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