The Pacific Northwest

We crossed the Columbia gorge into Oregon, and stopped at Melamoose State Park. We found a spot away from the road near the river thinking it would be quieter. Ha! The train tracks along the river apparently are the busiest in the nation. It seemed like 10 trains per hour went by us in the night. At least the sites were free. It seems that Oregon gives free camping to everyone on June 7. That was lucky, and the site was very pretty. 

The next morning, we drove a few miles to Wyeth national forest campground, and set up camp. It is a beautiful camp in tall pines. The camp is small, but the sites are paved, and only $10 per night. And did I mention it is beautiful here?

Again, the picture doesn't do justice. 

 We drove into Gresham, and met Randy and Nancy Alcorn. It was great to meet and visit with them. 

Nancy and Randy

Richard, Maggie, and Randy

Nancy and Randy in front of their house

On the way back to Wyeth, we drove the historic highway 30 to Multnomah falls.

Shelly at the viewpoint

The Columbia river gorge

 Shelly at Multnomah

 the falls were crowded, but still spectacular. 

Apparently Sunday afternoons are the day to visit the falls. Or maybe everyday is like this. The drive hugs the mountain, while overlooking the Columbia gorge, and has lush ferns growing under the huge trees. I would say everyone should see this, but after yesterday, I think everyone has. 

On Monday, we hiked on the trail going up the creek from our camp. 

Shelly on another bridge. "It's just another rock, dad"

She looked down on me for taking another picture

There's a lot of greenery here

In the afternoon, we took a drive to see mount Hood. 

Mount Hood

Me blocking scenery.

Shelly singing and dancing.

Interesting basalt rocks. "It's just another bridge, dad"

Tuesday morning and we're going west. To the Pacific to be specific. I just had to say it. We stopped at Cape Lookout just west of Tillamook, Oregon, and set up camp for a few days.

We met two other Airstreamers from Fort Collins, Colorado, and visited with them for a few hours, and walked on the beach.

Shelly and driftwood.

Looking for sand dollars

In the distance, you can see the arch rock sea stack 

We didn't find any whole sand dollars in the evening, so we decided to get up early to look. We were up at 5:15, and got on the beach early. We found 16 whole sand dollars.

Shelly went into Tillamook to do laundry and buy groceries, while I spent a lazy afternoon reading. We visited with our Airstream friends, and watched most of the movie "Independence Day". The DVD kept skipping and stopping, so I tried to clean it at the end. So, we saw all but the last 5 minutes of the movie. We can guess how it ended.

A reflection of Shelly reflecting on the trip.

A neat pattern in the sands of time

Tide pool

Driving south on Highway 101 is beautiful. We are still in the rain forest, and it was raining for some reason. The highway drives along the coast and is very curvy and hilly.

Waves!

Driftwood on the beach

A seagull posing in front of a lighthouse

Shelly posing in front of a lighthouse

The scenery is gorgeous, but after about 4 hours of driving and only getting about 100 miles down the coast, we decided to stop at Carter lake national forest campground.

Our camp

 The sites here are $20, and there are only a few other people in the park. There were some pine logs here that I was able to split for firewood. 

Tomahawk chop

I hiked about a mile to the beach through some dense underbrush. Getting a trail through here must have been a tough job. 

You can barely see the ocean in the background, and the trees and shrubs are very dense.

When I got back, Shelly had a fire going, so I got to rest after the hike.

Me waiting for the fire to burn down.

We drove inland to interstate 5, and made it to California. The scenery changed from the rain forest to a much drier landscape, but the terrain is about the same. We saw two old Franklin cars at a rest stop, and I thought of dad.

The one had a 1929 license plate, but I'm not sure if that was the year of the car. The driver said the front one was the only known model like it, and his was one of five known. Pretty rare.

We went East on hwy 89 through McCloud and stopped at the first national forest campground about 4 p. m. It was full, and we started thinking we might have to spend the night in a Walmart parking lot, since it is Friday the 13th, and a full moon. Luckily, the next camp, only had a few campers in it, and was just as pretty. It is Cattle camp national forest campground, and has lots of big pines, and very quiet. $15 per night

We got a great night's sleep in this quiet park, and made it through Friday the 13th with no bad luck. Leaving the camp, we found some huge pine cones, and had to collect some of them.

Shelly showing off her big cones!

We drove through Reno, Nevada, on our way to Lake Tahoe. The traffic was crazy, and there were people everywhere around Lake Tahoe. It was not looking good for finding a camp. The first three national forest camps we passed were all full. We stopped at Sugar pines State park about 3 P. M.  They had one site left, and we were almost glad to pay $35 for it. As we pulled in to the camp, Shelly noticed we had a flat tire on the camper.

The sidewall was ruined, so I guess I had been driving on it for a few miles.

Sadie checking out our camp.

The camp was nice, but not any better than the $15 site we were in last night. I guess that's Lake Tahoe.

Interesting flowers, while hiking down by the creek

Back to Nevada! The easiest way south, was to go north around Lake Tahoe then east into Nevada, and then back into California. 

Lake Tahoe

Tahoe again

The road disappears. There is a steep drop off on both sides and in front of us. We survived.

We stopped after driving only a few hours in Bootleg national forest campground. The only other person in the camp was the host when we set up camp. What a difference from Tahoe. It is a nice camp and only $20 with Walter and flush toilets. We're living high on the hog now. I hiked down to the river and tried panning for gold. After about 45 minutes I still haven't seen even a flake of gold. Either gold is rare, or I am not doing this right. Or maybe both.

Shelly at Bootleg camp

Me, celebrating Father's Day in style.

 We sat by the fire until almost dark, and then watched a movie. Really roughing it. So far, we have only had electric hookups 7 nights, and did not need electricity then. The solar panels have kept the batteries over 90%, even camping in shaded camps for several nights.

Onward, Southward!

From Prince George, we drove south past Williams lake to lac LaHache provincial park. It is a nice wooded campground, and only $16. There are sites overlooking the lake, but are too close to the road, so we chose one away from the road. 

Lac LaHache

Shelly at The chasm

From here, we drove south to Cache creek, and east on hwy 1. The terrain is about the same, but much drier, and no trees. It is strange to see the rivers flooded in the valley, and farmers irrigating the fields. 

Interesting colors. You can see the flooded river by the trees.

 We stopped at Lac LeJeune Provincial park for the night. It is a nice campground on a very pretty lake. We sat by the fire, and Shelly spoiled the dogs.

They don't usually like each other this much. Sadie and Bentley, that is. 

Bentley's health is getting worse, and we're afraid he won't be around much longer. 

 We planned on staying at Okanagan falls Provincial park, but drove through there around noon, and decided to go on to the border. They checked the refrigerator for fresh fruits or vegetables, but we were through in a few minutes, and on our way south. Shelly was happy that she had her phone again. We were stopped in traffic for a paving project for about 45 minutes, so we made phone calls to check on everyone. We drove west on hwy 20 into the mountains to Loup Loup campground. We had been in the truck about 7 hours, and decided to stay here two or three nights. We visited with the camp hosts, Greg and Lois, while sitting around a campfire until 10. They kept trying to convince us we would like being a camp host. We have always said we might try it someday.

 On Wednesday, Shelly went to Twisp to get a few groceries and do laundry. I hiked up the mountain at Loup Loup ski area.

The ski area of Loup Loup

 We sat by the fire and planned which way to go next. We wanted to avoid Seattle traffic, but I wanted to drive through the Cascades again, so we'll leave the Airstream here and drive the North Cascades highway. 

Our home for 3 nights 

Shelly dancing in the snow near Washington pass

Shelly having fun

Diablo lake overlook. We ate Fritos with tuna fish for a gourmet lunch here!

Shelly on a neat log bridge.

Shelly classing up the trail above Diablo lake.

We sat by a campfire again, and watched the sun set, listening to the owls and night birds.

Sadie is having a hard time adjusting to the long nights. It is interfering with sleeping 20 hours a day.

A swimming moose. She was splashing around having fun.

Shelly spotted a moose in a swamp. 

 We drove to Grand Coulie dam, and toured the visitor center. Big dam visitor center. 

Shelly at Grand Coulie dam

Below the dam.

We thought this sign was funny

We stopped at dry falls. At the end of the ice age, massive floods from melting glaciers washed over this spot, creating a waterfall many times larger than Niagara. I'll bet the native Americans were thinking their fires were causing the global warming.

We were planning on stopping at Sun Lakes state park, but a small wildfire at the entrance had the park closed temporarily. The sheriff said we could wait, but we drove on to Soap lake, and set up in a city park called Smokiam. It is only $20 for full hookups, and we backed up to Soap lake.

During the afternoon, the wind was calm, but during the night, the wind picked up, and it sounded like we were near the ocean. We drove to Ephrata, and had the oil changed, while we bought groceries. In the evening, we went to a powwow next to the campground. 

Onward, Northward!

We stopped in Prince Edward to buy groceries. We had heard to stock up on stuff before going much further north.

Shelly found a $20 bill in the parking lot! We're rich! Funny money up here!

There was a Mcdonalds with wifi in the Walmart, so we sat there for an hour and caught up with worldly events. We face timed with Erica, and found out it is raining at our house again. We have only been gone a month, and got more rain at our house than we did for 5 months before we left. Whatever it takes. Everyone around us might pay us to leave the state when it gets dry. We checked out Beaumont provincial park on the route. It is a great looking park with paved roads, nice bathrooms, ( up here they are called washrooms), and only $16 per night. We wanted to get further down the road, so we skipped this park for now. We found Sunset lake forest campground, about 4 miles south of Topley. The first mile was paved, and the gravel road wasn't bad.  It is a secluded campground on a nice lake. And free. Have I mentioned I like this kind of camping?

We sat by the fire, and listened to the loons. 

On Tuesday, we drove north on the Cassier highway to meziadin provincial park. We chose a non power site on a hill above the lake. The sites are $18/ night and we paid $5 for wifi. 

Our camp at Meziadin provincial park

Shelly at the lake. We haven't gone swimming or inner tubing yet!

We drove to Stewart, B. C. And Hyder, Alaska today! We made it!

Hyder, Alaska!

Bear glacier on the way to Stewart

Shelly on the bear viewing boardwalk near Hyder

Shelly again

 We weren't sure what to expect in Hyder, but found it to be almost a ghost town, and not sure if it is because it is early in the season, or just not thriving anymore. We didn't see any bears, but it was over a month early before the salmon are running. Back at meziadin, we were planning our route, and decided to start heading south. It is 1300 miles to Anchorage, and about $1200 in gas alone to get there and back. We can say we've been to Alaska now. And I realize going to Hyder, is like going to Dumas, Texas, and saying we've seen Texas. We have seen so much spectacular scenery, everything the past few days have been ho hum. Onward, southward! I am already looking forward to seeing the Pacific Northwest. So many places, so little time!

This is Clements lake campground just outside of Stewart, B. C. A beautiful campground, but the Mosquitos were attacking with a vengeance. We had debated on staying here before we went to Meziadin.

 We drove south, and stopped at Kleanza creek provincial park about 15 miles east of Terrace, B. C. We are in a rain forest, and parked 15 feet from the creek. 

This is one of the prettiest campgrounds we have stayed in. We hiked to the top of the bluff, and took pictures of the waterfalls in the canyon. They just don't do it justice. You can't hear the roar of the water, feel the mist, or get a sense of how much water is going through the canyon. After living in the drought for the past decade in Texas, it amazes me how much fresh water there is here. I think they should share at least a little of this water.

Shelly about 70 feet above the water. 

I hiked the trail up the canyon, while Shelly volunteered to wash clothes in Terrace. We were both happy with this. I panned for gold, and after about twenty minutes of freezing my hands, I had found one tiny flake of gold. Not getting rich this way. I decided the real treasure here is the hike in the rain forest. Now I am rich with memories! 

We visited with Dave and Shelly, who gave us advice on campgrounds to see. They recommended Tyhee lake, so we plan on stopping there tomorrow. Now it's tomorrow, which some say never come, but as we can see, they are wrong, because today is tomorrow. No wait, today is yesterday's tomorrow. Ugh. Anyway, we did not stay at Tyhee, but drove to Beaumont Provincial park, and stayed for a night.

The weather is nice, and we enjoyed a cool night by the fire again. Almost like camping! We saw another black bear near the road again, but by the time I stopped and got the camera out, it was walking away. That is the fourth black bear that was camera shy.