Cars, monthly rentals & Washington drives
Practical guidance, vehicle stories, and public road-trip ideas from Ben at SHYFT.
Two Washington Road Trips That Reward Extra Time: North Cascades and the San Juans
When you have a vehicle for a month instead of a weekend, you can wait for the right weather window. Two trips that benefit from that flexibility are the North Cascades Highway and the San Juan Islands.
Planning a Mount Rainier Road Trip Without Spending the Day in Traffic
Mount Rainier rewards an early start and a flexible plan. The park has several developed areas—Longmire, Paradise, Ohanapecosh, Sunrise, and Carbon River/Mowich—but roads do not connect them all in the way a first-time visitor might expect.
Mount Baker Scenic Byway: A Flexible Washington Day or Overnight Trip
State Route 542 heads east from the Bellingham area through the Nooksack River valley toward Heather Meadows and Artist Point. It is one of those routes where the drive is part of the trip, not just the commute to a trailhead.
A Better Way to Plan an Olympic Peninsula Road Trip
Olympic National Park looks compact on a map. It is not. There is no road across the park, and the mountains, rain forest, lakes, and coast are reached through separate corridors. Trying to collect every famous stop in one rushed day usually means seeing most of the peninsula through a windshield.
Why I Keep Coming Back to Second-Generation Honda CR-Vs
My connection to Honda CR-Vs did not start with a rental business. My parents bought our 2002 CR-V new, and I still have it today.
Why a Well-Maintained Older Car Can Be a Smart Monthly Rental
New cars are appealing. They are also expensive, and renters ultimately help pay for that expense.
Monthly Car Rental or Traditional Lease: Which Fits Your Situation?
“Monthly rental” and “lease” both describe paying to use a vehicle, but they solve different problems.
Can a 31-Day Car Rental Save You Money on Washington Rental-Car Taxes?
If you need a car for about a month, one extra day can matter.