Exploring the Olympic Pennisula

Wednesday, August 16, 2023 

 Our campground is in Port Angeles, Washington, the farthest northwestern KOA in the continental United States. We only have one day in this area so we had to hit the highlights. 

 First, we wanted to visit Olympic National Park so we found the visitor's center and made a plan. Don purchased his last Parks Pass as he recently qualified to get a Senior Life Pass! I guess I'll be hanging around him for the next 6 months... 

 Our first stop in the Park was Lake Crescent which is just on the edge. They allow dogs there so we decided to hike and not bike it.The lake is huge and our trail went along the northen edge. It was a nicely maintained and paved path which made us regret our decision to leave our bikes behind. The forest is beautiful along the way and very shaded which was a good thing since it was another weather record breaking hot day. Many people were dressed for swimming and found spots along the way to take a dip. There weren't a lot of good beach areas or paths to get down to the water so we suspected that there was some secret spots that we didn't know about. We didn't have the foresight to wear our swimming suits which was another regret. 

 We hiked in 2 miles of the 4 mile trail and on the way back we decided to not go through the tunnel but to take the narrow path around it which is called the Devil's Punchbowl. Wala! We found the secret swimming spot! There were many people hanging out and having a great time in this area which had a little bit of beach. We were a bit on the old side to hang out very long and I didnt take any photos because that would have made it weird. Did I mention that I was with a guy with a Senior Life Pass?! All the way back we saw more and more young people heading in with coolers and beach towels. I have a feeling that there was going to be an even bigger party at the Punch Bowl! 

 We took a drive into the Park a ways to get a feel for it. It is unlike Rocky Mountain National Park where you can drive from one end, over the pass, to the other. Olympic Park has a few entrances where you can go in a ways but not completely. Mt. Olympus is in the middle surrounded by wilderness area. One of the main roads was closed so we entered on the Sol Duc road along the Sol Duc river. One stop along the way was the salmon exhibit which explained how the salmon find their way back from the ocean to spawn. Unfortunatley we didn't see any salmon just a tourist snorkeling looking for a sunburn and possibly his partner's bikini top.

 We headed back to Port Angeles to check out the actual port which is on the Strait of Juan De Fuca. You can get on a ferry there and take a 90 minute ride to Victoria, Canada. We didn't have the time (or the passport)to add this adventure this time. Instead, we looked for a place for Don to eat some oysters. We saw some Oyster processing places on our drive here so we thought there might be a good restaurant. Unfortunatley, Port Angeles is having a major problem with staffing their restaurants so we settled for some crab and fish and chips. Maybe the restaurant owners should take some job applications to the Devils Punch Bowl? 

 Of course there is so much of the Park and other areas to see but at least we experienced a little of this great northwest. 

 P.S. The town of Forks was a little ways down the road but I couldn't convince Don to go there. Twilight fans will know that was the setting of the book/movie. I'm keeping an eye out for vampires but I think it's too damn hot!

Lifer

The trees grow like weeds here!

I love the moss on the trees

Healthy ferns everywhere

The tunnel

Lake Crescent

Mossy arms

Port Angeles

Total transparency!

Victoria is over there…somewhere..

The Pacific At Last!

After we hitched up the camper we swung by our new friend Richard's RV shop. Unfortunately, the refrigerator was officially pronounced dead. Richard said he could fix it if we could stay a week but we have places to go and people to see so we would not be able to stay! We will just eat out of our cooler the rest of the way. To be honest, we haven't been too great at fixing meals at the camper anyway. 

In order to make up for the day of fun we lost, we found a spot in Long Beach to park our truck/trailer and hopped on our bikes to ride the Discovery Trail. This is a 8.5 mile trail along the Pacific Ocean from Long Beach to Cape Disappointment. Along the trail there are placards and statues that pay tribute to Lewis and Clark for this is the area that they ended their adventure. It was a beautiful paved ride with cool ocean breezes and spectacular views of the water, coastal forests and sand dunes. 

The trail ended at the North Head Lighthouse which is in Cape Disappointment State Park. No one has to live at the lighthouse anymore because now it is all automatic. It was interesting to learn that after the North Jetty was built in 1913 nature slowly filled in the space between where the lighthouse was and the Jetty and slowly created a mass of land and beach which is now a campground. I'm still bummed that we couldn't get reservations there but it was already booked by last March! 

After riding back to Long Beach we decided that ice cream would be a terrific lunch/snack and stopped at Scoopers along with many, many other people. I waited in the long line because what they call one scoop was unbelievably big - hence the crowd! 

Of course now the afternoon was shot and we still had a 4 hour drive ahead of us. We both felt that the time was well spent even though we pulled into the KOA in Port Angeles, Washington after sunset.

Long Beach

This bench commemorates where Lewis and Clark ended their adventure

Spotting the Pacific!

A great kite flying day

The two houses formerly used by the North Head Lighthouse attendants 

North Head Lighthouse

In the far distance is the North Jetty. The beach and land to the left was created from sediment after the Jetty was built 

Big scoop!

Sunset over Port Angeles on our way to the KOA

From Glamping to Camping

In the “basement” fixing the converter

Expert flashlight holder at work

Crab doesn’t get fresher than this!

View of the town of Ilwaco, Washington from our campground. Columbia River in the background.

 

 Monday, August 14, 2023

Since we started our trip we have been experiencing electrical problems. Everyday, more and more of our LED puck lights have literally burned out. Then we started losing some of our other bulbs so much so we used our lights sparingly and relied on this cool LED rechargeable lantern that Alex just gave his dad for his birthday! We limped along and still had important stuff like the blow dryer and the refrigerator. Well, yesterday the refrigerator stopped working so today we went and bought a cooler, lamenting the fact that we had a few at home. 

We are near a small beach town called Long Beach and as luck would have it, a little RV repair shop there had a power converter/charger which Don had diagnosed as our root problem. So Don spent the day working on the camper with me as his trusty sidekick aka gopher. By the end of the day we had new batteries, a new converter and reliable electricity. We hoped that the fridge’s problem was a fuse but it still didn’t work after it was changed out. Richard from our RV shop said that he could take a look at it in the morning- fingers crossed.

Meanwhile our next door RV neighbors had just gotten back from fishing in the Columbia River all day. They brought back 18 Dungeness crabs that they caught in their crab pots. After finding out that we liked crab he brought over 4 that he had cleaned and cooked for us. So nice and they were delicious! A good ending to a trying day.

I’m hoping that tomorrow we can finally see the ocean which is so close - like just a 1/4 mile west of our campground but there are so many trees between us that we can’t see it.

Hey You Guys!

Lunch with a view…and shade!

Flavel House Museum

Oregon Film “Museum”

Tom trying out the jail accommodations

Replica of getaway keep used in the Goonies complete with bullet holes

Mikey’s house

Astoria Column

View from the top of the Column

Our wooded camping spot

 August 13, 2023

We drove back into Astoria this morning to meet up with my brother Tom and his granddaughter Breeze. Of course Astoria was having a record breaking heat wave and it was pretty toasty. My brother said that it is not usually rainy in July and August but it is never as hot! 

After a lot of walking on the boardwalk, we finally found a good restaurant with a patio in the shade facing the river. While we were there we saw a Pilot boat come in. Ships hire these pilots to navigate them through the Columbia Bar which is where the river meets the Pacific Ocean and is very treacherous. The first pilot was hired in the 1800’s and was a Native American from the local Chinook tribe. I’m hoping that tomorrow we can see the Bar area. 

Of course when in Astoria you have to visit the Oregon Film Museum. It is located in the old jail which is the building used in the jail break scene in the Goonies movie. It is not really a museum but a way to donate $6 to basically see the inside of the jail cell and a gift shop. Not really worth it….There have been other movies filmed in Astoria including Kindergarten Cop.

Across the street is the victorian Flavel House museum which is the museum where Mikey’s dad worked in Goonies. We didn’t go in but it is a beautiful house. Speaking of houses, Don and I drove past the house that was used as Mikey’s house in the movie. It is privately owned and you can walk up to it but taking a picture was enough for me. I didn’t want to cross that line of fan to stalker!

We met back up with Tom and Breeze at the top of Astoria where the Astoria Column is located. The Astoria Column is a monument built in 1926 to pay tribute to the settlers of the Pacific Northwest. The tower is 125 feet high and there are 164 stairs to get to the top.  The gift shop sells balsa wood airplane gliders that they encourage you to fly from the top. Don, Tom and Breeze went up first and then Breeze went up again with me-strong woman! The huffing and puffing was worth the view from the top.

It was sad to say goodbye to my brother and Breeze but glad we got to spend the day together.

Over the River and Then Some

 Today we said goodbye to Cascade Locks and headed on our final trek west. We bypassed Portland thankfully and crossed the Columbia into the state of Washington. We were there for awhile and then crossed back over into Oregon again. We saw a few lumber mills and are pretty sure our Double D logs came from somewhere out here. There are a lot of trees! 

Astoria, Oregon is just as cute as I thought it would be and we (as in Don) maneuvered the trailer through the narrow streets without incident to the bridge. The Astoria-Mengler Bridge was built in 1966 and crosses the Columbia river into Washington right before the river joins the Pacific Ocean. It is 197 feet above the water and is over 4 miles long. We had to cross this bridge to get to our camping spot in Ilwaco, Washington. We had called ahead before we got to Astoria to make sure that we could pull the trailer over it and when we got there we could see that there would be no problem- it is massive! Bear could not figure out what that smell was…the pungent smell of the ocean…fish. We successfully made it over but I made sure that Don had both hands in the wheel at all times!

Our campsite is in a wooded area again and is nice. Tomorrow we head back to Astoria (sans trailer) to meet up with my brother Tom and family who live near Astoria. Of course in preparation we had to watch The Goonies!

The Astoria-Mengler Bridge

Settling in to watch The Goonies

Willamette Valley or Bust

 August 11, 2023

We decided to ride another part of the Old Historic Highway this morning. We were told that we could get to the trailhead from our campground. 5 miles and a remote road with big hills later we arrived at the Wyeth Trailhead. 

This stretch of the walk/bike path was about 6 miles, paved and in great condition. However, many parts of the trail is next to the busy Interstate 84 so it was very loud and stinky. You are well separated with sturdy fences but it was  not one of my favorite riding conditions.The plus side was that the traffic noise drowned out the dog whining coming from the trailer! Bear did a little better as long as I stayed behind Don where he couldn’t see me. 

Going back was a little challenging since the wind was coming towards us. That along with the many hills was taking a toll on our batteries. We glided back into camp after 25.9 miles with Don at 1% battery remaining.I was still at 50% which is surprising because I think I used my boosts more than Don did. Here’s the analogy that I came up with along the way: An e-bike is like having a morphine drip. Just when you start feeling a little pain you can up the juice a little! I apologize to any bike purists out there..

After lunch we left the trailer behind and headed to Portland. After a couple of stops- Camping World and Starbucks, we went in search of the Willamette Valley which is home to many wineries and orchards. We had a few recommendations from others so we had a plan since there is no way to visit all or even a majority without spending many days and risking severe liver damage. However, Portland traffic mid afternoon was terrible so it took longer to make our way than we wanted. We ended up only visiting one of the recommended wineries because many closed at 4pm (really? It’s Friday night!) and another random one that happened to be open until 6pm.

The first was called Raptor Ridge Winery in the Newberg area. They mainly grow Pinot Noir grapes which is their estate wine. It was very good. Bear enjoyed their estate water served in a nice metal bowl as well.

Next we took a few curvy back roads over to the Dundee area. For those of you who have ever witnessed how Don drives the twisty drive up and down Berthod Pass you would have been shocked that Don was considered a slow poke and we had to pull over to let the crazy Oregonians pass us who were taking those curves like Formula 1 drivers!

We arrived at Domaine Willamette with 30 minutes to spare.It was a very fancy place. Even though their wines have been around since the 80’s, they just opened this new building which houses a restaurant and beautiful patio for wine tasting. We only had time for a glass - no tasting. They specialize in sparking wine and Pinot Noir from the grapes grown there. Their merlot and Cabernet are from their vineyard in Washington. The Pinot was better than their Cabernet in my opinion.

Well that was it for the winery visits. It was disappointing that we weren’t  able to visit more but no sour grapes- we’ll just have to visit again!

Note: we were surprised to see many people have brown lawns in the Portland area. When we asked a local about it, she said that most people don’t water their lawns in the summer because the rains come back in the Fall and they green up again. Now you know..

Finally arrived at the trail head

The view from Raptor Ridge- yes there were raptors in the sky!

Domaine Willamette

Pinot Noir grapes

Hitting the Trails

 August 10, 2023

After 4 days of sitting on our backsides in the car, we hit the trails. First we headed to the most popular waterfall in Oregon. Multnomah Falls is the second-highest year-round waterfall in the United States and just down the road from where we are staying. Because of the high visitation rate, we had to register for a timed entry pass online which was easy to get this time of year. Also parking was available but I’m sure that in mid-July it is a different story. 

You don’t have to walk far to see the Falls in all its glory but we decided to take the hiking path a little farther and before we knew it we were on the trail to the top of the falls. It was only a mile but it was very steep and I was breathing much harder than I thought I should since the elevation where we started was only 170 feet. In my defense it was a 700 feet gain in elevation to get to the top. Along the way we had great views of the Columbia river and Don spotted an eagles nest. It was well worth the hike and it is just amazing that the stream at the top that leads to the waterfall is not that big to create such a display.

After our hike we headed to the town of Hood River in search of the Historic Columbia River Highway that is now a walking/bike path. This was the maiden voyage of Bear in the bike trailer for dogs that we had purchased a few years ago but have never used. It was the perfect path to try it out on because it was nicely paved and shaded by several trees. We started at the Hatfield West Trailhead and headed toward Mosier where the path ends. It was a beautiful trail and included the Twin Tunnels that had been restored so walkers/riders could safely go through. The total trip was a little over 8 miles and before you are too impressed, yes we have e-bikes but we still had to pedal! It’s just so nice to get a little “boost” when you need it!. How did Bear do? Let’s just say that he enjoyed it as much as he enjoys kayaking…..he whined most of the way and wanted out. 

Since we were in the neighborhood, we took a drive on the Fruit Loop. The Fruit Loop is through the Hood River Valley and includes around 28 on the farm fruit stands, wineries, distilleries, and fields of flowers. It was late afternoon so we had to prioritize. We opted out of the pick-your-own-fruit scenarios and headed straight for the wineries. We were able to do a tasting at Mt. Hood Winery which has a killer view of Mt. Hood. Their Pinot Noir and Riesling was pretty good too. Next we found the Stave & Stone Winery which had a added bonus of being next door to Hood River Lavender. You can’t go wrong with lavender ice cream and wine! The people in this valley are very lucky because it is just beautiful with gorgeous views of orchards, vineyards, and the mountains. Well worth the visit if you’re in the area.

It was a busy day for sure so now we need to recharge our batteries, as well as the bikes’ for another adventure tomorrow!

The baby is in there somewhere..

The view from the top

One of the Twin Tunnels

Did not appreciate his deluxe transport

View of Mt. Hood from Mt. Hood Winery

A little lavender…

View of Mt. Adams from Mt. Hood Lavendar

Lavender ice cream is yummy