Seattle, WA

Seattle, my old stomping grounds. I trained to become a North Pacific Groundfish Observer here four years ago. It is hard not to reminisce on such an adventure I had. Completing the course was one of the most difficult things I've experienced. The highlight was the amazing friends I made then who are still actively apart of my life now. I cherish them and that time in my late 20's. 

We left the camper in Sequim, WA, where I may hang out while Bri-guy is at sea, and stayed at an Air B&B walking distance to downtown Seattle. Air B&B is my new favorite thing. You can't beat the price and the comfort. We've had great experiences thus far with it. It was great to show Brian around and also do the touristy things that I hadn't had the opportunity to do before. And we did it all. We were there during the super moon and despite the cloudy skies, we tried our best to see that giant round rock in the sky. From the top of the Great Wheel to the tip of the Space Needle we climbed. She shone brightly but from behind puffs of white. Besides chasing the moon, we perused through Pike's Market and strolled along the waterfront popping into various restaurants for happy hour. I made sure Brian saw the gum wall, had a beer from Pike's Brewery and savored a brie sandwich from Le Panier. We also celebrated our belated 5 year anniversary by dining at Seattle's most secretive restaurant, the Pink Door. The literal pink door led us to foodie haven as we enjoyed our wooden anniversary. It was lovely. 

Seattle is such a great city. It's clean, it's easy to navigate and there is so much to do and see. For not being city people, we both absolutely love this town. Our Seattle visit brings us to the end of this trip. Another one for books, I can hardly beleive it. We're headed home for Thanksgiving and a wedding to celebrate two of our bests. Thanks for sticking with us and following along, we will be back next year for many more adventures. Stay tuned. 

Love, B&D. 

Pike's Market

 The Great Wheel

 Puget Sound

The Space Needle

 The Pink Door 

The gum wall!

 City lights

Next Stop: Home for holidays

North Cascades National Park, Washington

North Cascades National Park, our 4oth park!! I'm starting to feel like a broken record by saying this but once again we were limited by time, weather and seasonal closures at this park. Brian set up the tent for us in the rain at Goodell Creek. We were nestled under Conifers dripping of moss and raindrops and lulled by the rushing creek. With extra blankets and pillows from home, our tent became an insulated nest. Relentless rain led to a soggy breakfast and a day to enjoy driving around the park, stopping to visit points of interest and short walks to peak a boo views through the fog. 

In 1968 North Cascades became apart of a preservation complex also including Ross Lake National Recreation Area and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. By the power of U.S. Congress, the preservation encompasses "certain majestic mountain scenery, snowfields, glaciers, alpine meadows, lakes and other unique glaciated features" ... "for the benefit, use and inspiration of present and future generations." Say what you will, but I am colossally greatful for federally managed lands. I really think more should be conserved. 

The road closure at Ross Dam turned us around and sent us back through, around and out of the Park but not without our fill of flowing cascades. I bet you can guess what I'm going to say next. If you suspected I would end this short write up by saying we would love to come back and visit because we simply did not have enough time here, then you would be correct. I must say, hitting 40 Parks is a huge mark for us. Our love and admiration for the National Parks continues to grow with each visit we've been fortunate enough to have. 

Diablo Dam

Diablo Lake

Next Stop: Seattle, WA

Olympic National Park, Washington

Ah, the coast. It's been a while. The stormy sea, rumbling clouds and soaring winds heightened our senses and brightened our souls. We found a gap in the rain and a grace in the tide to take a long walk on the sand among the sea salted drift logs on the beautiful beach of Kalaloch. We also parked the camper in a site with a killler view. We rearranged our living room by turning our seldomly used leather chairs to face the ocean. I think if we could always find a campsite such a spectacular view, we would use them more. Anyway, it was a perfect setup for reading, writing and tea drinking. 

Olympic National Park protects 922,651 acres and encompasses three distinctly different ecosystems - mountain ranges, the raging coast and old-growth temperate rain forest. Undoubtedly we wanted to see it all but with one night at the coast and one day to see the rest of the park we drove the 101 from west to east. On that day we awoke to discover the result of the 2016 presidential election. I'm only referencing that event for historical relevence, I do not want to discusss it any more than that. But it was a big part of our conversations that day. On our way through, we pulled off at east end of Crescent Lake to take our thoughts outdoors and enjoy a picnic on the dock. A cheese and meat board and two brown bottles of beers paired well with our view and water front table. And before we left we got the blood going by taking a quick hike up to see Marymere Falls. Waterfalls are Brian's favorite. 

From Olympic we are headed to the camper's new temporary home. For the moment we are leaving the old Hideout at an RV park in Sequim [Skwim] while we fly home from Seattle. But before we leave we are going to pack the truck with our camping gear and spend a night in North Cascades National Park.

Kalaloch

Storm King Ranger Station

Barnes Creek

Marymere Falls

Next Stop: North Cascades National Park

Mount Rainier, WA

Highway 90 West brought us over rolling golden hills of wheat and through a familiar area of high desert and tumbling weeds. We were very close to where I spent last spring working for Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, a job I am seriously considering going back to this season. We made a detour from our next destination, Mt. Rainier, and decided to spend a night near the infamous Mount St. Helens. We slept in a winter park amongst many other campers. Though, they were not there for the same reasons we were. We were surrounded by weary hunters searching for elk. Mount St. Helens is encompassed by the Gifford Pinchot National Forest which includes 1,368,300 acres of wilderness. The weather was moody but we did catch a glimpse of the snow crusted crater. As a member of the Pacific Ring of Fire, Mount St. Helens is still an active volcano. Most of you reading this probably remember the last time it erupted in 1980. We drove closer to see it in the morning but the hunters lined the ridge with camo and riffles leaving us with the easy choice to not hike in this area and we moved on to Mt. Rainier National Park.

It was a last minute decision to do an overnight backpacking trip into the park but it was a good one. We got a nice break from the rain but we were prepared for it anyway. The roads were devoid of snow yet some were closed regardless. We parked at the gate on West Side Road and walked the 3 miles of pavement to the gravel road and eventually up the footpath to Lake George. Upon reaching the alpine lake and the three walled shelter, we dropped our packs and set up the tent inside. Gobbler's Knob was another 1.6miles. A lookout has been in use since the 1930's to spot wildfires. It was all boarded up but the view from the deck was spectacular. At 14,410 feet, Mt. Rainier somehow looked enormous and small at the same time. We climbed back down to our camp for the night and made dinner and soon after got into bed. With the time change, the darkness and cold settled in quick. We slept in all the clothing we brought and hibernated like bears. 

The next morning we were up and on the trail as the light seeped between the massive, ancient, and lichen covered Douglas Firs. It was all down hill from there. 

 Mount St. Helens 

 Mount Rainier

The photos below are taken from my Fuji digital camera. It's great because its freeze/drop/water proof but the pictures are a much lesser quality than my 5D Mk III

 View from Gobbler's Knob lookout tower

 Lake George shelter

Fly agaric

Lake George

Don't s*it here

Next Stop: Olympic National Park, WA

Sand Point, Idaho

Our visit to Sand Point, Idaho began and ended with flying model airplanes. More about that in a minute. My good friend, Lauren Mitchell, recently moved here. She has come to visit me in several places I've lived around the country and now it was our turn to view her turf. Sand Point is on the pan handle of northern Idaho. Brian and I found an RV site at Sand Point City Beach Park which is operated by the Best Western. It was a pretty sweet deal because staying there included use of the hotel facilities such as showers, pool, sauna and hot tub, all of which we took full advantage. We spent the better part of a week here. It was nice to be settled and in a place with many amenities for a while. We got to meet several of Lauren's friends, two of which are eye doctors. Lauren's apartment is actually attached to her friend, landlord and eye doctor, Nate's, office. It is super cute. 

We did quite a bit of hiking while we were in the area. Lauren, Nate, Nate's girlfriend and office manager, Jen, Brian and I kicked off the first hike to Clifty Peak in the fog. It was a long drive up the mountain and then a short hike to get to the summit. It was windy and the clouds were moving fast but we caught glimpses of the mountainous land span. 

Later that night we went to a Halloween house party. Lauren was a strawberry and Brian and I dressed as a couple of our favorite characters from a gross Canadian TV show, Trailer Park Boys. No judgement please. The show is about a group of hooligans from Nova Scotia who try to make a living by pulling petty scams and selling marijuana. It's hilarious and mind numbing and it's a great show to watch while in the field or someplace remote. 

Brian spent one day catching up on things around the camper and running errands. Lauren and I ventured out for hike up to Harrison Peak to see the alpine lake. We were prepared for rain, but not for snow. The higher we climbed, the more there was. But we persevered through the knee deep snow and found the lake socked in with fog. Completing the trail was rewarding on its own. It was one of those days for me, it felt important to be outside. Brian met us later at Mick Duff's brew pub and we told him of our woes and cold toes over a festive pint. 

The three of us did one more hike together before leaving Idaho. We took the switchbacks up to the top of Gold Hill and found a great view of Sand Point and Pend Oreille River from above. 

OK, back to flying model airplanes. One of Nate's hobbies is making these model airplanes. He's one of those guys that constantly keeps busy with projects. He does amazing work. He's extremely detailed and is self taught on most sujects and is a very interesting and a knowlegeable person to chat with. Actually all of Lauren's friends could be described in the latter part of my last statement. Anyway, the first run with flying the model T*Con ended with a busted o-ring and a punctured side. We gave it another go on the morning we headed out of town. This time was much more successful. 

Lauren was an awesome tour guide and we had a great time in the state known for "Great Potatoes" (though, I don't think we actually consumed any of their spuds). Her group of friends are awesome. Nate, Jen, Danielle, Britta, Charley and Randii it was our fortune to meet and spend time with you all. Other highlights included carving pumpkins, driving around in Lauren's single cab blue mid 90's Dodge, making great meals at Lauren's pad, dinner at Charley and Randii's and surveying the local bars and restaurants. Great stop. 

Lake Pend Oreille

Clifty Peak

Gold Hill

Flying the T*CON

Lauren and I at Harrison Lake

Next Stop: Mount Rainier, WA

Waterton-Glacier National Park, Montana

Welcome to Waterton-Glacier National Park, the world's first International Peace Park. In 1932 Canada's Waterton National Park and America's Glacier National Park joined in peace and goodwill, combining forces to protect water, plants and animals that are found in the parks. John Muir once called the area "the best care-killing scenery on the continent."

A night in a border town and breakfast in Whitefish kicked off our visit to Montana. Continuing through to Columbia Falls, we approached the park through the West Glacier gate. Much of area was closed down for the season but we were able to find an accommodating RV park outside the entrance to post up for a few days. The North American RV Park also had a super comfortable lounge in which Brian and I took full advantage of using. Especially Sunday afternoon when the Patriots were playing. Hot showers, laundry and full hook-ups were also much enjoyed. The truck and trailer finally got a well deserved wash of sand and salt and we were finally able to unpack for more than a day. 

Though we wanted to just head right into the park and explore, we had a couple weeks worth of errands, chores and phone calls to catch up on first. We were able to accomplish a lot in one day and still made it into the park for an evening stroll to see the park's largest lake, Lake McDonald, at dusk. Lake McDonald is 10 miles long, 472 feet deep and was created by a 2,000 foot thick glacier gouging out this land many moons ago. We had the entire place to ourselves. Brian and I took lots of time to set up the tripod and take pictures of the crystal clear lake and the rest of the world around reflecting upon it. All the tamarack has turned yellow and painted a beautiful contrast against the forest green Pacific cedar-hemlock. It was a photographer's dream.

We took more time the next day to drive the Going to the Sun Road, though, beyond the 14 mile mark was closed for the season. We drove to the gated section and then hiked the trail to see Avalanche Lake. It began with a boardwalk through the bog and then led us onto a gushy wet, well used footpath. We spied a family of mountain goats roaming about on the rock faces across from the river. What amazing beings; powerful, well balanced and just plain beautiful. We watched through the binoculars as they scampered up and over loose rock effortlessly. The day was overcast and the low hanging clouds decorated the landscape like trimmings on a Christmas tree. It was quiet and peaceful and this was very much acknowledged and appreciated by us. 

On our way out of Montana we spent a night by Flathead Lake in Bigfork at a state park called Wayfarer's. We, of course, sampled the beer from the local Flathead Lake Brewing Co. and had one fancy cocktail at the Whistling Andy Distillery. Our stay was brief but pleasant and after a night, we continued south to visit the National Bison Range. Again, most of the roads were closed but we ventured on the Prairie drive to see several deer and a handful of burly bison. From this point we discussed our options of continuing on to see Yellowstone and Grand Teton or heading west. We decided that we wouldn't be able to give these parks enough time with the couple short weeks we have left so we opted to start heading west to cover the Washington National Parks. We're bummed but know that we will absolutely be back this way to explore these lands! 

Lake McDonald

Avalanche Lake

Family of 4 Mountain goats

Next Stop: Sand Point, Idaho