We spent the weekend at the KOA outside of Albany. It was time for full hookups and laundry! We were able to get some prescriptions refilled, stock up on some more food, and generally just enjoyed staying “home”. We had hoped to go directly to the Bend area, but the weather was just too iffy.
Sunday we headed north on I-5 back towards Portland, Sandy, and Mount Hood to get a less strenuous climb over the mountains. We don’t have traction devices for the motorhome, and the ODOT website said we needed them to drive Santiam Pass on Hwy 20 towards Bend. It wasn’t a bad drive, and the views of Mt. Hood were again spectacular. We decided to stay in Redmond, north of Bend a few miles, at the Deschutes Fairgrounds. Very nice full hookup sites with long concrete spaces, a small patch of grass, and extra pad for the car, all for $35 a night. My back has been acting up again, and I was in real pain, so we planned on just hanging around the motorhome again. Warmth and lots of acetaminophen have been helping, so we decided to drive the McKenzie and Santiam Passes Byway after a lovely brunch at the local Pancake House (yeah for Dutch baby baked pancakes!).
The Road climbs out of Sisters to give some great views.
Mount Washington through a bit of haze from a proscribed burn
Toward Santiam Pass we took a detour to Camp Sherman, a lovely little community of (mostly) summer homes along the Metolius River, a National and state scenic river.
Camp Sherman along the Metolius River – gorgeousAlso along the Metolius
After crossing into the west side of the Cascades at Santiam Pass, we were back into the dark, cold, and pretty dreary rain forest. It did have a few redeeming features though.
Sahalie Falls – 120 foot dropSunlight through trees on the west side of the CascadesThe amazing life of mosses up closeThese little mushrooms seemed like they were growing out of this low rock edging, though it was covered with moss
I really do appreciate the rain forest, but I am very tired of feeling closed in with greenery everywhere. Luckily the forest did open up as we headed back east.
We finally caught up to fall
The lava flows neat McKenzie Pass were amazing. Kevin describes them as having the appearance of a huge plow being used in wet ground, leaving grooves and big clumps of rock. It is astonishingly rugged, and some are very recent. This flow is estimated to be only 2000 years old, but a few trees were trying to take hold.
At the edge of a lava flow, a tree is trying to growMount Washington from the other side showing the scars of the big fire and lava flows
The foreground of this picture is lava, the middle ground the remnants of a huge fire in 2003, and then Mount Washington rises up again. Impressive!
Tomorrow we plan on driving the Cascade Lakes Byway and going to some museums and interpretive centers.
We left the Marina RV Park on Sunday just before noon and moved an entire 2 miles down the road to South Beach State Park. We did do a few things around the Marina area. Here is a picture of he bridge I managed to drive over. It might not seem to big to many, but I am terrified of heights! I psyched myself up before hand, stared only at the roadway, and did my calming breathing.
Newport, OR bridge
There are a number of lighthouses around. This one is a state park just the south side of the bridge. It is no longer operational, but pretty cool to see.
There is a newer light on the north side of the bay. I couldn’t get a decent picture because of the rain and my lack of mobility, but you can at least get an idea about it.
We enjoyed just sitting by the beach in Newport and watching the people. I was hobbled to much to join them, but it looked like they were having fun.
South Beach is a lovely place with big sites, most with quite a bit of shade. It is very quiet at night, though it has been too cold and rainy to do much sitting outside. We planned to ride our bikes a lot here, but I got another back spasm! I was completely hobbled most of Monday and still some today. The beach is only a 1/4 mile from the campground on a combination bike/pedestrian path, so hopefully I will get better soon.
We have found some interesting plants. This is a Western Strawberry Tree. Even the red (ripe?) berries were hairy and hard.
Another one I had never seen before was this one with tiny pink/white flowers. I have no idea what it is, so if anyone know, please tell me!
Yesterday we took a trip to Junction City to see about some furniture options for the motorhome. We currently have a huge sofa with a queen sized bed plus a single recliner. We would really like a smaller sofa and two recliners or theater seating. They did have some options, but it sure needs a lot of thought. On the way back we drove 101 from Florence back to Newport. There are some famous sights along here, especially Thor’s Well and he Spouting Horn. We were lucky to catch both when the tides was right to show off.
Thor’s Well fills some from the surf on top, it mostly from holes in the rocks below the surface. The video link needs to be clicked to view.
Waves filling Thor’s WellNot quite centered, but after the water runs away
Spouting Horn looks like a geyser
This mist from Spouting Horn comes from surf forced into a tiny crack that explodes upwards like a geyser.
Today we drove north from Newport. A few sights.
Yet another lighthouse.Devil’s Pinchbowl fills through the caves below it.There were lots of people on the beaches. Note the two trees on a barren rock island.
We basically just pulled into every wayside we found, and there were lots of them. We were happily surprised to see four gray whales too – two singles and another pair. We kind of followed them south down the coast for a good while. You can always tell where the whales are when you see 4-6 whale watching tour boats in the same area. 😀 Both Washington and Oregon have gone to great lengths to provide access to their beaches. One spot we stopped at even had some Tillamook Ice Cream! I had chocolate with more chocolate. Yum.
This is being written on a rainy Thursday afternoon, and I am way behind. Be prepared for a long post and lots of pictures.
Sunday we drove to Ainsworth State Park. Going through Portland was a piece of cake on an early Sunday morning, as expected. I wasn’t thrilled with the campground though. While the sites are long enough for a motorhome, the roads have low vegetation and I scuffed up the sides and top of the coach. No real scratches, but you can tell where the bushes and tree limbs were. I can’t blame the park since all the reviews said the park was this way. Guess I will just have to blame the person who made the reservation – Kevin! We got to our site and the coach absolutely would not level, no matter how many blocks we had under the back tires and the levelers. Yup, the reviews said that too. The nice park ranger put us in an overflow site that worked with only minor leveling so it was ok in the end. We wanted a full hookup site so we could do laundry, and this is nice for that.
Monday we decided to just do a drive up and back the Columbia Gorge. First we went across the toll bridge at Cascade Locks, a cool little town where there used to be big rapids. The rapids are now washed out by the Bonneville Dam, but some of the old locks are still visible.
The Bridge of the Gods is an interesting viewThe old locks are mostly washed out. Note they are made of stone.The locks from the bridgeLocks and the bridge
Interesting history of the bridge and it’s name: When Lewis and Clark came through here, the natives had a legend about an earthen bridge that cross the Columbia here many years ago. They called it the Bridge of the Gods. Geologists say a massive landslide happened in the mid 15th century that dammed the river for some period of time. Eventually the river eroded through the dam leaving the rapids there. Lewis and Clark wrote they were the worst of all they encountered, and they were smart enough to portage around them. The locks were key to navigating the river until the Bonneville Dam was built. The bridge was named after the land bridge the natives described.
We crossed the river to the Washington side and drove east on Washington 14 which mostly hugs the shore next to the rail road. We did get a nice view of Mt. Hood. Quite impressive!
We drove up the road past lots of interesting sites, and we crossed the river in The Dalles to go back downriver. We saw a sign to the Gorge Discovery Center and Museum, and we decided to take a look. My, oh my, oh my! It was a wonderful place with outstanding interpretation of pre-historic native life, Lewis and Clark history, non-native settlers, and best of all, a great section on the geology of the gorge. We were fortunate that we saw this early in our trip since it made the rest of our sightseeing so much more meaningful. I highly recommend a stop if anyone is in the area.
We kept going and took part of the old Highway 30, one of the first roads in America specifically designed for beauty. Lots of nice pictures were taken, but I will spare you.
Late Monday I bent wrong and got a dreadful back spasm. I was in a lot of pain when I moved, so we took drove the Mt. Hood scenic byway. Lots of waterfalls on the way, but it was raining so we only took pictures of two.
Multnomah Falls, the second highest permanent falls in the USHorsetail Falls
Luckily the weather cleared as we got closer to Mt.Hood. The area was crowded, even on a rainy Tuesday in late September. I can’t imagine it would be enjoyable on a summer weekend! We had trouble finding any place to park which is why both pictures were taken from the car.
Up close view of Mt. HoodThe lodge is impressive
I was feeling a bit better by Wednesday which was the day we booked a 5 hour tour on the stern wheeler “Columbia Gorge.”
Isn’t she pretty? We had a great seat at a table next to a entry way. They opened up the entry doors just before we got underway. It was totally chance, but we had an almost unobstructed view from the starboard side.
Just a cargo net between is and the riverMount Hood again, this time from the riverLots of trains on the main line to the northwestYes, it was hazy, but the Cascades are lovelyA passenger ship that was supposed to spend a week on the river between Lewiston and Astoria. Stuck because the Bonneville Lock is closed due to emergency repairs.
In the last picture you can see native fishermen pulling salmon from their gill nets. They held up a few as we passed. Those were big fish! Only natives can use gill nets, and only a certain number of days a year. It is from the old treaty rights, and it provides a reasonable amount of cash.
Today I am still recovering from my back injury. I can now move fairly well, but I have a hard time getting out of a chair. We had planned on going back to the waterfalls, but it has been raining all day. Instead we went to lunch at the Multnomah Lodge. Nice place. My salmon was delicious as was the Creme Brûlée. Kevin said his fish and chips plus cheesecake was also good. Looks like no cooking tonight!
Tomorrow we head back to the coast to Newport, OR. We will spend a few nights in a campground at the marina and then see what to do. We have reservations at South Beach State Park after the marina.
A friend recommended we visit the Quinault Lodge, an old private resort just outside Olympic National Park. We did that Friday, and yes, the Lodge was nice.
But wow, the surrounding rainforest was tremendous! I can not use words to describe the luxurious foliage that is everywhere, and my pictures only capture part of the beauty.
Every piece of bark was an entire colony of various mossesThe mosses grew on pretty much everything including concrete and the roof of this little information sign.There were waterfalls. Can you see Kevin center left?Kevin describes this as going through a canyon of greenOne of the bigger waterfallsDid I say luxuriant everywhere? Ferns were all over the hillsides.The forest was mixed deciduous and conifers with both young and old trees.
I think I liked the Quinault rainforest even better than the Hoh rainforest!
We also visited the largest spruce tree in the world. The sign says 191’ tall and about 1000 years old. Amazingly impressive.
See the 10 year old girl at the bottom?
We topped the day off with another trip to the beach. Sitting watching the waves, kids playing in the sand, and the surf anglers was very relaxing.
Today we just hung around the coach except when we went out to brunch and bought groceries. We had that odd kind of coastal rain where the drops aren’t really big enough to call it a rain, but the quantity was too much to call it just a mist. It dripped off the awning pretty much all day, so I just streamed old Inspector Morse shows. Not a bad way to spend the day after all the running around we have been doing. Tomorrow we leave the Casino and head to Ainsworth State Park in Oregon. I have to drive through Portland, so we want to out pretty early. I find Sunday mornings a great time to drive through big cities.
We have tried to stop by all the Lewis and Clark sites we have been near. Wednesday we decided to go to the Lewis and Clark National Historic Park near Astoria, Oregon. Fort Clatsop, named after the helpful nearby Indians, was where the Corps spent their second winter. They started out at the mouth of he Columbia, but it is dreadfully rough in winter, so they retreated up the river to a more sheltered tributary to settle. The NPH was a bit of a disappointment in the amount of interpretation and historical accuracy they demonstrated. Fort Mandan in North Dakota, where they spent their first winter, was much better presented and historically accurate. Still, we made it to the end of the Corps journey, and it was interesting.
Outside of the recreated fort. Natives thought it odd they locked themselves in at night. Historical inaccuracy: absolutely perfectly placed caulking and uniform logs. Really?Sacajawea, Pierre, and Pompei’s roomLewis and Clark’s roomBunk room for the crew. There were also bunks on the other side – 8 to a room.
We ended up having a light lunch in Astoria then dinner in the casino’s non-smoking restaurant. Food was really quite good, service was lovely, and it was correspondingly expensive. Worth it for a really nice meal though.
Thursday we continued our historical trips, but we moved forward in time to Fort Steven State Park in Oregon. It was built in 1862 because President Lincoln was worried the British would try to take back the Pacific Northwest. A series of 3 forts were established, and we had already visited Fort Canby. Fort Columbia had most of its area closed for the year, but we did get to see it across the river. We luckily got to the visitor center 5 minutes before they were starting a guided tour using an old military transport. Great fun! We got a guided tour that included areas otherwise off-limits. The fort closed not long after WWII.
The newest of the artillery types came just at the end of WWII.Older guns were in one of three bunkers of this typeI think this was a protected command centerThe piles supported rails used to move the rock for the jetty. They were they repurposed to bring artillery, shells, and mines to the fort.The second set of bunkers after the earliest earthen works from the 1860s.
We came home by way of the beaches in Ocean Shores, the nearest town. I have always wanted to drive on the beach, and we did! Being September and mid-weeks, there were only a few people around. The original plan was to pull out the lawn chairs and read, but we decided to stay in the warmer comfort of the car with the windows open.
Mostly we hung out with the gulls who were quite unhappy we didn’t provide foodAnd on our way back, we got a rainbow
I have been fascinated for years at the idea of the temperate rain forests in the northwest. Maybe it was growing up in dry Oklahoma, but the thought of huge moss-draped trees was a big deal to me. I just had to go to the Hoh rain forest in Olympic National Park. We went on Friday, not wanting to deal with the inevitable crowds that come on weekends. And yes, I am late with the post since today is Tuesday. Oops.
Yes, the trees are big! These are just a couple of moderate sized ones at the trailhead. You might guess from the rain gear that it was raining when we went.
The lushness is everywhereThese mosses are just using the bark for support. They feed off blown in nutrients and are watered by rain.That long snake like thing running down the trunk is the root of another tree that started life above.Did I say lush? It was like this everywhere.The maple trees are just festooned with life.Ponds were everywhere
Yup, definitely a bucket list item checked off.
Saturday we just hung around the motorhome, did a bit of shopping, some cleaning – all kinds of exciting things. I did finish a little cloth wallet I can take with me easily. It is the Wonder Wallet pattern from Lazy Girl Designs, and I have made if four or five times before. Lovely little thing, and very practical to slip in a pocket with a driver’s license, credit card, and some cash. I should have put some interfacing in it, but it will work ok.
Sunday we moved from Sequim to the Quinault Casino at the beach. It allows free dry camping (no facilities at all) for up to 14 days. This is the view out the front window.
Ok, so it isn’t real obvious, but the flat horizon is the ocean. Between the ocean and us are stabilized sand dunes and some bushes. The sound is lovely, and the temperatures are mild enough I can leave the windows open to hear it.
Since we are at a casino, we tried to have breakfast here on Monday, but it was more adequate than good. The best deals were in the lounge, but that was where the smokers were – ugh. We decided to just drive down the shore to Cape Disappointment State Park at the mouth of the Columbia. Lovely place. I didn’t get out much since my knee just randomly decided to give me fits, but I got a few pictures.
Lots of shipwrecks along that shoreline
Today it has rained most of the day, and we just planned on staying put. I did get my application for Medicare completed, and I found out the steps to get my retiree supplement enrollment done. BTW, that one line statement took over an hour to complete, mostly waiting on the retiree stuff. We even got some banking straightened out! We have discovered it is best if we take a complete down day every 5 days or so, and today was it.
I have also practiced using my convection/microwave more. Today was a puffed (German style) pancake again. Add blueberries and a dash of powdered sugar and yum! Kevin is off to the store for something for dinner now too.
Yup, we went whale watching yesterday. It was a long day – out of the motorhome at 7:00 am and back home by 6:30 pm. We took a full day cruise with Puget Sound Express out of Port Townsend. This was one of the smaller boats with only 70 seats. Some have 200 plus!
We started out being quite successful! We saw a humpback whale only about 45 minutes into the cruise. It was obviously feeding along a ridge, and it hung around a long while.
Yup, a humpbackThere she blows!
We then didn’t see much else for quite a while. We did catch some stellar sea lions sunning themselves on a rocky outcropping. There were probably 50 or more. We stayed well off-shore so we didn’t bother them which made it hard to get a picture with my point and shoot camera.
These sea lions were big fellows!
We then went to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. Nice place for lunch, and we really enjoyed seeing all the variety of watercraft moored there.
The big ferry has two decks of cars. Interesting to see them change from one deck to another.This picture is mostly small boats, but there were some really big ones moored there tooLots and lots of boats!
We did get a visit from a harbor seal while in Friday Harbor.
Significantly smaller than the stellar sea lion with cute spots
We also saw a Minke whale on the way back, but they are shyer and I couldn’t get a picture. Kevin got a good one, but his camera doesn’t have Bluetooth transfer! You will just have to imagine it.
The Fort Worden lighthouse from Puget Sound.
The trip was informative and remarkably comfortable though it was a long day. The captain was very apologetic that we didn’t see any Orcas, but they just weren’t surfacing in the area. It was cold and rainy with a storm front coming in, so that was probably why. We did learn a lot about the wildlife and history of the area. I would definitely recommend this company to others. Since we had a huge lunch, we just picked up ice cream on the way home! Not nutritious, but easy.
We definitely took it easier after the long day in the previous post. We decided to visit Fort Townsend, arrange for a whale watching trip, and see Ft. Worden State Park, a state Historic Site.
Ft. Townsend was quite fun. We wandered around the waterfront, but I didn’t take any pictures. We did eat lunch at the Kokopelli Grill. Kevin enjoyed his halibut fish and chips, and I enjoyed the crab cake I had.
Fort Worden was the highlight through. It was an old artillery fort that was given to the state as a unit when they closed it in the mid 20th century. It has barracks and officer housing available for short term rentals. In addition there are a number of private organizations that rent facilities – two colleges, a spa, etc.
A lovely building used as a wellness center.Colonels lived in these huge duplexesUmm. Wonder why this building is called “The Castle.”There were lots and lots of wooden barracks like this.
We particularly enjoyed the beaches and the lighthouse.
I could have sat here for hours.BeautifulNo longer operational, but still in Coast Guard hands
The next day, we saw the clouds were lifting, so after an incredible breakfast at The Oak Table in Sequim, we headed back too Hurricane Ridge in Olympic. We were luckier this time, and the mountains were at least peeking out.
Clouds kept spilling over the mountains someGlaciers!
A ranger told us the ONP is full of deer. We had seen some, but this one strolling through the parking lot seemed quite used to humans. Interestingly no one else seemed to even notice her!
On the way back down we were treated to a view of the coast. That pale line showing across the water is Canada.
Pretty obvious where the park boundary isCanada, oh Canada!
Thursday we took the whale watching trip, but I will put that in tomorrow after I get the pictures downloaded. Yes, we saw whales!
We spent Saturday night in a lovely Cabela’s parking lot in Lacey, WA, near Olympia. The trip there was a mess – lots of construction and miles long backups. However the parking lot was amazing. It was quiet and surrounded by lovely trees, flowers, and shrubs. We took a while getting ready because the trip to the campground was less than 120 miles, so we didn’t want to ge there too early. I have a ridiculous fear of heights, and I really, really, really did not want to drive across shipping channels so we drove up Highway 101 on the west side of the Tacoma Sound. The drive was beautiful, but it was slow. Much of the time the speed limit was 30-35 mph, so it took us almost four hours including some scenic view pullouts and a nice lunch break.
The campground itself (Rainbow’s End) is very tight. Our slide is less than a foot away from the slide next door! However the place is very clean, well landscaped, and they have a lovely duck pond right outside my front window so it isn’t all bad. As with most of the RV parks we have been by, it seems like most of the residents are long term rentals. We had problems finding a spot, so I won’t complain too much.
Today we drove to Olympic National Park, but it was very cloudy and foggy so I didn’t get many pictures. We went to Hurricane Ridge, but there were no mountains to see. We will try again later for the mountains. Until then, here are some pictures.
Clouds and fog in the mountainsReally big trees!A spring on the way to Hurricane RidgeThere were three tunnels on the way to Hurricane Ridge
We did drive from Port Angeles along the Juan de Fuca scenic byway all the way to the Makah tribal museum. What a wonderful drive and museum! The clouds still made the light flat, but the scenery was lovely.
Isolated rocks off the coastTried to get a little son on Crescent LakeWe found three old WWII bunkers in a state recreation area
It was a really long day, over 11 hours. I think we will take it easier tomorrow.
Today we went to the Sunrise section of Mt. Rainier National Park. It is on the north east side of the park, so we also took a different drive, the Chinook Scenic Byway. It was very overcast, and it started to rain a bit as we went up in elevation.
Our first surprise was only 10 miles or so from the campground.
A bit blurry because I didn’t get out of the car so as to not spook them. Maybe after road salt?
We continued up the road. As you can see, the view was quite different today.
Yes, that is Mt.Rainier in the clouds
It did gradually get clearer. Look at all the glaciers on the north side! I thought I saw a lot of glaciers yesterday, but nothing like today.
The mountain’s top never came out of the clouds
The visitor center was impressive. Obviously built by the CCC.
There really wasn’t much else. The visitor services were pretty primitive, just a small store and a grill. The rain kept going on and off, so no pictures were very good. We got back in time for Kevin to cook some lovely Zupp’s sausages (bought in Ely, MN and carefully vacuum packed and frozen) in the sous vide. He finished them on the grill with some corn grilled in the husk. Yummy for sure. Tomorrow we head out to get closer to the Seattle area. We have reservations in Sequim for Sunday which seems a good day for arriving in a major city. We are going to clean the motorhome inside and out too, or at least that’s the plan. It really needs it!
