We started our ride by riding Hyw 18 north for 29 miles and then rode through fall city passing the Snoqualmie Falls observatory. I didn't stop because I have seen it many times this summer. It's best to visit when the rivers are flowing heavy. If you haven't seen the falls you have to stop. They are great and it's a good opportunity to get some cool photos. The road that runs through here is Fall City-Snoqualmie Rd. Just past the falls we enjoyed some brief but sweet twists and turns under shade trees. This road become Hyw 203. We rode 203 27 miles through farm land and past a couple dairy farms. The country side in this area is very relaxing to ride through. We made our way north riding through the towns of Carnation, Duval and Monroe. We stopped for fuel and drink at the fuel station in Monroe. We ran into several other riders that were on a trip from California if my memory serves me. They were heading to Leavenworth for lunch and them crossing Eastern Washington to ride US 14 west along the Columbia. Man I wanted to join them! The sun was poking through the high clouds and it was beginning to warm up. We chatted for a bit while drinking our sodas and then we all saddle up and hit the road heading east on US 2.

It's been a year since I road US 2 over Stevens Pass so I was pretty excited to do so. We couldn't have picked a better day to make this ride. We rode US 2 48 miles through the towns of Sultan, Gold Bar, Baring and Scenic and on up to the Steven's Pass Summit. US to parallels the Skykomish River so we were treated to view after view of the river and its banks. We stopped at the summit to stretch our legs. Doing so we seen countless riders pass by heading down the mountain. There was one large group of Harleys that must have been 30 strong. Looking down the road I could see the terrain changing as it does on the eastern side. We started down the mountain and it wasn't long and the cool air from the altitude turned to a warm breeze. The sun felt good as I carved my way through the sweeping turns. The trip down seemed to go quickly. We rode 37 miles east bound on US 2 through straights and nice sweeping turns. We made a couple stops for photos, one of which we walked down to the river and took in the scenery. Leavenworth came up quick. It was only 37 miles from Steven's Pass summit to Leavenworth. The town was just as I remembered it. A small quaint Bavarian Themed town with the streets full of visitors. The Bavarian music was pumping out of speakers throughout the town. I'm not into accordion music but it does fit the theme. We found a parking spot in town and stowed our gear. There were allot of bikes and riders in town. I was approached by a Harley Biker who asked me about my camera setup. He was digging it but stated he had enough to deal with just getting stoned and drinking beer! I got a kick out of him as he made his way across the street. He may have already had something!

One block south of where we parked  was a food stand. They had an outdoor grill and smoke was poring off the grill. As soon as the smell hit my nose I was off in that direction. It was Bratwurst they were grilling. I have a weakness for Brat's smothered in Sauerkraut. We ordered at the window and then found a table with an umbrella to get out of the sun. Within 10 minutes my Bratwurst was on the table in front of me. The poor thing didn't last long at all. I pilled the Sauerkraut on it high! Some onion and Mustard and it was bye bye! We sat and enjoyed the cold sodas while watching folks pass by. Soon it was time to get on with it. I didn't want to leave without getting a picture of the chocolate fountains in the shop next door.  They have two 5 tier fountains that pour melted chocolate. one white and one milk chocolate. It really smelled good in the shop. I kept up my will power and left the candy shop without indulging in my favorite treats. We walked back to our bikes and grabbed a few more photos prior to gearing up for the trip back.

Once on the road we made our way through Leavenworth heading East on US 2. We fueled up at the Safeway just out of Leavenworth. We rode US 2 for about 4.2 miles to Peshastin where we turned right o to US 97. We rode US 97 for 31.7 miles through some of the best high speed sweeping turns Washington has to offer. This is a stellar section of road. Allot of scenery and sweeping turns. At the end of the 31.7 miles of bliss we came up on the sign informing us the Historic town of Liberty was our next left. We turned up the road and soon came up on the Liberty Trading post. This is owned by a guy named Dale who also owns 5 gold mine claims next door. That's right! Gold mines! The folks of Liberty are mining real claims. We rode up through the small town and enjoyed the rustic look of the homes and buildings. We made our way back down to the trading post and I went in and bought some polished rocks and arrow heads for my kids. While drinking a soda and chatting a friend and coworker bill Tweed pulled in. He has a house and 7 gold mine claims in Liberty. We talked a bit about the mining etc the parted ways as we made our way back to US 97.

We rode US 97 for another 3 miles past Liberty and then turned on to Hyw 970. This highway runs through  fields of brown grass mostly and past a Buffalo fam. We stopped along the road next to the Buffalo farm and took some photos of the Buffalo herd. It was getting late in the day so we made the stop short. We made our way up the final section of Hyw 970 where we turned on to I-90 west bound. From here we rode 60 miles west on I-90 on mostly straight as an arrow asphalt with the exception of the sweeping turns on the east and west side of Snoqualmie pass. The sun was now low in the sky and we soon approached the turn off on to Hyw 18. We parted ways at 244th where Lloyd exited to head home. I had another 30 miles to ride. The rest of the ride was Hyw 18 and then some I-5. It felt good to get home and my wing was covered in smashed bugs. I really enjoyed this trip as I always do when I ride it. If you do make this ride don't forget to try the Bratwurst and make sure you check out the  historic mining town of Liberty.

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Tacoma , Washington  - United States (USA)