Tag: Washington

Crater Lake

It was cold last night with a low of 15 degrees under a clear sky. We decided it was too cold to go to the outdoor High Desert Museum, so we decided to take the long trip to Crater Lake instead. Good choice! The sky was clear though there was some haze from nearby prescribed burns. We were lucky with the weather. There definitely was some snow on the ground, but the temperature on rim was in the mid 30s. They generally close the north gate we used and the rim road by 1 November, sometimes earlier depending on snow.

We drove the western side of the rim road first because of the sun direction. Yup, the water really is that blue!

There are lots of color on the rocks from minerals and lichens.

An exposed yellow pumice layer that has eroded into hoodoos
This color is some mineral and some lichen

There is a small island the guidebook calls a ghost ship but I think it looks like an abandoned castle.

We had lunch at the old lodge. It is late in the season, and the menu was limited but excellent. I love eating in the old  National Park lodges. Most of the time the food is locally sourced and well prepared, just as today’s lunch was. There was a ranger in the main room giving a presentation to a bunch of school kids, and I learned quite a bit from her about the area as I listened along with the kids.

There is another volcanic cone in the lake, Wizard Island. Interesting looking place. In the summer you can ride a boat there, assuming you can walk down the 1.1 mile trail from the rim and then back up again! The boats are all stored for winter this late in the season.

The boat docks are put away for winter
Wizard Island

There was a prescribed burn southwest of the lake.

Smoke in the valley

There are other obviously volcanic peaks in the area. Here are two that I don’t know the names of.

We enjoyed the trip, but it isn’t a place to return to in my opinion. We did have an excellent trip to Trader Joe’s as we came into Bend, so it was a truly excellent day! I miss Trader Joe’s sooooo much.

A lazy sewing day

Kevin and I decided to just play catch-up today. He needed to get some things for the motorhome, and I really needed to get the fabric for a quilt cut out. We did have brunch at a place called Mo’s Egg Place, and I was pleasantly surprised. They had lovely pumpkin pancakes, and Kevin said his biscuits and gravy were pretty good.

After brunch, Kevin went looking for a thermostatically controlled extension cord and a tiny ceramic heater to use in the wet bay. It is going to be 15 degrees tonight, and the bay needs a bit of extra help with temps that low. We are running on our tanks, not connected to the campground facilities. That keeps external hoses from freezing. Our neighbor next door didn’t do that, and his hose was frozen this morning. Kevin loves shopping, and he took about 3 hours looking for the items in various stores in Bend and Redmond. He was successful,with the heating supplies, but he couldn’t find the specific screws he needs to repair a small piece of plastic trim around the basement slide out, so he just left again.

I needed to get a new quilt cut out, and I got it done! I had to review the pattern (lots of colors and pieces), starch all the fabrics (lots of bias edges on this one), then cut lots of pieces. Here is the result.

The arrows are various gray tone low contrast fabrics and the background is a dark gray. There will be a single red arrow, and I will have it turned the other direction. I bought the fabric as a kit, and I am quite happy with the fabrics. However there are a few extra pieces that I worry about! I had a friend who makes custom cutting templates make plexiglass templates for the flying goose parts (the arrow heads). Well worth the money! Thanks Diane. I don’t think I will get the sewing machine out yet since we will be sightseeing tomorrow (though we haven’t decided where yet).

Another visit to a rain forest

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 mosses
The 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 green
One of the bigger waterfalls
Did 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.

Lewis and Clark history plus modern forts too

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 room
Lewis and Clark’s room
Bunk 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 type
I think this was a protected command center
The 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 food
And on our way back, we got a rainbow

Bucket list item – the temperate rain forest and more

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 everywhere
These 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.

Whale watching

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 humpback
There 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 too
Lots 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.

Port Townsend and then back to Olympic National Park

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 duplexes
Umm. 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.
Beautiful
No 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 some
Glaciers!

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 is
Canada, 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!

Olympic National Park

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 mountains
Really big trees!
A spring on the way to Hurricane Ridge
There 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 coast
Tried to get a little son on Crescent Lake
We 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.

North side of Mt.Rainier

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!

Yakima, Mount Rainer, and living on Pacific time

We tried to get a nice dinner in Missoula, but places either were closed Labor Day or had long waits. We ended up at Famous Dave’s BBQ, and it was its normal decent food. Tuesday we headed west again, and we spent the night in the Cabela’s parking lot in Post Falls, ID. It is located one miles from Washington, and on Pacific time. We decided to go out to dinner, and we had an absolutely fantastic experience at The Oval Office Martini Bar and Bistro, a small casual restaurant with a great chef and lots of local sourcing. I had leg of lamb and Kevin had a steak, and both were outstanding! This is absolutely some of the best food I have had in ages. If you are ever nearby, you should stop by.

Wednesday found us in Yakima, WA at SunTides RV park. Nice enough place with lots of grass  and a small shade tree. We had hoped Yakima had some historic sites to visit, but it seems quite happy to be a major produce production town and not much else. We did pick up some wonderful peaches from a local stand, and I made a peach cobbler. Yum.

Of course the reason we are here is Mount Ranger National Park, we we took our first tour today. The first view of the namesake mountain was well outside the park at a scenic overview in the National Forest.

Nice clear day

It looks almost like a painting, but I did no post processing on the picture. We kept getting closer and closer. Sadly some haze/clouds crept in, but not too bad.

There are more glaciers on Mt. Rainier than I have ever seen at Glacier National Park. They are mostly still good sized, though they are shrinking like all the glaciers. The surrounding forest was nice too.

Still quite a few wildflowers in the Paradise area
The hillsides were just starting to change colors
Wish I knew what plant was providing the early color
Louise Lake was next door to Reflecting Lakes, but much more reflective!
Huge basalt palisades were most impressive

Even this time of year there were some waterfalls fed by glaciers that were decent. On this one, I took a picture of Kevin about halfway down the 168’ waterfall while he was taking pictures of the bottom half.

See that little tiny person at the corner of the fences?
The big drop from the top
Waterfall from my view at the top
From Kevin’s view part way down the big drop

The park also has some fabulous trees. These pictures were taken in a grove they called Hall of the Patriarchs. Fitting name.

Wish I had thought to put something against this for scale
Looking almost straight up

We were surprised at how little wildlife we saw. We visited the Longmire area first, had lunch at the National Park Inn, then drove to the Paradise section which was newer and much more crowded. As we were leaving the Paradise area, there was a rental motorhome pretty much parked in the middle of the road. Guess they had a good reason, because we saw this.

What’s that black dot in the meadow (on a bit of a zoom already)?
Oh that’s what the black dot is!

Other than the bear, the only wildlife we saw was a couple of ground squirrels and a few birds. Climax forests just don’t have a lot of wildlife I guess.

Tomorrow we visit the northern part of the park.