flows over a 10 to 15 million year period. Rolled into Spokane around 5 pm, checked into the hotel and then rode a couple of miles to an open house at the local Harley dealership.
Retire early to bed after a welcome cold beer.
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