Suggestions for Seattle-Yakima-Tri Cities-Walla Walla-Spokane-Seattle Driving Trip (Vancouver, Kennewick: car rental, 2013) - Washington (WA) - City-Data Forum

BellaDL · 08-20-2015, 10:10 AM

Washington remains our preferred state to retire. Last year, we took 2 relocation scouting trips visiting Vancouver area in October and the Olympic Peninsula in December. We made a backup offer on a property in Port Townsend and did not get the house. If the offer went through, I’d have retired and lived in WA by now.

One of the main reasons to relocate in the west is to be closer to our daughter who is living in Idaho. There had been some unfortunate development with my daughter broke up with her fiancée early this year. She was thinking about moving to either Washington or Oregon. I suggested and my daughter agreed that it might be a good idea for her to live with us for a while so we are thinking of finding a place meeting both our interests and hers.

So we are now expanding our search for a possible relocation home to the dry eastern part of Washington since my daughter is quite allergic to mold. We are planning a trip in early October. First my daughter and we will spend few days in the Olympic Peninsula vacationing with my brother's family (there is a possibility that she may find the rain shadow area quite livable). My daughter has to go back to work earlier than us so we will drop her off at SEATAC before our driving trip to explore several cities east of the Cascades: Yakima, Tri Cities, Walla Walla and Spokane.

I had checked into one-way car rental from Seattle to Spokane and multiple cities flights - NYC to SEATAC then GEG (Spokane) to NYC. The bottom line is that it will cost us at least $500 more and much longer return flights (there are no nonstop flights from Spokane to NYC). So we are thinking of a driving tour before returning the car to SEATAC. We will leave the OP to get to Seattle on Tuesday, drive eastward to explore the above mentioned cities and get back to SEATAC Sunday afternoon for the return flight to NY. So we will have about 5 days for this driving tour.

My tentative plan is to drive from Seattle following Interstate 90 then 82 to Yakima, Richland, and Kennewick to Walla Walla. From Walla Walla, we will follow Rt 12 to Clarkston, Pullman to Spokane. From Spokane we will follow 395 to 90 back to Seattle. My husband is curious about Grand Coulee Dam but that area is quite arid so I am not sure whether it's worth a detour.

I'd appreciate suggestions on whether we should change our routes, interesting places to see along the routes and/or worthwhile detour for the approximately 5 days trips

Thank you in advance for your inputs.

ShadoAngel · 08-20-2015, 11:03 AM

Unless you are considering Clarkston or Pullman as cities to move to, you'd save an hour of driving by taking 127 (off of 12 near the Snake River) to 26 to 195 in Colfax, and then north to Spokane.

Otherwise, that's exactly the way I would do it.

There's a wide variety of cities you're looking at - I hope you find something that works for you!

BellaDL · 08-20-2015, 01:13 PM

Yes, I'd like to check out Clarkston and Pullman as possible relocation place as well based on their proximity to Idaho. There is the possibility that my daughter may want to stay in Idaho and not wanting to live with us.

Based on the experience of our last two scouting trips, I think we should actually visit a place to see if it is a possible good fit especially when there are conflicting reports and opinions.

M3 Mitch · 08-20-2015, 01:56 PM

The one small edit I would suggest to your route is to get off I-90 in Ellensburg (you should see E-burg anyway) and instead of getting back on the Interstate, take Canyon Road from there to Yakima. Slower and more scenic, about the same amount of time as the Interstate. The posted speed limits are quite low and it's a bit of a speed trap, but it is scenic and a better deal IMHO than the alternative stretch of Interstate, which has a couple of quite steep, long hills, and for some reason has a higher than usual crash rate.

If you are going to visit Richland and/or Prosser, DM me and we can meet up if you have time.

PS90 · 08-20-2015, 02:46 PM

Your plan looks good to me. I certainly agree that you should make at least a quick visit to Ellensburg.

One question I have - what do you mean about going from Spokane and then following 395 back to 90 to Seattle? I-90 runs right through Spokane. If you come up from Pullman on 195, you will intersect with I-90, and you just go west from there to Seattle, no 395 involved.

Also, have you considered driving through Wenatchee and/or Leavenworth on the way back, and then taking Hwy 2 back to Western WA?

mistyriver · 08-20-2015, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PS90

Your plan looks good to me. I certainly agree that you should make at least a quick visit to Ellensburg.

One question I have - what do you mean about going from Spokane and then following 395 back to 90 to Seattle? I-90 runs right through Spokane. If you come up from Pullman on 195, you will intersect with I-90, and you just go west from there to Seattle, no 395 involved.

Also, have you considered driving through Wenatchee and/or Leavenworth on the way back, and then taking Hwy 2 back to Western WA?

I would definitely consider routing thru Wenatchee and Leavenworth...beautiful areas.

M3 Mitch · 08-20-2015, 05:44 PM

In any case, be sure you find out about fire status right before you start your trip, and keep up with it as you travel. The Lake Chelan area is pretty bad right now.

BellaDL · 08-20-2015, 07:27 PM

M3 Mitch,
Thank you for the suggestion to take Canyon Rd to Yakima. If the timing is right, we would love to meet you in Richland. It's always good to learn more about an area directly from a local.

About the wild fires, we hope that they will die down by then. We visited our daughter in Idaho in August 2013 and had to alter some sightseeing trips because of the fires. The sky in Boise was brownish gray with all the smokes.

PS90,

Google map labeled I90 section from Spokane to Ritzville as 395, not until seeing your post then zoomed out the map that I see 395 is also I90.

Thank you for the suggestion to drive through Wenatchee and/or Leavenworth on the way back and taking Hwy 2 back. It will be a bit longer but give us a chance to check out these cities as well.

Mistyriver,

I am glad to know that the route suggested by PS90 will go through beautiful areas. We love scenic route and nature. You never know, we may fall in love with that area and decide to relocate there.

I will spend sometimes with Google Earth and find scenic areas to visit. Some of the eastern WA cities are quite dry but we will try to stay close to as many rivers and lakes as possible. We also try to stay close to small airports and visit some if time permits. Two of our relocation criteria are close to the water for boating/rowing and close to an airport to keep our little plane.

Thank you all for great suggestions.

CrazyDonkey · 08-20-2015, 08:53 PM

Have you considered flying to Spokane and then renting a car there to explore the area and then drive back to Sea-Tac? One-way on Alaska Airlines would be under $100, total, for both of you.

That would give you more time in the Spokane area, which looks to me to fill your bill better than the central Washington cities (including keeping your daughter close). On the way back, I'd skip Yakima (poverty, drugs, crime) in favor of Wenatchee.

BellaDL · 08-20-2015, 09:36 PM

CrazyDonkey,

Yes, I did consider flying to Spokane from Seattle after revisiting the Olympic Peninsula. However, we also would like to check out the Tri Cities, Walla Walla, Clarkston and Pullman so driving makes more sense.

We are not exactly interested in Yakima but decide to check it out anyway because it is on the way out to Tri Cities along I 82. On the way back we will check out Wenatchee and Leavenworth as suggested by several folks.