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| Abe and Alexis Olympia NP |
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| Washington Beach |
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| Hurricane Ridge Olympia NP |
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| Savannah Sparrow |
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| Stump of large tree on beach La Push |
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| Cape Flattery |
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| Spider web found on hike near La Push |
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| Sunset La Push |
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| Marbled Godwit |
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| Ecola SP looking south toward Cannon Beach |
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| Oregon Beach Ecola SP |
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| B and B in Astoria |
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| Carol,John and Diana in Columbia River Gorge with Bridge Of The gods in background |
Culture Shock and beyond
We are bound for the outskirts of Seattle so that we can meet up with Abe and Alexis and see a Mariners Baseball game. Our campground is in Bellevue, Washington. It is about 10 miles from downtown Seattle. Our plan is to arrive the day before the game and get some things done then get a Lyft ride into town for the game. We will spend the night in a Hotel after the game. The next day Alexis and Abe come back to the trailer with us to visit Olympic NP.
Driving in Bellevue reminds me of driving in Boston. The roads go every which way, one seemingly overlapping the adjacent street. While Diana got laundry done and cleaned the trailer I was designated to run errands. First on the list was to get the oil changed in the truck. I googled oil change places and found a Jiffylube place several miles away. Upon arrival the mechanic said he didn’t have enough oil for the truck and directed me to the downtown location about 6 miles away. Upon arrival there the mechanic wasn’t sure if he had the correct oil filter, fortunately he did. Next stop groceries. The store was mobbed. It was difficult navigating the isles and at one point someone deliberately ran into my cart because it “was in his way” but I survived the ordeal.
The time in Seattle was terrific. We headed from the hotel down the waterfront and the first stop was the aquarium. Next up to the fish market to watch the venders throw the fish around. Alexis read about the gum wall so we all chewed gum and added ours to it. At the farmers market we found some great cheese and bread for a snack. Also found a couple of breweries. Later had dinner then headed to the ballpark for a great game with super company. The next day we got a Lyft car back to Bellevue and traveled to the north portion of the Olympic Peninsula. This gave us a day and a half to see the park with Abe and Alexis. We hiked through rainforest and viewed waterfalls. In general had a great time. When it was time to say goodbye to our guests we drove them into Port Angles to get a rental car so the could drive to Portland Oregon for the wedding of a good friend of Abe’s.
Next stop on the Peninsula is in the tiny town of La Push which is in an Indian reservation area. The camping area looked over the Pacific Ocean. We could open the door and see the waves crashing and watch the surfers. For the next two days we explored the coast, some of which is part of Olympic National Park. We meet a couple in our campground from the area and they highly recommend we drive up to cape Flattery, the most NW point in the continental US. The drive along the Straights of Juan de Fuchs was beautiful and the hike trough a cedar rain forest to reach Cape Flattery was fantastic. While at the cape we saw Orcas frolicking off shore eagles fishing, puffins flying by and countless other wildlife.
After leaving the cape we headed back and on the way stopped at a great Indian museum that gave the history of the area. The tribe was able to share there important history because hundreds of years ago a village on the coast was buried in a mud land slide. Everything was preserved in tact because of the mud until an ocean storm uncovered it in the 70’s. Old oral history was finally proven.
Oregon is our next area of focus. This is my first visit to this beautiful state. We camped at Ft Stevens SP at the mouth of the Columbia River. Besides the natural beauty of the coast this area is the terminus of the Lewis and Clark exposition. They spent the winter of 1805 here at what they called Ft Clatsop. The National Park has a small museum and has recreated the fort based on the drawing in the exposition’s journal. The town of Astoria Is close by and we hit the jackpot here. We found our B and B all in the same building. The bakery had one of the best baguettes we have ever had. The micro brewery provided a excellent lunch with a wonderful selection of IPA beers, the best on the entire trip. Moving down the coast we stop in the town of Tillamook Oregon, the home of Tillamook Dairy. We did a tour of their cheese making operation. They make the best cheddar cheese we have found outside of New England. Tillamook also provided a place to leave the trailer so we could meet Airstream friends in Portland. Carol and John did a great job of sharing their area with us. We capped off the visit with a downtown dinner then going to a performance of the musical “The Color Purple”.
