As it turned out, the border was a 10 minute breeze, but we were an hour late getting here. From well up on I-5 we saw the electronic highway signs indicating that I-90 east was closed at exit 83. We weren't sure how that exit matches up with cities along the route. Also, I had read something from a Facebook friend about clearing the highway because of a truck explosion, but that was at 8:00 AM this morning. I assumed that nothing could keep the major artery closed for too long and we'd be fine by the time we rolled through. I was wrong.
There were far fewer vehicles east of 405 than is normal. Yet at the scales well before the Roslyn exit, we came to a complete stop with lined up traffic as far as the eye could see. Luckily the line was creeping along on occasion. I rode the shoulder a bit and followed the vehicles headed past Suncadia. I knew there must be alternate ways past Cle Elem and onto Ellensburg. We did take Highway 10 and it was a scenic drive. Luckily no one was routing east-bound traffic this way. However we rode past 10 miles of lined-up traffic in the other lane. I wasn't quite sure when we got to Ellensburg which side of Exit 109 we'd be on and fortunately it was right. So we pulled in to this sunny desert oasis at a bit after 4:00 PM.
How nice it was to catch up with these two friends! We'd not been to the house since 2013 as we saw them only at Snoqualmie Pass last summer. I cannot picture a better dinner with the swimming pool and unspoilt land as a backdrop. It has been a very nice evening.
