After an arduous journey, crossing 8 states in two and a half days and driving through the night the first night for 32 hours straight, we are rightfully exhausted. Even now, two days past our arrival on Sunday night, we still haven’t fully caught up on our sleep but we are slowly getting there. Yesterday we just chilled; other than going out for coffee, we hung out at the house relaxing and enjoying the warm sunny day.

On Sunday, on the last leg of our trip as we crossed Washington on Highway 90, we stopped at a rest area with a vantage point overlooking the Ginkgo Petrified State Park and the gorge of the Columbia River. Even with the haze hanging in the air, the views were breathtaking and we managed to get someone to take a picture of the four of us together, with one smoky view in the background.

Today we took Laura and Bill into Abbotsford to do a little shopping and to show them around the area. There is a grey-blue haze here in the valley, no doubt from the smoke drifting here from a major forest fire burning near Osoyoos, in the BC interior, on both sides of the border. It was obstructing many of the mountain views so they couldn’t see all of the beauty that surrounds us here. Despite the smoke, we are experiencing some warm sunshine so at least they are able to enjoy the weather and after another good night’s sleep tonight, perhaps tomorrow we will be back to normal.