Beautiful day again with puffy white clouds all along a very scenic drive from Vantage WA to Mount Rainer's east side. We drove I-90 to Yakima and then good old Route 12 again. Are all Route 12s scenic? It seems so as we also remember a spectacular Route 12 in Utah. Taking 123 brought us to the east entrance of Rainier and a very friendly and helpful ranger at the Ohanapecosh Center. He mapped out some trails for us that weren't of the Farctic and Wazoo variety and we spent several hours walking. "Grove of the Patriarchs Trail" led us to trees that were 1000 years old after crossing a one person at a time bridge over a raging creek.
We walked/hiked this trail and also continued a bit on another trail toward Box Canyon.
Good old LL Bean hiking boots still in great shape and hold their grip well. There was still snow in the forest shadows, deer nearby and one rather large poop we hoped wasn't a bear.
Since Stevens Canyon road is still closed we kept on 123 to get a good view of Mount Rainer from the northeast side. Spectacular!
Going to the west side proved a bit more difficult since the Stevens Canyon Road over the pass is closed. There is still a lot of snow but also, according to the ranger, a lot of winter damage that will take a long time to repair.
Due to road closures you have to do a square circle. Back to Route 12 to Route 7 at Morton where we stopped for a few groceries. I know we are "cheap" but we just got some pita as prices there were twice what normal would be. Long way to haul groceries, fuel, etc. Route 7 then goes to 706 and there into the west side of Mount Rainier National Park. As we approached the park the skies opened with much thunder and lightning and rain just poured. We stopped by the side of the road to wait it out and let the rain wash some of the bugs and mud off the TC.
We are camped at Cougar Campground for the night.
Tomorrow we will hike/walk more of Rainier and then head for Mount Saint Helens. It's another drive around because of winter damaged roads but worth it.
* This post was
edited 06/10/09 09:37pm by TwoMaineiacs *
2011 Chalet Double Slide on a 2013 F-450 Diesel DRW
On the Road Again from Rural Maine Our travel blog with photos
Phil - thanks for the offer to feed the cat but the housesitter is quite happy staying there. I just hope she doens't kidnap Miss Boots and take her home when we are back.
Pete and Mitzi - got your PM with the phone number but we decided to finish heading west instead of cutting north to the North Cascade Range. We'll save your kind invite for the next trip out here when we head to Alaska.
Bggraphix - fun place to walk among all those old trees isn't it?
Silversands - took lots of photos of the petroglyphs. Will email them to you when we get a good connection sometime.
Thanks everyone for all the suggestions of things to do and see out this way. We've taken your collective advice on a lot of it and are having a blast. Tonight we are camped in a WA State campground on a loop with six of those huge A bus size campers travelling in a group. I keep thinking of all the places we have been in our TC where they could not go. Rock on TCs!
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June 10 - Mount Rainier to Mount Saint Helens and Olympic Peninsula
We are still on East Coast body time so were on the road at 7AM probably to the disgust of some tenters near us.
We were able to drive from Cougar Rock Campground up towards Paradise but not all the way as the road is closed due to winter damage. What a remarkable sight to see an avalanche path and what that slide does to the land. There is nothing left in the path but smashed trees and boulders. This time of year there is a small stream rather than a mass of melted snow rushing down.
Mount Rainier proved to be elusive today except for one shining moment. Here's our Host Rainier at Mount Rainier.
Round we went the long way to get to Mount Saint Helens. There is no easy way to cut across country with so many small roads still closed. As we left Morton, WA towards Mount Saint Helens, the fog started closing in and the higher we got the more the clouds descended on us.
There were times we were feeling our way along about 25 mph with flashers going. There were several pullouts where you cold see down into the valley and the path hundreds of feet wide of mud and debris from the volcanic eruption. There is still no growth in this area even after almost 30 years.
The Johnston Ridge Observatory finally appeared out of the fog and proved to be worth the journey up the mountain. The US National Park service has built 14 new bridges to get into this area. They provide extensive photos, exhibits and a movie about the eruption at the observatory. At the end of the movie, a giant curtain rises and you should be able to see Mount Saint Helens in the distance. There was just a huge blank white area due to the fog/clouds.
Fortunately we wandered the exhibits long enough for the clouds to lift and we got to see the mountain and the surrounding area. The government decided not to plant new trees in the destroyed area and it has not really even begun to regenerate even after 30 years. Weyhauser replanted their acreage and is ready to harvest and replant.
Quite a shock to come back out of the mountains and get on I-5 up through Olympia. The further we went up Route 101, the smaller the road, the fewer the people and the better the view out over the Hood Canal.
We had hoped to stop for supper and have local seafood but have yet to find a place open. We're stopped for the night at Doeswallips State Park. Tomorrow we'll head for Neah Bay and an overnight there - or maybe even two.
Ann you are a lot closer to us than you think. Check your map. You can take a ferry at Port Townsman to Whidbey Island whci is connected to land by a must see Deception Pass bridge. (Plenty of camp sites there) We are on the other side of Whidbey Island...Camano Island is connected to land by a bridge. North Cascades are way north of us. But we understand if you can't make it.
If your going to Neah Bay check out the Makah museum.
But more important don't leave the area without walking the trail to Cape Flattery.
When standing at Cape Flattery and looking over Tatoosh Island you have the entire continental USofA at your back. And one fine view of the great Pacific. And it’s a fun hike.
By the way if the drive through Olympia was a strain STAY far away from Seattle. Yet on a nice day the ferry ride from Bremerton to Seattle is wonderful.
* This post was
edited 06/10/09 11:10pm by Lots of Stuff *
Anne & Joe,
I can't wait to talk to you about the NW (our goal next year). Your pictures are marvelous and that looks like an area even a Whazoo could love. We are still wandering around the Idaho area for a few days before heading to MT. I got a chance to catch up on your Blog, I wish I had your discipline, the Blog is terrific (and timely...unlike mine which is about a month behind now).
Glad you two are having such a fun trip. Not sure what your route back is, but if you come through Idaho check out "Craters of the Moon" NM. We just took the Grandkids there for a couple of days and found a wonderful otherwordly place with jaw dropping vistas of volcanic flows from 14,000 to 2,000 years old. The name, "Craters of the Moon", is most appropriate.
Ted & Cheryl
FarcticOx
Run Silent, Run Deep BLOG
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By the way if the drive through Olympia was a strain STAY far away from Seattle. Yet on a nice day the ferry ride from Bremerton to Seattle is wonderful.
I'm not a local to the area, but have been there many times - I'd have to second the 'ride the ferry' suggestion as a way to get to Seattle, walk around, visit Pike Place or the old underground tour etc. I have always considered the ferries there to be a tourist attraction at the price of transportation. I'd be happy to ride them all day long. It's nice being able to leave your rig on the OP (at Winslow, Bremerton, Port Townsend etc., and go at the passenger price.
Loved this installments pictures.
(and yes, Trail of the Ceders is awesome - my mom's favorite stop in Glacier since she isn't much of a hiker. That little nook trees hasn't seen fire in 500+ years or something like that.)
The original plan was to go up to Neah Bay to be as far west as we could go in the continental USA. We are getting better about not waking up at 6AM Eastern and actually made it until 8AM Eastern today. Housecleaning chores - how does a TC get so dirty so fast? Because you are hopping in and out of it all the time in hiking boots and the debris just comes in with you. Too much trouble to take the boots off for short time.
From Doswallips State Park we travelled north on route 101 to Sequim. What a beautiful little town, neat, clean, friendly with all the services you could want but not a lot of traffic or people. Looks like it is one of those places you would look into for retirement out of constant winter snow and ice. Talked to a lot of folk as we walked around town and found they get maybe 2' of snow in the winter which melts quickly but that it is dry in growing times so things have to be irrigated. Turn your head and look at the stunning Olympia Mountain range towering 5,200 feet straight up still covered with snow. Ah... to be younger and wanting to move.
Travelled out to Dungeness looking for seafood but everything was closed. Perhaps not the season? Back to Port Angeles and the local Ford dealer took us in very quickly for an oil and filter change and a general look at the systems. Flying colors, a hearty thank you for such good service and off we go again.
We stopped at the Olympia National Park ranger station for general information on the camp grounds out on the west coast. Charming 72 year old ranger said we could not leave until we drove up the Hurricane Ridge Road to the top. What wise words! Great windy, twisty drive up with the engine and fresh oil just purring.
Very few people around and the scenery was breath taking. If you are ever out this way, you HAVE to go up this road. Snow still on the peaks, elk grazing feet away, formidable mountains and a view out to the Straits of Juan DeFuca and Canada.
The ranger had explained there is no south going road from Neah Bay but a lot of backtracking. We decided not this trip and went back to 101 and on to Crescent Lake and Marymere Falls. My leg muscle was cramping so Joe climbed up to the Falls alone - orc as alone as you an get with two groups of teenagers on a school hike. He said it was a rain forest both dripping from the trees and at the waterfalls.
We are camped tonight in Mora Campground, one of the Olympia Campgrounds. Got to love those $6 fees with the Golden Access pass. Large site in the middle of a stand of at least 100' trees, ferns, dead silence. We spotted only one other camper in the entire park. I think we'll get hit with a pretty good rain tonight but maybe that will take a few more bugs off the TC.
Tomorrow, on to La Push beach just two miles away on the ocean to finally see the Pacific and get our feet wet. Then on to Kalaloch Campground just down the road to hopefully camp right on the ocean.
Hoping we don't hear an alert and have to make use of one of these signs.
How awesome are the beaches in Olympia National Seashore??? We spent hours today just walking on the "sand" and gawking at the huge washed up trees and the haystacks off shore. Sand is a generic name because this beach is all rock, smooth, polished rock. We have a truck camper friend who makes jewelry with rock and silver so picked up a lot of unusual ones for her.
The truck camper was dwarfed by the size of the "driftwood". These are full size trees washed out of the mountains and into the sea. They end up piled on shore like unstable Tinkertoys.
Offshore are what are called "haystacks", remnants of the older, softer shoreline that did not erode due to being of a harder material. It was low tide while we were there and we walked around one. No sightings of sea mammals but we did walk across a clam flat with squirting clams by our feet as we stepped. We also stopped at Ruby Beach and at 4th Beach to again walk. Very few people around.
Continuing south on Route 101 led us into just wooded roads similar to Maine except for the size of the trees. It was interesting seeing the clear cut logged areas next to the different sized trees as they were replanted over time. You have to think of forest as a crop but it is sad to see the devastation in the cleared areas.
We stopped for a late lunch in Westport and found it to be a mix of tourist town with lots of gift shops and a large working fishing fleet. Had delicious clam chowder and fried oysters. The oysters were the size of Joe's palm and quite a different taste from eastern oysters - but good. Tomorrow I'll buy a pint for an oyster stew since we are camped near a seafood market in Bay Center.
Tomorrow we will cross into Oregon and start our trek down the coastline as far as Coos Bay. We are going to try to get a campsite at Fort Stevens next to Astoria, then inland to visit relatives and friends and then who knows where????
Roosters woke us up this AM at the crack of dawn so we just got up and hit the road. No idea where they came from but it had been years since we'd heard chickens in the morning. Stopped in Ilwaco, WA and walked to the lighthouse - uphill through lots of mosquitos. Crossed over into Oregon at the Astoria bridge and went to Fort Stevens. This was an active Army fort from the Civil War to WWII and quite interesting with many exhibits, photos and a large group of volunteers who dressed in period costume and shot off cannons. Most times you are walking in any type of vegetation in this part of the country, you will find signs like these. Amazing the wild animals have adapted to living close in to small towns.
Off shore there were more sport fishermen at one place than I've ever seen. I'm more used to the solitary guy alone in his boat but there were swarms of boats so something fishy must have been running right near the bridge. I've yet to find a good place to buy some smoked salmon. Most have been closed. Today we did buy some sweet cherries at a roadside stand but found out they were from CA after the purchase. Still good and sweet.
Somewhere in the back roads off of Route 101, we came across big sand dunes right in the middle of a forest. Lots of ATVs roaring around but a good wind would remove all traces.
The coast of Oregon was much like I had imagined with steep banks, haystacks off shore and lots of lighthouses.
What I hadn't thought of was all the traffic and tourist shops in the small towns along Route 101. It reminded us of Route 1 in Maine during the summer which we avoid like the plague. Looks like school must be out and the Oregonians are hitting the road.
We walked many beaches today, stopped at most of the overlooks and read the information signs. Only made it as far as South Beach State Park just south of Newport, OR for the evening. Huge campground, power, water for $20. After all those nights way in the forests and all alone this feels like being in a gypsy encampment. We did walk out to the beach - uphill through the mosquitos and listened to the surf.
Truck and TC are performing great. The TC still looks good though it is very dirty and needs a scrub. We've never seen so many TCs on the road, every make, model, brand, configuration, truck, etc. Probably half are hauling boats.
Tomorrow we head south to Coos Bay to visit an online knit friend and then back up to Eugene to visit relatives. Last on to Bend to visit a friend and Host. We're thinking Crater Lake next and then down to CA to see redwoods. Isn't retirement grand?? Diesel is gradually rising from $2.39 to $2.69 but it beats last year's $3.80+.
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