Redwoods Nat'l Park, Ca. August 29 & 30

Ocean and earth is home to a forest of giants.  This Park is a nursery for the world's tallest things.  They only grow here because because of the moderate, almost Mediterranean climate.  They don't have to protect themselves from nature's extreme temperatures, so they can grow to enormous proportions.  These Coast Redwoods grow up to 370 ft. or more.  Their grow to 22 ft. in diameter and are 2000 years old.  This is not the prettiest park we have seen, but it may be the most impressive.  We travelled more than 180 miles out of the park and we saw Redwoods the whole way.  Amazing that a giant can grow from a seed as small as a tomato seed!  Recent studies suggest that rising, global temperatures are changing regional fog patterns, which are necessary for their growth.  A long-term decrease in fog would severely impact the coast redwoods' ability to outlast periods of extreme drought.  A single old-growth coast redwood tree consumes up to 500 gallons of water a day!  From October through April, a high pressure area sitting atop the North Pacific drives a series of winter storms onshore, dumping the majority of 60-80 inches of annual rain over the region.  There is more about this but I don't want to write a book.  We are headed for San Francisco and will see you all there.

Redwoods

Stewart State Park, OR August 27 & 28

Well, this is farewell to Oregon.  We had a great last 2 days here.  Yesterday was a laid back, biking, walking, reading day.  The weather was beautiful.  Today was overcast with a few raindrops.  High of 62.  We explored the park and outlying area.  We visited a fish hatchery where the salmon are raised to be big guys.  We watched some rafters on the river freeze to death.  Then for supper we found a little cafe in the park that had chicken and ribs and also a cute little country band.  That was so much fun! 
We saw some of the most beautiful and largest pine trees.  So many different varieties. Surrounded by mountains, meadows and lakes and bordered by ocean beaches makes this one of our most memorable experiences.  We will forever remember this area with profound fondness.  We love you Oregon!

Stewart State Park, OR

Crater Lake Nat'l Park, Oregon August 25 & 26

Wow! We arrived at Diamond Lake campground which is a very popular place for boating and fishing. We did not have reservations here and were a little nervous that we wouldn't be able to get in. They had one lot left for our size rig and it was perfect! It was a big lot overlooking Diamond Lake and we fell in love with the area. The smell of pine was wonderful and we couldn't get enough of it, along with the pure spring water that everyone tried to gather in their containers. I kept filling my water bottles and took some with us. The temperature was 98 degrees when we arrived, but it was not humid so it wasn't too hot. The temp. went down to 55 degrees when we woke up the next morning and it only got to 66 for the high. We drove to Crater which was breathtakingly beautiful! We had a clear day to see the park and it was spectacular. There aren't enough poetic words in the English language to describe this lake. It is another volcanic mountain. So much mass blew out of the cone that the mountain had no support and it collapsed. As the volcanic activity subsided water began to collect. Springs, rain and snow began to fill the caldera. As the lake deepened and widened, evaporation and seepage balanced the incoming flow. The depth now varies less than three feel annually in this, the Nations deepest lake. The color is so blue, that is doesn't look real. The maximum lake depth is 2000 ft. The width is 6 miles in this lovely 183,224 acre park. We drove the rim and had a picnic overlooking one of the scenic overviews. It was a great day! Love G.&S

Sunset Bay Campground, Oregon August 24

This was not one of our best days. We got up to get ready to leave and I had left the ignition on in the car and you know what that means. George charged the battery and on our way to Crater, we took a curve too fast and everything fell out of the refrigerator and last but not least, I lost the binocular case that carried my daughters expensive binoculars. Oh hell, life happens, even when you are living your dream, right? But, I would say that with everything we have seen and done on this trip, that is just a little glitch.
We arrived at the camp and saw some beautiful things. We visited a Botonical garden that was out of this world. And then we saw an island with so many seals and sea lions we couldn't believe it. If you see a picture of a big rock with black bumps on it, those are our seals. Cute, huh? This is a beautiful area. Still a little chilly, but their Fall comes early to these parts. I miss the Fall season back in Ohio, so I guess I have to come to Oregon to see Fall.

Crater Lake Nat'l Park

Cape Lookout, OR August 22 & 23

Hi friends and family, We drove along the Oregon Coast and what breathtaking views! We thought we would arrive at our next spot around lunch or before, but it took us hours longer because of the look-outs we just had to stop at. That was our next campground, Cape lookout. We are right on the beach overlooking the Pacific Ocean. We are wearing out the sand walking the beach. One of the highlights was our tour of the Tillamook Creamery. It is famous for their cheddar cheese, but the best part about it was the ice cream! Tim Duncan would have thought he died and went to heaven! They use 1 million gallons of milk a day to process their cheese and other cream products. Very interesting! After our tour, we went up to Cape Meares lighthouse. It is 120 years old, (almost as old as us), but last February 2 men shot out the windows and we couldn't take the tour. How devastating! The picture isn't posted yet, but we saw a large Sitka spruce tree that is shaped like an octopus. The base is 10 ft. at its base. It has no central trunk, which is uncommon for a spruce. How unique! We had a wonderful 2 days at this Cape and the last walk I had I found 2 perfect sand dollars! Love to all

Cape Lookout, OR

Cape Disappointment, Washington, Aug. l9, 20, 21

Hi friends, What a delightful place this is! We arrived on Thursday and explored the area. The campground is called Disappointment campground. It is on a beautiful beach which I explored extensively. I almost killed myself the first day walking everywhere. The Cape got its name Disappointment because the explorer (I can't remember his name), explored the area thoroughly and found that it was not on the mouth of the Columbia River like he thought it would be, so hence the name, Disappointment. This area is also called the graveyard of the Mississippi because of the rocks. Many ships were sunk here and they have a record of all the shipwrecks. Very interesting! We drove the whole peninsula and found little seaside towns and I especially loved the yarn store on the beach. George took the jeep on the beach because he is a little boy and loves off-roading and whenever he sees an opportunity, he takes it.
Saturday we chartered a boat with 10 other people and went salmon fishing. We caught our first North Pacific salmon. Tradition in Washington is, when you catch your first salmon, you have to have a picture kissing the fish. We had such a good time! We started out slow but the boat ended up limiting. We had most of it vacuum sealed and will have our first fresh salmon dinner tomorrow. I can't wait! Our little freezer in our motor home is stuffed with salmon. Such a problem! We had a wonderful three days in Cape Disappointment and was not disappointed at all. We loved every breathtaking moment. Love you all. See you in Oregon tomorrow.

Pacific Salmon Fishing

Hoh Rain Forest, Ruby Beach, WA, Aug.17 & 18

Oh boy, what a time we had! First of all, we arrived at Mora camp in the park around lunch time and who did we see? Chuck and Eloise Pratt. They are friends we met at Fort Jefferson about 5 years ago. They worked there for 11 years and just retired a couple of years ago. We were pulling in and they were right beside us. They live in Key West not too far from us which is the Southernmost point in the continental United States and we run into them at the Northernmost point. What are odds of that happening? We were able visit with them and meet their friends. We had a wonderful time.
That afternoon we went to the Hoh Rain forest which is the western part of Olympic Nat'l Park. Such a neat forest. We walked into the most dense, moss covered Hemlocks, Spruce, Sitka and Douglas fir trees. Some as high as 200ft. We had a ball hiking 2 of the trails. Drenched in over 12 ft. of rain a year, the rain forest obliterates all sense of time. Elk make their home on the riverbanks. We loved it! One of the highlights of our trip.
Before we left, we went to Rialto Beach. That was our first beach on the Pacific Coast. It was spectacular! Instead of seashells, you find stones of all colors and sizes. The sand is not the white sand you see on the Atlantic, but dark gray sand. I liked it better because it looks so rugged with all the driftwood washing up on shore. The tide was up so we did not walk that beach. When we left, we visited another beach called Ruby Beach. The tide was low, so we walked for awhile. We had a great time! We will probably see you in Oregon tomorrow. Love you all.

Hoh Rain Forest, Ruby Beach, WA

Olympic Nat'l Park, Chittenton Locks

Olympic Nat'l Park, August 16

I forgot to mention the last day in Seattle. George, who by the way, is doing such a good job navigating our trip and doing all the planning, picked a gem of a place for us to go. The Chittenton locks which are run by the Army Corps of Engineers was really interesting. We have done some lock trips and this one was unique. We followed a ranger who explained all about the lock operation and then took us to a fish ladder that we could see salmon swimming from the sea back to where they were hatched. Their sense of smell takes them back to the point in the river where they came from. We watched while they climbed this ladder on the sea side,21 feet, and once they got through, they were in fresh water. So interesting! I have never seen anything like it. Then they go back to their spawning area and lay their eggs. How about that! Amazing how they just know how to do it.
We arrived at our park this morning and it is lovely. The mountain range is incredible! Olympic is a unique park, in that it is known for its biological diversity. Isolated for ions by glacial ice, and later the waters of Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Olympic Peninsula has developed its own distinct array of plants and animals. Eight kinds of plants and 15 kinds of animals are found on the peninsula but nowhere else on Earth. I could not believe the vast amount of wildflowers. The park is preparing for the largest dam removal in U.S. history and celebrating the "last dam summer" in the Elwha River Valley. Next summer, removal of Elwha and Glines Canyon dams on the Elwha river will begin the culminating step in a process that will free the river and allow thousands of salmon to return to over 70 miles of river and stream in a pristine and protected ecosystem.
This a park with 8 months of winter and a short Spring and Summer. We drove up to Hurricane Ridge, aptly named because they have hurricane force winds all winter. Did you know that bears do not hibernate? A little trivia. Love you

Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens, Aug. 13 & 14

Mt. Rainier, a towering, ice-clad volcano rising 14,411 ft. is strikingly beautiful. Remember the moments that take your breath away? This is definitely one of them. The cap of glacial ice that conceals all but a few crags and ridges makes it doubly impressive. Although the mountain is currently dormant, it is not extinct. It belongs to the class of exploding volcanoes, much like recently awakened Mt St. Helens, and one day could erupt in a similar manner. There are 35 miles of glaciers and is the largest single-peak glacial system in the contiguous U.S. 26 glaciers extend down the mountainside. The forests that cover go up 5000 ft. and how beautiful they are.
We saw wildflowers and meadows and the contrast to the masses of ice was striking. We then drove to Mt. St. Helens and how impressive that is! Until May 18, 1980, Mt. St. Helens was one of Washington's snowcapped crown jewels. Spirit Lake was the primary recreation center. At 8:32 a.m. an explosion of incredible force blew the top 1,313 ft. and much of the bulging north face off Mt. Helens, shot a dense plume of smoke and ash 80,000 ft. into the air and released a mile-wide avalanche that raised Spirit Lake by more than 200ft. and laid over forests as if they had been combed. Mud and logs surged down the Toutle and Cowlitz rivers, temporarily clogging the Columbia River shipping lanes with silt. The pull of ash turned morning into midnight as it fell, halting traffic for a hundred miles and covering parts of 3 states with a fine gray powder. In spite of this cataclysmic event, the area has renewed and is as beautiful as it once was. Forests have come back and a new wildlife system has evolved. I wish I had been here before the avalanche to compare the renewed life. Subtle episodes suggest the the volcano might not yet be ready for another extended nap. Seeing these 2 beautiful mountains in one day was, indeed, a lesson we will never forget.

Seattle, Washington Aug.11 & 12

Hi friends and family, We left Deception Pass and arrived at Everett-Boeing around 10:00 a.m. What a place! George, being a pilot, was intensely interested in the new planes they are building. We took a tour of the plant and learned how they build and assemble them. Facinating! The building we toured is the largest structure in the world. 75 football fields would fit in it. Then we drove to our camp which is home for four days. We wanted to be close to the city. We took a little drive downtown just to get the lay of the land. The city is beautiful. In the morning we drove to Pikes Market Place. Wow! Teri, you were right! It is so much fun. I bought produce I never even heard of. If you don't about Pikes place, it is stall after stall of fresh fish, beautiful produce, more cut flowers than I every saw in my life, cheeses, baked goods, (of which we happily sampled), all kinds of handicrafts and lots of restaurants. It opened in 1907 as an experiment in bringing together local farmers and consumers. Then we walked to Chinatown and explored. We had lunch at the famous Ivar fish bar and it was delicious. We finished off the day by going up in the Space Needle. It takes you up, up, up to the top of the city. That was very exciting! What a wonderful day in the city! Tomorrow we are visiting Mt. Rainier. See you tomorrow!

San Juan Islands, Washington Aug 9 & 10

Yes, we are still at Deception Pass which is in the San Juan Islands. Deception Pass is in Whidbey which is the longest island in the continental U.S. Having been here 3 days, we have explored the area pretty thoroughly. We loved it! We went into a little waterfront town called Coupeville. A charming little village with beautiful storefronts and old buildings. It was raining and we were looking for a coffee place and George found a little lunch cafe whose owners were Mom, Dad and daughter. Dad baked all the pies and were they ever delicious. The first time I ever saw George eat pie in the middle of the afternoon. What is the world coming to? We got into a conversation with the owners and found out that they were from Akron, Ohio and went to Kent State University. And as if that's not enough, their last name is Kline. What a small world! Today we took the whale watching cruise and viewed all of the other islands. It was beautiful! We saw whales many times. They may have been the same ones but what a show they put on! We then went to a little hovel of a restaurant that the Klines referred us to. They said they had the best seafood in the area and were they ever right! We loved every minute we were here. A delightful time was had by all. Love you

Whidbey, Washinton Aug.8

Hi everyone, We spent another day at Cascades because it rained all day and we decided we would take a chill day. And I mean chill. The temps. only reached 62. I loved it! A little cool for George. Today we arrived in Whidbey. We are camping at Deception Pass State Campground which is a popular destination camp. Not expecting to find a site, they had one left for our R.V. What luck! It is beautiful! Giant redwood trees, beautiful Cranberry Lake and right on Puget Sound. We drove into Anacortes which is a popular little town. It just so happened that they were having an art festival there and we found the one parking spot left in the town. It reminded me of trying to find a parking spot in Key West at Fantasy Fest. We walked and walked and ate and ate. It was fun! We are going to stay another day and explore the area. Pictures will come later. I miss you all and wish you were here. This is an experience that we have dreamed of for a long, long time. So enjoy the journey with us!

North Cascades Natl. Park, Aug. 6

Another beautiful park! 10 million acres of untouched, glorious, magical beauty! We arrived here this morning and drove through this vast wilderness for miles and miles. We arrived at the camp and couldn't believe how dense and quiet it is. The smell of pine, the gorgeous green rivers and the clean air, not to mention the mountains themselves make this a wonderland of spectacular diversities. It's craggy peaks and blanketing forests, bald eagles and mountain lions are just a few of the treasures found here. Precipitation that falls on protected upper watersheds and headwaters works its way down, all year long, to the Skagit and Stehekin rivers. Everything is connected here: bears, salmon, eagles, humans, forests, glaciers. I could go on and on. There is so much history here. We are so grateful to live in a country that has so much natural beauty and we wish we could have you here enjoying it with us. Oh, by the way, the handsome Indian in the picture, picked me up at the visitor center.