Two Sides of Washington

After Oregon, in order to head to Yellowstone, we decided to go back into Washington. We had stopped at a Visitor's Information Center to get information about the Columbia River Gorge. Because we are traveling with the RV, they suggested that we not try the Historic Route on the Oregon side which turned out to be closed anyway. It was suggested that we go on the Washington side instead of the superhighway on the Oregon side.

And it was really pretty. The river is so wide and the forested hillsides were beautiful. No wonder Washington is the Evergreen State.

We were aiming to stay for a few days near Maryhill, but the campground was full. Seems that something was running at the small streams coming into the Columbia River so all the campgrounds were full of fishermen. So we looked at the map and decided to go north from the river toward Prosser and the Tri City area.








What a surprise! As soon as we turned away from the river the whole landscape changed. If we didn't know where we were, we would have guessed that it was the mid-western high desert! It was really, really hot. The temperature was over 100 degrees for the next few days. If it wasn't near the Yakima River, or irrigated, it was dry sage grass or dirt and dust. And you could really tell where they were using irrigation. There were vineyards, and orchards, and fields of onions, and some viney things that we think were hops.










Lots and lots of vineyards!









































And apples, peaches, pears and plums. The visitor's center supplied us with a map and list of produce stands and we had a good time shopping for peppers, onions, tomatoes and peaches.

But it was a bit tricky out manuvering the residents of the nursing home that arrived with their walkers at the first stand. Seems that they aren't too wild about the food they are given, so their bus takes them shopping weekly!





We once again found it necessary to sample the local wines. We drove out to one winery and had a very pleasant time tasting wine with the owner's son. We had a few more stops on our list and headed down the highway.

And that is when we had the flat tire. Fortunately it was daylight and we had no trouble controlling the car. Jim was able to get off on the shoulder of the highway to see what had happened. Unfortunately it was about 103 degrees, the back of the Jeep was loaded with stuff, and it was a very busy highway! We were able to get the spare tire out, get the Jeep jacked up and the tire changed. We have a whole new empathy for people changing tires on the side of the road!

We carefully drove down to the first exit with services and found Frank's Tire Factory. Even though it was around 4:00 in the afternoon, they were able to take us. We waited in the air conditioned showroom while they repaired the tire which had picked up a nail and checked another tire that had a slow leak. It had a staple in it. They repaired both tires and put the spare back in place. When we were done we were ready to pay the bill and they told us there was no charge but to remember them when we needed new tires! Wow! So, if you are ever in the west, and you need some service on tires, look around for a Tire Factory, and tell them we sent you!

































We went from Yakima to Prosser, Washington. We stayed in Wine Country RV park on Merlot Ave. Are we noticing a theme? It was a very nice town, and might be an area that is a retirement sort of place.




It seemed to have a very active community and had a Farmer's Market on Saturday morning.

One of the wineries that we really wanted to visit was Columbia Crest. It was really nice. It was up on the bluff over the Columbia River with a Tuscany air to it and very nice grounds. Pond and picnic tables and stuff.

One of the interesting things about this area is that there are many wineries that locate their tasting rooms in clusters. The buildings are very new and surround small parking areas. So, you could park and walk from one tasting room to the next. We know that you are going to find this hard to believe, but we didn't do that. The storage place under the bench is getting very full, and we need to go through Canadian customs again.


We are continuing heading east and plan on stopping once or twice in Montana before we get to Yellowstone National Park.

Sue and Jim

We (heart) Oregon!

We have seen beautiful pictures of the Oregon coast, so that was the way we headed. We crossed over the Columbia River at Astoria and found the Fort Stevens State Park. Part of the park is Fort Clatsop, where Lewis and Clark spent the winter waiting to make the return trip to St. Lewis.

This area was also heavily armed with forts during the Civil War and WWI and II. It protects the mouth of the Columbia River. There is a ship that wrecked on the beach and appears at low tide. Very eerie.

Astoria has a tower with interesting carvings around the outside depicting the history of the Northwest. It has recently been refurbished and was ready for its grand reopening. There are 164 steps up to the top. We didn't get very far. It gave us both a very odd tippy feeling, so we mostly enjoyed it from the outside.

And there was another cannery to explore. Not much better than the first one, but it had a better movie. Now you know where Charlie lives.

When we left Warrenton and Fort Stevens, we did drive down the coast, and it is indeed beautiful. We took a turn-off from the scenic drive to a more scenic drive because the lady at the visitor center assured us that they do it "all the time with our trailer and it is no problem" Hmmm, trailer does not equal an RV. It was really pretty, but very narrow with low hanging trees. But the coastline was very pretty, and we stopped and ate our lunch at a very pretty lighthouse. The rocks near the lighthouse are home to several kinds of sea birds. Very noisy place!

This is the Cape Mears Lighthouse. It was much easier to climb to the top of this one, although a bit crowded at the top.

When we got back to the regular scenic drive, we passed the Tillamook Dairy. There were lots of cars and RV's parked in a very big lot, so we turned around to see what there was. Pretty cool!

We went upstairs where you can watch the packaging process. Huge blocks of aged cheese get chopped, weighed, sealed in plastic and boxed right before your very eyes. And then you can go downstairs and taste some of their cheese. And then you can go through the store and buy some! And lots of other cow and cheese related and not so related gifts. A person could get all their Christmas shopping done in one place! Are you all worried?


We stopped in Albany, Oregon. It is indeed named after Albany, New York, except that they sort of pronounce it wrong. The RV park was very nice, but things didn't go very well the first night. More problems with the leveling jacks and noisy neighbors.

After a mobile RV repair did what he could we decided to go in search of some of that Oregon Pinot Noir we have heard about. Oh, yes! It is very, very good. Albany is in the Williamette Valley so we chose just a few of the many, many wineries and really enjoyed ourselves.

This is one that Ben's co-workers liked and we agree! We were in McMinnville and it happened to be the monthly Art and Wine Saturday. We roamed around the historic business area enjoying the shops, the wine, and our dinner.

This area is also know for its covered bridges. We picked up a self guided driving tour of the bridges and enjoyed an afternoon of driving the country roads finding the bridges. It was very hot, in the 90's, so many of the creeks that run under the bridges were also popular swimming holes. As we drove around we expected to see hillsides with the vineyards, but were surprised to see lots of wheat and hay, and lots of really big tree farms, nurserys, berry farms, and rows and rows of nut trees. Hazelnuts. Who knew!

We have made a reservation for an RV park in Yellowstone, and we have some time to make some short stops in towns heading toward Montana, so we just went a little further up the road and stopped in an RV park in McMinnville. More wine!

But it also had the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum within walking distance of the park. It was really something. There were all kinds of planes from several periods of history in one building and the other building was devoted to the Space Program.

The museum is the new home of the Spruce Goose. It really is huge. Too big to be able to get it into one picture!





And, of course, we found more wineries. We needed to go to a bigger shopping area, so went to the outskirts of Portland, and stopped on the way back in two tasting rooms. Everyone has been very friendly, and is very interested in our trip and that we are from New York. We were talking to a couple who were traveling also and were on their way to pick up a cruise to Alaska. Somewhere in the conversation, Jim and the man got to talking about being in the Navy. Turns out they were on the Kittyhawk at the same time. Of course there are about 5000 men on an aircraft carrier, so they didn't know each other then, but it was cool.

Our book of scenic drives will be used again when we leave here. We are headed up to the Columbia River to see the Columbia River Gorge and head east through Washington toward Idaho and Montana.

Jim and Sue

Blooms, Mountains, Big Trees, Misty Beaches, and Vampires!

We're on the Olympic Peninsula, staying in an RV park outside Port Angeles, Washington. We did decide to take a day trip over to Victoria, and were able to find an Express Ferry that leaves fairly early in the morning, and returns in the evening.


From the harbor in Victoria you can take a shuttle bus to the butterfly gardens and then on to Butchart Gardens.

The gardens are beautiful! It was sort of a rainy day, but that doesn't keep the people away during the summer season.

This is the Sunken Garden that once was part of a limestone pit. Shows what a little imagination can do!

The hydranga were really beautiful and had quite a range of color from white, pink pale blue all the way to the deepest blues. Roses were in full bloom as were the dahlia. All kinds of dalhia.

We have heard and read a bit about the Olympic National Park being one of the most diverse of the parks. We spent one day going into the mountains visiting Hurricane Ridge. We made it in time to go on another Ranger led walk and learned about how fierce the winters are. There were black tailed deer close to the Visitor's Center that seemed very used to people. They made it a bit hard for the ranger to keep everyone's attention when they came up on the path right by the group.

Then you have the river valleys in the park that get lots of rain and mist and have a whole other look to them. We went to the Hoh Rainforest and walked the Hall of Mosses Trail, and spent one very rainy afternoon walking up to the falls at the Sol Duc Trail.

This was really beautiful. Quite a few people on the trail but they thinned out as we walked. Many puddles that day!

The Hoh Rainforest had a very eerie feel. It reminded us of something from the Everglades.

And then, there is the beach! We drove down the coast, stopping at Ruby Beach in the morning with the fog rolling in. The tide was out and we roamed around on the beach investigating the tide pools. Huge seastars and urchins.

Lots of the beach is rock that has been beaten and rounded by the surf. Some if it is big round rocks, but near the surf are the small smooth pebbles. Great for skipping over the still pools!


Ruby Beach is named because there is garnet in the sand that gives some areas a very pink color.

We continued down the coast, had lunch in the lodge at Kalaloch and headed back. The change was quite something. The sun had come out, and the tide had come in. Where we had walked in the morning was now covered by crashing waves. Cool!

Now, for those of you who are into the popular "Twilight" series, this is where it is all happening! From the RV park in Port Angeles, we went down to Forks, Washington. That's where Bella lives. We went to dinner in Port Angeles the evening after we were in Victoria. Turns out it is the scene of the first date. There are all kinds of Twilight Tours, and shops selling things from the books, and other spots that are related to the books. They have really embraced the popularity

The Visitor's Center in Forks even had a red truck. There were teenage and not so teenage women all over the place! But we didn't notice anyone that looked a bit unusual. At least we don't think so. Hmmm.







We are planning to continue a bit farther down the coast into Oregon and then eastward.

Jim and Sue

Back in the USA

This might be called Phase II of our adventure. We crossed back into the Lower 48 into Washington. We decided to avoid Seattle and all of the traffic there and went to Whidbey Island in northwest Washington. It turned out to be a really nice area. It's actually a fairly long island and has lots of farming land. There is also that influence of the water so there is lots of boating.

We found Deception Pass State Park, and really liked being in a campground with trees and lots of space between sites. This is one of the bridges that takes you out on to the island.

We visited a lavender farm that is in full bloom. They cut and dry it and use the buds for many of their products, and have oils made of some of it for soaps and other products. The drying house and shop smelled really good!

Now the problem with being on an island is that you have to get off it to go west to the Olympic National Park. We went out to the ferry to find out about making a reservation to go on the ferry to Port Townsend. Pretty busy ferry! We had to wait until the following evening to get the 9:15 ferry. That would mean checking out of the park at noon, spending the day in Oak Harbor, and getting to the the RV Park in Port Angeles very late at night.

So we spent the day being Wal Mart residents. We parked the RV in the corner of the parking lot and planned our day from there. A little laundry, a little grocery shopping, a farm market, Internet in the library, and dinner.

We thought we would drive the Jeep separate from the RV to make it easier to get reservations, and drove both over to the ferry well ahead of time to be able to get in line easily. When we got there, they told us to get in line and they would try to load us on an earlier ferry. And they did! We were on our way at 7:30! This was a much bigger ferry than the last one we rode on, but we still followed the loader's directions very carefully. Things were very tight! That is a picture of the RV taken from the inside of the Jeep.

Jim and Sue

Totems and tin cans

We arrived in Prince Rupert with the idea that we would get the ferry to Ketchikan. Unfortunately, that would mean staying in Prince Rupert for several days while we waited for a ferry that would travel during the day, give us some time to see Ketchikan, and find a ferry to take back to Prince Rupert. And all ended up being pretty expensive, even for a walk-on.

So instead, we browsed through the tourism books and picked a few things to see here. One of the reasons for going to Ketchikan was to see totems, and it turned out there were some to see here. There was also the Northern British Columbia Museum which had exhibits on the First Nations. The carving and basketry is really impressive. It is very similar to the sweet grass weaving that is done in Coastal Carolina, but quite a bit more intricate. Some of the littlest baskets are woven with grasses no bigger than a piece of thread.

We were able to find several of the totems around the city. They are carved out of one tree, but not solid. There is a pole inside, rather like a utility pole, that is in the ground which actually holds the totem up.

The travel booklets had talked about a carvers shed, but the young lady at the museum said that it was no longer available.

If you have read "Alaska" by James Michener, you will recall the history of the canneries on coast of Alaska and Canada. There was supposed to be a refurbished cannery that gave tours, had "delightful" dining opportunities, and performances depicting the daily lives of the people in the canneries. Well, not quite. It seems that the refurbished cannery has fallen on hard times, or maybe the writer of the brochures has high hopes and quite an imagination!

But it was interesting. They have done a good job of showing how canning was done manually next to the modernized, automated canning of the early 1900's.

Jim remembered this machine from the book and how it had to be custom made to chop up the salmon to get it ready to can. He says the job was messy!

Too bad it did not live up to the info about it, or maybe someday it will. There wasn't really anything to keep us in Prince Rupert, we did almost everything there, there were no cruise ships in, and it was a British Columbian holiday, so the town was very quiet.

So, off we go to the lower 48. We quickly changed from snow covered mountains and raging rivers to rolling hills and wheat fields. The rolled wheat looks a lot like home! We will head toward Washington to spend time in the Olympic National Park.

Jim and Sue

What do you do when the lights go out?

Never mind! But wait, we got ahead of ourselves.

We traveled down the Cassiar Highway from near Watson Lake to Iskut, BC. It was really a very pretty ride, and most of the road was good. There were also interesting signs that there was wildlife in the area, but all we saw was someones horses in the road. The RV Park was called Mountain Shadow RV Park, and in the morning very early, before we left, this was our view. There were three cinder cones from volcanoes that were very evident.

We left early in the morning, but were not successful in viewing wildlife. Might have something to do with the heat. By noon the temperature was near 80 degrees. On the internet, the weather was listed as an Orange Warning. But the daily forecast was for beautiful weather. It didn't make sense. But wait!

On the way down the canyon to Stewart, BC, we passed Bear Glacier. If you have seen "Insomnia" with Robin Williams, you saw this glacier. They built a house out on the lake in front of the glacier to use in the movie.

At the end of the road, you come to Stewart, British Columbia, drive about 2 miles down the road, and cross the border into Hyder, Alaska. There isn't a border crossing for the US, and when you come back to Stewart, you have to go through Canadian Customs, which is pretty easy because there is nowhere to go from Hyder, except back into Stewart. There isn't really much in Hyder, most of the stores have been closed down.

Now, back to the original question. What do you do in Hyder when the lights go out?

Answer: Not too much. Why did the lights go out you might ask? Remember the warning and the beautiful weather report? Well, the glaciers are melting quickly, so the glacial rivers are torrents. The road into Stewart is next to the river. During the night, the river eroded out the foundation under a pole, and the wires snapped. At first it was reported that the power would be on by noon, but that rumor didn't last long. The power didn't come on until sometime the next night.

So that meant that both towns were running on generators, if someone had one, and if not, then the store, restaurant, laundry, gift shop, or Visitor's Center didn't open. Most of the RV's have their own generators, so many people stayed inside in the AC! The road to Salmon Glacier had also washed out, so that wasn't possible either. But we had a good day to catch up on reading and puzzles and quilting.

You might even be wondering why people come to this place anyway. Well, probably not to see the Toaster Museum! (Which was also closed, but we peeked in the window. See, some people do have respect for antique toasters!)

They come to see the bears! There is the National Forest Service Fish Creek Bear Viewing Area. The salmon are running, and the bears come to catch the salmon. The Forest Service has built a deck platform, and you can go and be quite safe, and the bears ignore the people and their cameras. And it is so cool! Everyone sits or stands around being friendly and chatting, and suddenly a bear will come walking up the stream, or come out from under the deck from the woods and and wander into the stream for salmon. Everyone is pretty quiet, and there are lots of cameras going off, but it doesn't bother the bears. Mostly they are hungry and trying to catch the salmon.

Well, most of them are. But this is an interesting "couple" The male grizzly, the brown one, is trying to get the attentions of the black female. She is also a grizzly. That was something we didn't realize, that grizzlies can be black, too. Well, she isn't as interested in him as he is in her, so she pretty much ignores him. But maybe she is just playing hard to get!

There was one more bear that came, but the big male chases her away so that he can have the whole area for himself. She was forced to go into the bushes and eat berries until he left with his lady.

This is the boardwalk where everyone waits. Some people are there with really big cameras on tripods, but mostly everyone is very friendly and it is easy to get pictures. The bears are also very accommodating, and "work" the whole stream. Oh, and the salmon themselves are very interesting to watch. Some of them are about at the end of their life span, and are looking very tired.

This is the big guy taking a break. They really have to work pretty hard to get the salmon.

Sue's camera can take a video, and Jim was able to edit it enough to get it into the blog.

So, we now have to say good bye to Alaska. We were going to get the ferry in Prince Rupert and go to Ketchikan, but have done some reworking of the schedule. We are still going to Prince Rupert on our way south, and then on to Prince George and Washington.

Sue and Jim

Skagway still bringing in the Gold

Since Jim hasn't had any luck panning for gold, maybe we will be able to strike gold in Skagway! Probably not, but that is what thousands of people were hoping when they arrived in Skagway and climbed the Chilkoot Pass to get to the Klondike. There were two ways to get from Skagway up over the mountains to reach the Yukon River. One was the Chilkoot Pass, and the other was the White Pass. When you drive down into Skagway, you follow the White Pass downhill. Way downhill!

We went to the National Historical Site in town, and arrived just in time to take a walking tour. That is the Visitor's Center behind the Ranger that once was the location of the Alaskan Brotherhood. The front of the building is faced with driftwood. The sidewalks are all boardwalks and the whole place has a western air to it.


Inside the National Historical Site building, there are displays about how arduous it was to climb over the mountains. You also have to cross the Canadian border, and the Royal Mounted Police took over the crossing, and enforced the law that every man coming into Canada had to have a year's supply of food and equipment with him. And for most of the travelers, that meant carrying it up on their back, one load at a time.
Unfortunately for them, by the time they reached the gold strikes in Dawson City, all the land had been claimed, and there was nowhere for them to mine.

But Skagway survived, and now is a port for the Alaskan Ferry System, a National Historic Site, and a stop for cruise ships! There were four in port the first evening we arrived, and the town was bursting. The shops stay open late, and it is difficult to walk on the boardwalk/sidewalk. In fact, several people just walk in the street. Makes it interesting for the buses and cars that are trying to maneuver. When the gold seekers arrived, there were those that decided to "mine" the goldrushers by fleecing them, aka, Soapy Smith, and there are still merchants that are catering to the cruise ship shoppers. Better than half of the stores were expensive jewelery and diamond stores. The other half were tee shirt and gift shops. At the Visitor's Center, they assured us that each of the next few days would get progressively better as there weren't as many ships expected in port.

This proved to be true, and the town was pretty nice, although a bit eerie with the shops closing early in the evening.

One of the days we were there, we decided to drive back up the White Pass in the Jeep and stop at all the pull outs and scenic views that we had not been able to with the RV.

It was a beautiful day, and we were really glad that we did it. You can see where the White Pass Railroad climbs up the mountain, and see how the land and foliage changes as the mountain becomes harsher.

There are many little lakes at the top of the pass, and that is where they waited for the spring to come, snow to melt, and build boats to get down the lakes and to the river.

Lots of beautiful waterfalls.

This is where the train comes up the mountain. It passed right by the RV park that we picked. Fortunately, they only run during the day, so they were interesting to watch, and didn't keep us awake at night.

Oh, speaking of night! There is one in Skagway! It gets dark!!! Not until after 10:00, but never the less, it is dark at night.



And, speaking of RV Parks. We have had quite a bit of luck with campgrounds. Some are nicer than others, and we haven't had much trouble finding them by using the Trailer Life book, and Alaskan Camping by a couple named Church. However, this time they both missed the boat. The first RV Park we stayed in in Skagway was awful. The facilities were not clean at all and the hook-ups were not what was described in the books. We stayed two nights, checked out the other RV Park nearby, and moved for the rest of our stay. We were able to get a refund for the one night remaining at the first park. When Jim talked to the new park manager, he found out that the owner also owns over half of the tour packages in town, and the park is not his primary interest. No kidding!

We discovered that there was a day trip to Juneau by boat from Skagway. We had a very nice day, were able to hook up with Don and Marilyn who are staying in Haines, Alaska, and see some more whales on the boat trip.

The boat picked us up in Skagway, then went to Haines to pick up a few people, took us to Juneau where we were picked up by a Grey Line bus tour. The bus driver gave us a tour into Juneau, dropped us down town for three hours, and picked us up to take us to Mendenhall Glacier.

While we were in Juneau, we had a very nice lunch, and then walked to the State Museum. There were some really good exhibits there, and some interesting things about the Native Culture, European settlement, and statehood.

And then we hit the road again on the way to Stewart BC, and Hyder Alaska. We decided to drive the RV and the Jeep up the pass to see if that would be easier on the RV. It worked very well, and we were also happy that we had taken our trip up on a sunny day, because it was very rainy and foggy on our way out. There were still buses of daytrippers going up the mountain, stopping at all the overlooks, but they couldn't see much at all. It made for lots of grumpy senior citizens! We told a few of them that it really was pretty, but that didn't impress them. Oh, well.

Jim and Sue