Lithia Park

We stopped in Ashland for a few hours so Mike could take a hike up the creek in his favorite park. Ian went with Mike, Sandy took a slower amble up the creek and Angie went off with the rest of the kids. What a simply perfect creek and park! It alone would make moving to Ashland worthwhile.

When we finished walking, we estimated that it would take four or five hours to home. Even tho’ Mike would rather have stayed in Ashland in Lithia Park, once on the final stretch toward home, he became like an old horse turned toward the barn and sped south, trailing his unhappy mother behind him. Sandy, who is NOT an old horse, would rather have ended the trip with a nice dinner together and a good night sleep in a pretty park somewhere so she could have finished the drive in daylight and dealt with the RV in the morning. But the kids were eager to get home, so home we went.

Wildlife Safari

We backtracked a few miles toward Roseburg to drive thru the Wildlife Safari. It was really great, especially because we could drive our own vehicles and so see things at our own pace. We took hundreds of pics of zebras, lions, tigers, elephants, ostriches, buffalo, brown and black bears and a herd of yaks. Everyone especially liked the black bears (that were actually brown) playing in the pond - - very much like “Ian” lurking on the bank dunking “Tommy” splashing around in the water. The best photo op was of the very tall giraffe that shoved his head right in Mike’s car window! The most ominous animal was the mountain lion, pacing in his enclosed cage - - no wide open spaces for him and it appeared he wasn't happy about it! After lunch we headed south, with our usual late start of 3:00 or so.

7 Feathers

We drove south and east for a while toward Lebanon. In Scio we drove through one of the covered bridges that Mike remembered from a previous trip. While Sandy got her headlight fixed Mike had a close encounter with a river otter. Everyone except Mike and Sandy were eager to be home and were not enthusiastic about any detours. We spent the night between Roseburg and Grants Pass, OR in the 7 Feathers Resort. The RV Park is run by the Cow Creek Branch of the Umpqua Indian Tribe to support the casino and theater. It really did live up to its reputation as one of the best in the country - - nice sites, pretty landscaping and location, great indoor pool and hot tubs, free coffee and wifi. What more could we want!?! And, Mike finally got his steak and did a little gambling.

Evergreen Air and Space Park

Mike called his old friend Bob Krause, who lives in Oregon, and Bob suggested we visit the Evergreen Air and Space Park that is located near where we stayed. It is an amazing place - - an iMax theater, a building full of all sorts of airplanes including the Spruce Goose (HUGE!) and an SR-71, another building full of incredible originals and replicas from the Russian and American Space Programs, and a water park running from the belly of a huge airplane perched on top of a large building. And, up on the hill overlooking the buildings, there are a group of tanks.

The whole thing is very well done with lots of interesting exhibits, movies, and interactive activities that all of the kids loved. Ian was so entranced by the place that he immediately called his “gang” and proposed a road trip. The hi-tech kids playground was a particular hit, especially with Angie; she loved the spring-loaded teeter totter.

Dayton, OR

Sandy suggested that we take a little detour west of Hwy 5 toward McMinnville because she remembered how pretty the countryside had been from a helicopter-company-visiting trip in the 1990s. It was a bust, however, because miles of fast-food restaurants and shopping centers hid the hills and vineyards. We pulled into the Willamette Wine Country RV Park at dusk. It looks fairly new, as the trees are only 20-30’ tall and is very nice and comfortable with warm showers, a big pool and gym. We played banana scrabble again - - Mike joined us this time with his collection of creative words and supportive iPhone dictionary.

Portland, OR

We spent several hours marching up and down a park that ran along the Columbia River. The Taste of Portland was going on, so there were lots of people on the path, as well as a group of Mennonites singing and passing out fliers, a pack of female roller derby skaters and assorted street people.

When we finished our daily constitutional, we went to find Voodoo Donuts. It is in a scruffy section of town with a long line of VERY scruffy patrons, however the donuts were fresh and extremely varied. And, despite the scruffiness factor, there was lots of interesting architecture.

Eastern Olympic Peninsula

We left Port Angeles early (for us) and started south along the eastern edge of the Olympic Peninsula. There was one beautiful view after another - - little towns, rivers flowing from the snow-capped mountains into Puget Sound, and distant mountains on both sides of the road. The mist that covered the campsite burned off, and was replaced by heavy, dramatic clouds that never actually produced any rain, so our weather luck held. We stopped for lunch near Tumwater, WA and filled up for the first of our serious drives south.

Port Angeles, WA

After a picnic lunch we drove on to Port Angeles. A quick stop at the library netted Sandy address of Jimmy & Anna’s former house and their obits (that provided Anna’s maiden name and date/place of birth at long last). We photographed their little house and the view of the mountains that Sandy remembered from a long-ago trip.

After buying groceries and tickets to the Abney Park Concert for that night, we parked in a Good Sam RV park just north of town where Sandy and the kids hung out while Mike, Angie, Mandy and Ian went to the concert. Although they had nothing to wear but their “RV attire”, most of the people who attended the concert were in full steam punk costumes. The RV park wasn’t much, but it was only a short walk to the cliffs above the water where we could see Vancouver Island in the distance. Mike hiked along the trail that ran along the shore from town and had to work his way up the cliffs back to the RV park (without benefit of a trail).

Sol Duc Hot Springs

It was very damp and misty this morning, but it didn’t actually rain. Angie walked the Spruce Trail along the river and thru the woods while Sandy knitted and the kids slept. We have been so fortunate in the weather - - beautiful throughout. We left Hoh Park around noon and retraced our steps back through Forks. Before we reached Port Angeles, however, we took a little detour to the Sol Duc Hot Springs. As is usually the case, the water smelled a bit but the problem was that is was simply mobbed. Only a few of us went in because it was so crowded. The pool was primarily filled with foreign visitors - - we heard Romanian, Russian, French, Italian, and German spoken as well as some languages I couldn’t identify - - who were there for the healing waters. Even tho’ the place was unpleasantly crowded (and probably alive with germs), it worked for Sandy. As Mike pointed out, it was like “people soup”. The cabins looked like pre-fab garden sheds sitting in the full sun, so didn’t look like a good place to pay a return visit. Too bad.

Campsite in the Olympic Rain Forest

We had no campfire tonight because it was dark when we returned from our hikes and the mosquitoes were out in force, but we had a nice dinner and an evening of games.

Olympic Peninsula

15 or so miles south of Forks we entered the Hoh Olympic Rain Forest. It was just beautiful - - tall trees, acres of ferns, tons of moss and beautiful rivers. After parking our RVs in two camping sites, we all walked around the Hall of Mosses trail and then separated. Sandy, Ian, Tom, Cub and Charlotte took the flatter, shorter Spruce trail along the HoH River while Mike, Angie and Mandy went up HoH River Trail for 8 miles. We saw all sorts of different microclimates ranging from a wide, fast-moving, rocky mountain stream to moss-covered primeval forest. The kids had more fun tossing rocks into and across the river than appreciating nature, but we all had a good time.

Forks, WA

After breakfast, we headed southwest to Forks, literary home of the Twilight series. It was interesting to see what huge interest the books and movies has generated in such a sleep little town! The Forks Visitor Center has been averaging 350 visitors from all over the world each day! Pretty amazing considering the fact that: (1) the town has a population of only 3500 people, (2) the book was located in Forks only because the author googled it and found it was most overcast town in America and (3) she only visited the town after the fact and (4) the movie wasn’t actually filmed there. The visitor center was full of Twilight fans, offered all sorts of maps, pictures, and trivia about the series. Everyone but Charlotte had read at least one of the books and/or seen the movies so it was interesting.

WA-Sequim Park

We picked up some groceries and then stopped early at the small Sequim Bay State Park set amid lovely trees along the Puget Sound. We hiked and wandered along the beach.

Ferry: Edmonds to Kingston

After following a ridiculous route from Hwy 5 to the dock in Edmonds, we boarded the Ferry for a short ride to Kingston. The weather and sights were beautiful.

Sultan Bakery

After a reasonably early start, we wandered around looking for the Sultan Bakery. This is a little diner that is known for serving GIANT portions - - as Mike pointed out, the sweet rolls are the size of your head! The server was from Loma Prieta and knew Charlie Norman!

Ferndale, WA

We stopped just north of Bellingham at a really nice RV part in Ferndale where we had a particularly great cmpfire, running water, and hot showers. It is operated by the same company as the park we’d liked near Bridal Falls in Canada (and has the same maze of hedges providing privacy for each campsite). The only minor downside is that it is located so near the freeway that the noise belied the visually bucolic setting.

Peace Crossing into US

We turned south just before driving into Vancouver. Sandy and Angie made the executive decision to start south and spend more time in the Olympic Peninsula while Mike napped. We entered the United States through the peace border crossing, along with lines of other cars, trucks and even a train load of passengers.

Chilliwack, BC

It was hard to leave Similkameen River, but the drive over the pass into the beautiful Fraser Valley was great. We spent the night in Chilliwack just below Bridal Falls - - pretty amazing (though popular with mosquitoes). We stayed in a fancy RV Park criss-crossed with hedges for privacy. There was a big kiddie playground and a huge waterslide park next door (which the kids loved the next morning). I wish we’d had time to visit the Minter Gardens - - they looked pretty. The next day, we stopped at the White Spot for lunch. The mix-and-match kid meals served in pirate ships were a huge hit as were the practically perfect blueberry and strawberry milkshakes.

Mike found a defunct dinosaur park next door and had to jump the fence to do a little exploring.

Rhododendron Flats

We pulled off Hwy 3 in Manning Park in the heart of the Cascade Mountains at Rhododendron Flats. We took a long walk through tall trees and gorgeous ferns and flowers. After we crossed the bridge, the trail narrowed so it was one a foot or so wide through tall grasses and bushes. We ended our hike up a rocky mountain stream following a “path” that led up to a wonderful waterfall. Across the falls was the remains of an old mine and cabin. It was particularly special because it seemed we were one of the few to have discovered it.

Similkameen River

One of our favorite campsites was on the Similkameen River near Hope (or maybe Princeton), BC, even though it was right off Huw 3 and just down river of a large lumber mill which seemed to be running 24/7. We had water and power and a nice big bonfire perched on the river bank.

Just before dark, we drove back a few miles to what had looked like a wonderful beach and waterhole in the river. But, it as evening approached it was cooling off fast and the water was so cold only Tom and Caleb went in all the way. The current was very strong so it was a challenge to stay upright!

Osoyoos, BC

We spent the night in a funky little RV park/campground sandwiched between two more permanent RV parks. Campers and RVs packed together cheek by jowl, crammed into every available spot winding up a steep hill. Although it wasn’t particularly appealing, the hookups worked and we had a quiet night and a lazy morning the next day waiting for the attached water slide park to open. There was a waterfall next to Sandy’s site trickling from the campsites above through a retaining wall of tires. The sound was nice, tho’ one didn’t want to think WHAT was trickling down from above. Osoyoos means “where the water narrows” - - the narrow bit of land between the halves of the lakes was where the Okanagan Salish Indians used to trap salmon swimming up the Okanagan River. The climate is so warm and dry that there is a banana plantation is the area. The water in the lake is the warmest in Canada, which is probably why it is such a popular tourist spot.

Christina Lake to Osoyoos, BC

The countryside along the southern border of Canada is beautiful - - sweeping views of green valleys, high mountains, pretty little farms and rushing rivers - - but the road (still hwy 3) is not the best - - very steep hills and curves, punctuated by more runaway truck ramps than I’ve ever seen and endless expansion cracks and grooved surfaces that makes the ride bumpy and uncomfortable. The final descent into Osoyoos was awesome - - extremely steep hairpin curves (speed of 20 k/hr whatever that is in m/hr!) with amazing views to the lakes below and ranges of huge mountains to the west with a beautiful sunset over everything. The road descends 650 m in 18 km in a series of serious switchbacks. I can't imagine driving it in the winter!