National Parks visit

Nancy and I wanted to take a trip to see the fall colors before winter arrived in the mountains, so we planned a trip through the North Cascades NP, across Idaho and on to Montana.

North Cascades NP

The weather was predicted to be nice and the day we left we had a cloudy but clearing ferry ride from Kingston to Edmonds. As we turned north and then east onto the North Cascades highway the weather continued to improve. We were treated to many wonderful views as we passed through the rugged mountains. We had lunch near the summit of the pass in beautiful sunshine. We moved into eastern Washington and stopped for the night in Repubic, Washington. The owner of the older but remodeled motel mentioned the Acorn Bar and Filling Station as a good place to eat.

Kootenai Falls

We were a bit taken aback by the name, but found the food good and the atmosphere interesting. The bar had an interesting history and was filled with antiques. We enjoyed wandering around the old restored downtown after dinner. The next morning we continued across beautiful country and crossed the Columbia River near Kettle Falls. As we wound our way through the Selkirk Mountains we enjoyed seeing lots of fall colors. After following the Pend Oreille River for some time we crossed the Idaho Panhandle for a brief time before entering Montana. We continued to enjoy interesting country and the fall colors. One highlight was Kootenai Falls where the Kootenai River was particularly active. The pedestrian suspension bridge high above the fast moving water was rather shaky!

Ray and Teri enjoying Flathead Lake

After that experience we continued towards our destination of Flathead Lake where we looked forward to seeing Teri Warford. Shortly after our arrival she treated us to a wonderful dinner which we enjoyed as we watched the sunset over the Flathead Lake. The next day we packed for a trip to Glacier NP. Unfortunately the Going to the Sun highway had just closed for the season but our excellent guide (Teri) knew what to see and how to get there. We enjoyed time by Lake McDonald and then a walk on the Avenue of the Cedars before our great picnic lunch at the far end of the lake.

Lake McDonald in Glacier NP

For the trip we packed heavy coats which we did not need because of the unseasonably warm weather. Later in the day Teri took us to St. Mary where we found lodging at the Red Eagle motel and had a great dinner at the Snow Goose Lodge as the sun set over the mountains. The next morning we had breakfast at the “world famous” Johnson Café. Turns out it was famous for being run by Mr. Johnson who recently passed away in his 90’s. He had a wonderful collection of antiques with interesting histories. Mr. Johnson also had an interesting history including building runways during WWII in Alaska, working on the ALCAN Highway, as well as farming in Montana and running the restaurant.

St. Mary's Lake in Glacier NP

After spending much of the day in the mountains with beautiful views and great weather our time was running out. Our only regret was that we didn’t see any major wildlife, like mountain goats, elk or bear. We had another great picnic lunch before leaving the area. On the way out of Glacier we stopped at the unique East Glacier Lodge and then returned to Polson where we dined at a fine Mexican restaurant on Flathead Lake, watching yet another great sunset.

Flathead Lake - approaching Teri's home.

The next morning before leaving Teri and her beautiful house on the lake we took a boat ride to see some of the local sites. Then we headed south, stopping at the St. Ignatius church which had a rich history with the local native people. As we headed towards Oregon we found ourselves following the same route that the explorers Lewis and Clark had taken and Chief Joseph traveled when we was fleeing the Army trying to escape to Canada. We enjoyed the visitor’s center at the summit of Lolo Pass and at White Bird Pass we looked at the many switchbacks on the old highway from a viewpoint on the new modern highway.

Cecilia, Gopher explore deer camp...

Just below the viewpoint was the location of the first battle that Chief Joseph had with the Army. As we looked at the view, we could hear some coyotes playing in the gully below the viewpoint, but never could see them. We spent the night in the town of Kooskia which was on the reservation and seemed to be quite depressed. We had dinner at a small Chinese restaurant and enjoyed the entertainment: the cooks and waiters had several heated arguments or “discussions” during our dinner and the young waitress always smiled and winked at us, letting us know this was a normal routine and nothing serious. The next day we traveled further south because we needed to get south of Hells Canyon so we could cross over into Oregon. We had great vistas of the Snake River canyon and a nice picnic along the Brownlee Reservoir before we crossed over the Snake River at the Oxbow dam into Oregon. It was a wonderful afternoon to go by Wallowa Lake and down the Wallalla and Grande Ronde Valleys, through Joseph and Enterprise to LaGrande. We enjoyed some time with Sheryl Brown as we waited for Norm to get home, as well as Brett, Kasey and Cecilia who were expected later that evening.

Brett and Norm setting up camp...

This was the weekend for the guys to set up deer camp. We enjoyed the morning at Norm and Sheryl’s beautiful log home as preparations were made to depart for deer camp northeast of Pendleton in the Umatilla National Forest. We had a picnic lunch at the site as Brett and Norm set up the large tent, wood stove, etc. We explored and played with Cecilia during the afternoon. Nancy and I departed late in the afternoon for Vancouver where we spent the night with Roy and Suzanne before heading down to Eugene for a visit before returning to Hansville.

Bill and Deanna Visit

The first stop after purchasing our van in Eugene, Oregon was the Portland, Oregon airport where we met Bill and Deanna to start our travels together.

Enjoying a Hansville beach

We headed north to Hansville with Bill and Ray in the van as Nancy and Deanna followed in the Civic. It made a long day for Bill and Deanna but we were all able to sleep late the next day. The next few days we spent time in the local area seeing the quaint towns of Poulsbo, Port Townsend and Port Gamble before heading on to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park.

Port Townsend waterfront

We had a beautiful sunny day to see the Olympic Mountains and enjoyed a picnic with many friendly deer that would have loved for us to share with them.

Enjoying Hurricane Ridge in the Olympics

Before the day was over we drove by Crescent Lake headed to the Washington coast where we enjoyed a walk to Second Beach through the large old growth trees near the community of La Push. As the day ended we were seeing clouds but enjoyed a seafood dinner in La Push then spent the night in the town of Forks which has become well known as the setting of the book and TV series, Twilight.

Second Beach near La Push

The next day it was raining, making it a perfect day to visit the rain forest section of the Olympic National Park. The rains were not heavy and did not scare us away as we enjoyed our walks through the moss covered forests before heading back to Hansville for the night.


Olympic Rain Forest

The next day we drove to Bainbridge Island where we parked the van and took the ferry across Puget Sound to Seattle. The sights and smells of Pike Street Market were somewhat subdued since it was Labor Day, but the Seattle Center where the Space Needle towers above was alive with a music festival. It did not rain but it was cloudy enough that Mount Rainer was hidden. We were getting pretty tired as we rode the Monorail back towards the waterfront area for the ferry back to Bainbridge Island where our van was waiting. It was dark as the ferry left the terminal and the Seattle skyline came to life with lights as we headed west across Puget Sound.

Headed for Seattle on the Ferry

After a night’s rest it was time to load up and head south for a tour through Mount St. Helen’s National Park. The weather was clearing and we were fortunate to see Mount Rainer as we headed south. Mount St. Helens was beautiful with a fresh dusting of snow and we spent more time enjoying the day in the park which made us a bit late to head for the Columbia Gorge that day.

North side of Mount St. Helens

We spent the night in Vancouver and sure appreciated Brett and Kasey opening their home for us to spend the night. We feasted at a special Mexican restaurant, Who Song and Larry’s, a favorite overlooking the Columbia River. The next morning we traveled up the Columbia Gorge spending time at Crown Point, Multnomah Falls, Bonneville Dam fish hatchery to see huge sturgeon and spawning salmon. Then it was on to the Mount Hood Lodge at the base of Mount Hood before spending the night at Madras in central Oregon.

Crooked River Gorge near Bend, Oregon

There were some clouds hiding much of Mount Hood so we never really got to see the whole mountain. We enjoyed a stop at the Bend tourist information center to pick up maps and later a grocery store to secure picnic supplies before heading for the Century Drive which goes by many mountains like Three Sisters, Bachelor and Broken Top. We enjoyed a picnic lunch by Devils Lake with clear and warm weather.

Enjoying Crater Lake view

We continued exploring the area, including Little Lava Lake, and Crane Prairie before moving on to La Pine, Oregon where we found lodging for the night.

Crater Lake west rim

Late in the afternoon we enjoyed going up to Paulina Lake and walked a trail through the nearby obsidian flow where we enjoyed a beautiful sunset. The next day we continued our drive through central Oregon and arrived at Crater Lake National Park which was as stunning and blue as ever! After exploring the area and lodge we had a picnic lunch at the edge of the Caldera which drops about 2000 feet to the lake. Shade was needed to keep us cool during our stay as it was quite warm, even at 8,000 feet.

Enjoying Clear Water Falls on the Umpqua River

Later in the afternoon we drove down along the Umpqua River, enjoying stops at water falls along the way. In Roseburg we shared where we had lived and had dinner before traveling on to Eugene for the night. The next day my mom, Bertha, joined us and we traveled up the McKenzie River and over the old McKenzie Pass to see the lava beds and Dee Wright observatory before spending a very short time shopping in the touristy town of Sisters.

Lava beds and Dee Wright observatory

We moved on to the headwaters of the Metolious River which is known for starting from large springs forming a full river. With daylight fading, we headed back over the mountains via the Clear Lake cut-off back to Eugene for the night.

Devels Churn on the Oregon coast

On Sunday we went to church and had a relaxing time at home. We were treated to a special tri-tip barbeque prepared by Bill and Deanna. Then on Monday we hit the road again, headed for the Oregon Coast. We were lucky enough to have nice weather and enjoyed seeing sea lions basking and swimming near the rocky coast. The ocean was a bit rough which made it very scenic as we viewed Heceta Head lighthouse, one of the most photographed places in Oregon, Devils Churn where the waves come into a very narrow volcanic crevice in the rocks, and Cape Perpetua; then on to Devil’s Punch Bowl and Otter Crest before finding lodging at Depoe Bay. The next day we were treated to seeing whales feeding very near the shore at Depoe Bay and Boiler Bay. We traveled on north and enjoyed seeing two dory fisherman land on the beach at Pacific City, one a beginner, one an old pro.

Cape Meares near Tillamook, Oregon

At Cape Meares we had beautiful calm weather to see the lighthouse and rocky coastline before heading inland to Tillamook where we toured the cheese factory and of course had to have some cheese curds and Tillamook ice cream.

Portland Rose Gardens

Then it was on to Portland for the night and the next morning we toured Portland’s famous Rose Gardens before taking Bill and Deanna to the airport for their flight back to Tennessee while we headed home to Hansville. By our calculations we thought we’d both be arriving home at about the same time, but we later learned that we beat Bill and Deanna who could not land in Nashville because of bad weather and were diverted, making them about 4 hours later than expected. They got home about 4:00 am! It was a wonderful trip and we look forward to more travels with Bill and Deanna.