Our Idaho Experience

Our first night spent in the state of Idaho was more of a stop over really. Troy had been driving all day and we were pretty much over it when we came upon Three Islands State Park. The park was the site of the Oregon Trail River Crossing. Think back to high school history and I am sure all the details of the river crossing will come rushing back to you. Well maybe not and this is not meant to be a history lesson for you the reader however the park did have a new visitors center/museum dedicated to the river crossing which gave us a glimpse into the lives of the people who took part in the trek cross country. We will stick with our RV, horse and buggy are not for us!

The next day we stumbled across Wolcott State Park, very pretty, on a lake, a great place to relax with the puppies. Not too much to do outside of Idaho Falls and we were not in a rush as we were headed into the "city" to service the RV on Monday so we enjoyed the sunshine and the views of the area.

The weather turned on us and became cold and windy, yuck. Idaho Falls did not have much for us to occupy our time with as we waited for our Oil Change and routine maintenance to be completed. Funny how real life still applies even while on our little adventure! The main reason we were in Idaho Falls was to pick up Gelene and Trent (Troy's mom and brother) from the airport as they were accompanying us to Yellowstone and Glacier National Park the following day. More guests, yippee!!!

Touring Washington State: Olympic National Park, San Juan Islands, Seattle & Wineries

We were so ready to leave the coastal towns of Oregon and head into the mountains/forests of Washington. Lisa never thought she would have had enough of the ocean but the foggy coast was getting to us (Where is the sun?) so it was time to move on and meet Lisa’s cousin Scott in Washington.

We high-tailed it to Olympic National Park, well at least as fast as the RV could take us that is! The route was a tree-lined drive through the state, never have we seen so many lumbered forests and lumber trucks. And they book up those mountains, scary fast as they passed us every time! Once we made our camp at the John Wayne Marina/Campground in the town of Sequim a few miles from the border of Olympic National Park we waited for Scott to join us. Scott met up with us along with his friend Brian after taking the “long” way from Seattle (about a 4 hour detour, sucked to be them) We found the only restaurant open at 9pm in the sleepy town and celebrated that they finally made it! Scott and Brian were our first guests and we were excited to share our road trip with them.

In the AM we decided to take a “short” hike up to Hurricane Ridge within the park. The drive up the mountain was cloud covered and we were concerned that we would not even see the top of the mountain but once we got to the top we were literally above the clouds high up in the mountains. Little did we know that there would be so much snow along the roadway that we would have been better off wearing snowshoes instead of hiking shoes. To get to the start of the trail we had to walk on the roadway covered with snow. Take a look at this picture of Scott, Brian and Lisa. The snow was so deep that we are standing at the top of a sharp curve road sign, you can see a bit of the roadway peeking out in the bottom left hand corner of the pic below.



The “short” hike turned into a 6 mile hike with about 70% of hiking done on top of the melting snow. The views were amazing but the hike was a challenge for sure. We were all bet by the time we finally made it back to the Jeep. And of course the last ¼ mile was all up hill, seems to be the case every time we go hiking, as Troy says nothing is worth getting to unless you have to climb uphill.The next morning with Scott and Brian back in Seattle and us a “tad” sore from the hike the day before we decided to take it a bit easy and tour more of the park with the Jeep instead of by foot. We took the “Storm King” entrance into the park and explored Lake Crescent which was as flat as glass (see photo below) and Marymere Falls. The short 1 mile hike to the falls was truly beautiful as the area was so lush and green.


Next we headed on to Sol Duc Falls, a bit of a soggy hike but well worth it once we arrived at the falls.

To get anywhere was a long drive along the outskirts of the park but we were on a mission, Troy wanted to see the Hoh Rain Forest. As it turned out it was not worth the drive. The area had not seen rain in quite a while and the forest did not resemble much of the “rain” forest that we had been promised from the research we had done on the park, guess it wasn’t the right time of the year to visit. The area along the Strait of Juan was touted as a scenic drive so we decided to take the longer but “scenic” drive home, not very scenic as the Strait was mostly blocked by trees, wouldn’t recommend this boring long drive but at least we can say that we took the “scenic” route :)

Time for a new adventure, we took the RV on a ferry. Very cool that the RV could fit on a ferry, what a quick way to get to the city, anything to save on drive time we are a huge fan of! Once in the city we met up with Scott and headed to up to Anacortes and the San Juan Islands. We stayed at the Pioneer Trails RV Park outside of the city of Anacortes, such a cute place. The next day we took the Jeep on the Ferry to San Juan’s Orcas Island. After a 1 hour trip we arrived on the island and headed to Mount Constitution where we greeted with a 360 degree view of the islands, at least for about 5 minutes before the fog rolled in and we were lost in it. A sign off the main road indicated that a waterfall was a short hike and since Lisa wants to stop at everyone we passed, we stopped and did the "short", very up hill, hike.

We then had a quick lunch and rushed back to the ferry to make sure we were back to catch the Red Wings game at a local bar, we made it to watch the game but the wings lost that night.

Again we were on the road, this time headed to a “big” city, Seattle. (Chip, we finally made it to a "real", happy?) Since Seattle is not made for RV’s we stayed outside of the city in Issaquah, great little city with the Issaquah Brewery where Rogue Beer is served and they have the best Crab Melt, yummy! (We ate there twice while in town they were so good!) After lunch it was time for Scott to leave us so we drove him to the train station in town. Of course it was raining but we enjoyed the city of Seattle none the less.

We decided to tour the local wineries just outside of Seattle. Two of our favorites were Chateau Ste. Michelle and Januik/Novelty Hill. At Chateau Ste. Michelle we took a tour to refresh our memories on the wine making process. We loved their wine, especially their Riesling’s! That night we headed back to the Issaqauh Brewery and watched the Wings win the Stanley Cup!

Our final day in the Seattle area we explored Pike’s Peak Market and had lunch at Brooklyn. If you are in the city and like Oysters stop by for Happy Hour, they have the best specials! Of course it was raining again but we had a great time getting to know the city and hope to make it back when it isn’t raining, we heard August is a great time to visit.

Washington is a big state and we weren’t quite done with it yet. We headed to Yakima Valley Wine Region and had a great day of driving through the country and experiencing their different wines. A few of our favorites were Windy Point and Masset Winery. Good thing we were on our way out of wine countries, I don’t think the weight limit in the RV could handle us buying many more. :)

Oregon Coast

Our first stop on the Oregon Coast is Bullards Beach State Park. Oregon has the best state run campgrounds that we have been at this point in the trip. Everyone is so friendly, they want you to be there unlike some of the other campgrounds that we have been to and the place is spotless. It was the start of Memorial Day Weekend and rainy but folks didn't care, it was the beginning of summer and they were going camping, the place was packed. We shouldn't admit the timeframe of our visit to the coast since it will let everyone know how truly behind we are but our excuse is a good one, we had visitors on and off for the past 3 weeks and the past 2 no internet (Can you believe that there are places that we can't get online? It's true and it sucks!!!)

Bullards is truly "on the coast" and has it's own lighthouse to prove it! We can't see the ocean from our campsite so we took the dogs down to the beach to explore and play in the surf and chase the seagulls. The neighboring towns were exactly what you would picture when you picture a harbortown. Bandon was a bit touristy with the normal souviner shops and ice cream palors & Charleston was one fishing boats after another and Oyster shells everywhere. So far we are not a huge fans of the local Oysters, more fishy and smaller than what we are used to, hopefully they will improve as we go up the coast.

"Charlie" was in the town of Charleston on the wharf and of course Lisa had to get her picture with him, wouldn't you?

The second day in the area we took a drive further up the coast hitting North Bend and the Coos Bay area, very industrial with hints of tourist attractions. We are still having crappy weather, foggy and rainy, seems to be the norm for these parts, so beautiful when you can see the coast but not sure this place is for us, we (Lisa) needs the sunshine! We saw the sun peaking through the clouds after dinner for a few moments and it was a treat! We head into Bandon (town closest to the campground with a view of the lighthouse across the inlet) for dinner at Boatworks, hung out with the locals and was informed that Bandon is the cranberry capital of Oregon, we had the best cranberry bread, so yummy! We also discovered "Wine by Joe" Pinot Noir, we know the name doesn't give confidence in the wine but it is a great $15 bottle of Pinot.

Time to pack up the RV and keep heading up the coast. (We are getting very good at setting up and dismantling camp, ready to go in 15 minutes flat! Amazing how quickly we move from place to place) We make it to Yachatas after making a quick stop in Florence along the way. Florence is such a cute little town with B&B's and great restaurants, too bad we had already eaten.

We stayed right on the ocean again but this time could see it out our front window, what a view, if only it was sunny! Again we take the dogs to play in the sand and surf , watching them ever moment as they keep trying to drink the salt water, at least there is a fresh water stream here leading into the ocean, perfect for the dogs. The beach is very rocky in this area but it is pretty secluded and we are able to let the dogs run free and chase the tennis ball into the ocean over and over again. Troy got to play in the Tide Pools with all the old men the following morning with their sticks to "poke/play" with the starfish - so many starfish hanging on for dear life, strange to see.

It is the start of the Stanley Cup Finals and we don't get the game on the Dish so we head into town to find the game, not so easy in Oregon. Hockey is not really the sport of choice to watch in these parts. After searching the town we finally wander into a mexican restaurant and what do we see, 2 Penquin fans and the game on the TV by the bar, Troy is in heaven. Wings win the first game of the series!!!!

If you are ever in the area skip the Sea Lion Caves, we had been seeing signs for this place for at least 200 miles down the coast, figured it was a tourist trap but needed to check it out, don't bother; the smell, the noise, not fun! You can see the seals and sea lions better right off the coast at any number of the pull offs and it is free!

Two more days have pasted and it is time once again to continue our trek up the coast. We made a number of stops along the way to our final destination in Oregon, Fort Stevens State Park. First stop was the Newport Aquarium in Newport. We had lunch in the Rogue Brewery restaurant inside the aquarium (yummy food) and then visited with the sea life, great place to take the kids. (Good thing we are kids ourselves). Troy got a very cool pic of the jelly fish:

Next we stopped at the Tillamook Air Museum, another waste of money. Vintage flying aircraft are housed inside the largest wooden building in the world which was a WWII blimp hangar. You would "think" they would have a blimp or two to look at but no, instead they are using half of the hangar as storage for RV's, very strange and not what you want to see at the Museum. We head up the road a bit and stop at the Tillamook Cheese Factory, they have the best cheese! We have been here before when Brad lived in Oregon, good thing too, the place is a zoo, we skipped the tour and the free cheese samples and headed right to the store. They have the best "squeeky cheese" and their ice cream is so creamy - you have to try it if you ever have the chance.

After a very long day of driving and just in time for the Red Wings game we arrive at Fort Stevens State Park. The place is empty, so peaceful, we love it and decide to spend 3 days instead of 2 at the park. We ask the Rangers for a place to watch the game and head to the local bar, Buoy 9. Locals don't understand why we want to watch hockey but they let us turn the TV by the bar to the game - Go Wings, up 2-0!

Since we were at Fort Stevens we thought we should go check out the fort. Not much to see as the fort never saw any action, which is good however it made the fort boring to explore. Troy thought he might trade in ours for the one below, too bad he doesn't fit:

Headed into Astoria, the main town in the area and went to the Maritime Museum. For all you fisherman out there here are the Top 10 Things to Bring you Luck:

1. Fish bite best before a storm.
   
2. A boat's bottom paint is better if applied by the light of a full moon.


3. Cans of food, or anything else, must be stored with labels right-side up, to keep the boat from capsizing. Upside down can also throw off the compass.
   
4. No suitcases on board; only farmers carry suitcases.


5. Never leave the hatch covers upside down.


6. Don't take off the hatch cover until the first fish is landed.


7. Never cook pea soup on board a fishing boat; it brings stormy weather.


8. Never whistle on board; it calls up the wind.


9. Rabbits or Pigs should never be mentioned; they're bad luck.


10. It's bad luck to leave for a fishing trip on friday. (If you watch Deadlist Catch this one should be familiar to you as many of the captains believe this to be true.)

That evening we drove on the beach, so cool! The beach just south of the State Park is public land and driving is allowed. We drove for miles along the beach, playing with the waves and exploring the area. The Shipwreck of the Peter Iredale in 1906 is along the coast, most of the iron frame can still be seen at low tide.

We brought the puppies, some wine and cheese and parked the Jeep on the beach to watch the sunset. We had a great time chillin' and letting the puppies play in the sand. Below are a few pics from the evening:


The next day Troy went to try his luck with the fish. Within seconds of his first cast he had a Steelhead on the line and 10 seconds later his luck vanished, the Steelhead broke the line, without another bite the rest of the day the fishing trip was a bust. That night we headed to Buoy 9 again to watch the Wings lose to the Penquins and after we went back to the beach to drive the shoreline one last time. We got back and had a campfire (one of the few we have had due to weather or fire restrictions) and Lisa beat Troy once again at Gin Rummy. So far Troy has only one win under his belt, better luck next time Troy!