Seattle - part 3

On Friday we headed to Spokane to visit the Macks. We enjoyed

clear weather and beautiful views as we drove over Snoqualmie Pass.

Chrissy was a great hostess. It's not easy to have our crew and paraphernalia descend on your house! The girls, especially Meg, hit it off with Annie, who generously shared her dress up collection.

Ben, Ryan, and Nate enjoyed some time on the Wii.

The big hit was Brandon's backyard ice rink!

The trip back to Seattle on Monday proved to be rather eventful. We drove part way Sunday night to get a head start. Before going to bed we heard pessimistic weather reports for conditions on the pass the next day, so we planned to wake up early and check the forecast again. Sure enough, by morning snow chains were required, so we decided to go back to sleep until stores opened. After breakfast we started toward the pass. To make a long story short, as we climbed toward higher elevations we went from clear skies to overcast, to flurries, to driving snow. When the truckers started pulling over to put on their chains, we took their cue and did the same. We stopped several times due to road closures (avalanche control, accident clean up, actual avalanches, etc.) Finally around lunch time (after sitting still for over an hour and half) we were all ordered to turn around and head back--the road was closed. Part way back down we stopped to eat in a funny little town. Huge piles of plowed drifts lined the streets and surrounded the buildings. Everyone was out and about as if it were a fine summer day--the power of snow chains! (Incidentally we lugged our set home on the plane and are really hoping it snows in Atlanta this winter!) Meanwhile we talked with Bekie and she confirmed what we had heard over lunch: there was a clear pass farther north. Thankfully it was, in fact, smooth sailing and a mere 12 hours after leaving the hotel that morning we arrived back in Seattle. It was actually a very interesting day. The kids did pretty well on our unplanned road trip marathon, the scenery reminded us of Narnia under the White Witch, and the experience was certainly one of a kind.

Unfortunately I have no pictures of our time at the Jackson's house. They had plenty of space for us and a great piece of property to explore. The kids had fun romping for a few days around while Bekie and I visited and Erik concluded his work responsibilities.

Goodbye Seattle. We hope to see you again--in the summer. :)