The above heading is not reference to a former President but an actual place here in Washington State, approximately halfway between the cities of Spokane and Seattle (about 150 miles away from each).
We sadly had to leave our new friends at Dog Bark Park, but we took away our little dog Walter to always remind us of the wonderful time we had had there. From Cottonwood we headed North-West, passing by Lewiston and Clarkston and climbing high on the plains. If the prairies of Idaho had reminded us of the Yorkshire Dales back in England the plains of Washington State along a large part of the route were more reminiscent of the Yorkshire Moors with the sagebrush mimicking the moor’s heather. We had set-off in pouring rain but as we passed through Washington the clouds parted and the sun came out, and it miraculously turned into a glorious day. Luckily we reached our first night’s stop at Sun Crest Resort, in Moses Lake early afternoon. It turned out to be one of the nicer campgrounds we have stayed at, with a fantastic pool which Jack and Emily really enjoyed.
From the relative comfort of Sun Crest we travelled some 30 miles further along Interstate 90 to George. This place is literally in the middle of nowhere – surrounded by agricultural farm land and vineyards, but its value is its central location from Spokane and Seattle. So here they have constructed the most wonderful outdoor concert venue high on the ravine cliffs overlooking the mighty Columbia River. We had come here as a treat for Mark’s birthday, having bought him tickets to see the veteran rock band Rush. He had last seen them he reckons when he was 21 or so – so they we now firmly in the category of “aging rockers”. We are now parked in a field with no electrical or water hook-up with a bunch of other people intent on partying – so needless to say it is a bit noisy. The first night we suffered, but the second night when the band were playing we decided to relocate further into the site to escape some of the noise of our neighbours! Staying here for two days also allowed us some time to do some much needed domestic work around the motor home in preparation for abandoning it in Ashland, Oregon and making our way to the UK via Alaska.
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The Rush concert was wonderful. We had only bought 2 tickets so Mark and Jack were the lucky two to get to go to the concert. It went on for around 2 ½ hours showing that even old rockers in their 50s are able to party and play hard. These shows were an extension of their 2007 Snakes and Arrows offering, their latest album. As well as doing quite a few songs from this album they also threw in a large number of the old classic songs. As always one of the highlights of the evening was a long and characteristically rampageous drum solo by the ever melancholic Neil Peart. His partners in crimes the shrill Geddy Lee and guitar strummer, Alex Lifeson, .jpg)
belied their passage of time.It was surprising to even Mark how well attended the concert was considering where we're located – we estimated about 15,000 people were there. As for the venue we were hugely impressed. The event organisation was wonderful, there were so many security guards and staff that it made us feel incredibly safe. Yet the most amazing part is the concert venues natural amphitheatre setting and the fabulous scenic views across the Columbia Gorge. All in all a fantastic experience.
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