Our Washington Road Trip: From the Desert to the Evergreens

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Every road trip needs a proper kickoff, and ours started the way most of ours do — a stop at Buc-ee's in Goodyear, AZ before we'd even really left home. Between the opening craziness and miles still ahead of us, we never got the chance to sample the brisket — so we just grabbed a quick picture with the beaver and got back on the road.

From there it was miles of desert highway, with Hoover Dam giving us that first big "we're really doing this" view before we turned north toward Washington.

A Boise Stop with Old Friends

Somewhere in the middle of a long drive, it helps to break it up with familiar faces. Boise gave us that — a stop to see Mark and his vizslas, with Gypsy getting to run around with dogs who actually matched her energy for once.

Along the Idaho/Oregon highway, we caught a couple of bikers throwing the shaka 🤙 as they passed us.

Into the Yakima Valley

Somewhere past the desert and into the green, the Yakima Valley opens up — hop fields, orchards, vineyards, and Mt. Adams sitting quietly on the horizon like it's been waiting for you the whole drive. It's one of those stretches where the landscape does all the talking. We didn't plan to stop and stare, but we did anyway.

A Day in La Conner

We carved out a day for La Conner — a slower-paced stop, all charming small-town streets and water views, including a look out at crab pots bobbing on the water. A nice contrast to the bigger city energy of Seattle.

Settling in at Arlington

Home base for this stretch was Arlington, and it came with its own mix of everyday moments and unexpected ones. There was an afternoon in Dave's backyard watching deer wander through — including one memorable run-in with a bouncy ball that neither the deer nor Gypsy quite knew what to do with.

In between, there was the practical side of travel — an ombré brow appointment and lash lift at Arete, and a haircut with Danae at Gene Juarez.

The bigger surprise of the stretch: watching a parachuting jump over Snohomish.

(Throwback: on a previous visit to the area, we went up in a hot air balloon — a completely different way to see the same skies.)

A Mariners Night in Seattle

We made it into Seattle for a Mariners night — the kind of evening where the plan (a walking loop through downtown) got scrapped in favor of just soaking in the game. From our seats, the Space Needle and the Great Wheel were part of the skyline view, with fireworks and a full-crowd USA chant capping off the night.

Snoqualmie Falls

One of the trip's prettiest stops was Snoqualmie Falls with Gypsy in tow — a quick break from the road to take in one of Washington's most photographed views.

Strawberry Fields — Gypsy's Family Reunion

A stop that meant a little more than sightseeing: Strawberry Fields, where Gypsy got to see her mom, dad, and sister. Not every road trip includes a family reunion for the dog, but this one did.

The Long Drive Home

Every road trip has to end, and ours took its time getting there. An overnight in Jackpot, Nevada. A stop at Krispy Krunchy Chicken inside the Golden Gate gas station on US-93 in Ely, NV — good chicken, easy to miss if you're not looking for it. A close encounter with a Pony Express horse in Ely, Nevada.  

Then Vegas — the Wizard of Oz show lighting up the Sphere, Ava catching it all with her apple in hand, and Doug and Ava zip lining before we got back on the road. Gypsy even got her own stop, boarding at Hound House while we took in the city.

Book Wizard of Oz at Sphere tickets here

SlotZilla Zipline (Fremont Street)

One of the prettiest stretches of the whole drive followed the Snake River through Twin Falls, Idaho — the kind of quiet, wide-open view that's a fitting way to close the book on a very full trip.