"Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it!" Yelling into his radio, volcanologist David A. Johnston uttered those words just prior to Mt. St. Helens explosion. While in Washington, we visited the site of the volcano eruption, and actually over the past two months drove along and admired most of the Cascade volcano range, set to erupt at anytime. Well, anytime can be measured in centuries vs. decades. Mt. Hood, located just outside of Portland, OR. last erupted during the mid-1700s. Mt. St. Helens is an amazing sight. A mountain that is about 40% of the height as before the eruption and largest landslide in recorded history. A Ranger pointed out a small fir tree that perhaps is the only living item to survive. He claims that snow, small size and a protective ridge allowed that seedling to live past the 1980 event.
Well prior to our visit in southern Washington, time was spent at a campground at La Conner, WA. Nestled among the woods and along the Skagit Bay, we enjoyed the small towns in this area north of Seattle. Friends, Jeff and Paula who live in Mukiteo, WA, were able to join us for a couple of days along with a ferry trip to Friday Harbor. Lunch, shopping and walking filled the day. It is said that one in five who live in the Puget Sound area own a boat. A quick glance of the harbors along a trip from Anacortes seem to confirm the survey.
After three weeks in the far northwest area, we moved down toward lower Washington and the small town of Chehalis. The campground which is just an hour north of Mt. St. Helens, also nestled in a wooded area, offered a quiet place in which to relax. Kona, however, found great fun in chasing the birds, squirrels and chipmunks into the thickets of wild berries each time we went for morning and evening walks.
From Chehalis, we crossed over into Oregon and then to the coast. At Seaside, Kona rediscovered the joy of running along a beach and going into the water to splash about. Then at Pacific City we met with Bob, a friend from our Baja trip, for a day of sightseeing along the coast. Outside of Portland we joined a group of fellow Holiday Rambler RV owners for a rally. While camped at the foot of Mt. Hood, we were able to visit the famed Barlow Road, a toll road section of the Oregon Trail. After walking across the country, in the last section the road suddenly dropped down a granite hill, where wagons needed to be lashed to trees and lowered down the 100 yard, 40% downgrade, to reach more level ground. I am amazed that of all who walked the Oregon Trail from towns in the Midwest to Oregon City, only 10% did not make the entire journey. That speaks to the fortitude of those early pioneers. On another outing we drove to the famed Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood. Built in only 15 months in the late 1930s by workers from the WPA, this building fits neatly along mountain side. From here one can clearly see the glacier field which is groomed each day to allow skiing, all summer long. While at Timberline, we toured the building admiring the workmanship that makes the lodge so special.
Bend, OR became our next stop. The town offers both a wonderful downtown area with small shops, restaurants and great walking spaces. Just a few blocks away is a stunning public park along the Deschutes River. Outside of Bend is the High Desert Museum, part of which is a living homestead ranch of the 1880, with a small group of gardeners, lumber men, and hunters. As with many other such museums, it was fun to talk with the “residents” as they remained as the characters.
We moved into northern California and the tall Redwoods along the coast. Those “giants” are stunning. A thick canopy gives the feel of entering a cave of foliage. Now in the wine area near Napa, Santa Rosa, and Healdsburg we at first faced triple digit temperatures. Hey wait a moment; we escaped from our Valley of the Sun in an attempt to avoid such temps. Thankfully, the weather changed and now true fall weather has settled into the area.
The other day we drove into Santa Rosa to have a lunch at Guy Fieri’s restaurant Johnny Garlic. Guy is the spiked blond hair food chef on Food Network who travels seeking the “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” Were I a food critic, the rating would be: food = 5, service = 10. Nothing special in the food area, just basic – even run of the mill – fare. However the servers and management were wonderful. Wanting to avoid a return trip back to the campground via the freeway, they took time to Google various options. We opted to drive over to the coast and Bodega Bay – the town used by Alfred Hitchcock when he filmed “The Birds.” Keeping a sharp eye for incoming fowls, we drove up California 1, as it hugs the coast offering stunning views at every turn. But soon it became time to turn toward the valley. Within 100 yards, we were driving into a dense forest, up a narrow winding one lane road. With each turn we hoped no oncoming car would be met. I regret that we did not grab the camera to document this part of the journey, but our focus was elsewhere. At sundown we finally came to the campground.
Our next move will be to Napa, Yosemite and then toward home.
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