Ilwaco, Washington our first glimpse of the coastline

After a wonderful visit with family, we were anxious to get out of the city and head for the coastline.  Our destination, Ilwaco, Washington.  We have long wanted to visit the coast of Washington and Oregon so this is another one of our bucket list things accomplished.  We left Seattle around 10 a.m. in hopes of missing the rush hour traffic.  While it was not gridlock, it was none the less heavy.  We followed the highway for a distance and then turned onto one of the state roads.  What a relief to be back on one of the roads less traveled.

This area has deep history.  The Lewis and Clark Trail is located in this area (a part of it that is) and of course all the history that comes with the coastline from pirates to events from wars.  For us, we were just anxious to be near the water, to smell the salt in the air.

Ilwaco is a small town dominated by all things fishing.  This weekend however, they were involved in an annual car show.  The roads were filled with all kinds of antique cars, trucks and motorcycles.  The next town over was the main focus thankfully, but still there was quite a bit of activity where we were.  One evening we drove over for dinner and wow, what a sight.  Folks lined the roads with their chairs, umbrellas and food and drink.  No, no parade was in progress.  They were just there to watch all the folks drive up and down the main drag.  The crowds were large but not rowdy.  Certainly, it was not what we wanted to get tangled up with.

We took advantage to enjoy part of the Lewis and Clark Trail.  We did a bit of hiking and learned about some of the history of this quaint place.  Take a look.

Once we left the interstate, we were quickly swallowed up by dense forest.  The trees towered over us and provided a canopy of shade.  The tension of driving in heavy traffic quickly began to fade away.

We passed a number of villages and towns that had this type of metal lawn decorations.  This grouping was located at a major intersection.  There were a host of characters including birds and fish and all kinds of things.  Whoever makes them is quite talented.  We even saw them in the countryside.  There were cows and horses and all sorts of things depicted in metal.  Never know what you will see.

Finally we reached the coastal towns.  How fun it was to ride through the areas and take in the beauty of the water with all the fishing piers and boats.  We really are water people!

As you can see, Ilwaco is a fishing town.  This is their main port area.  Not only were there many boats and places to launch them, but there were also eateries and shops presenting an easy way to enjoy a lazy afternoon.  The weather was cool and sunny, a fine day!

The town itself is very quaint.  It reminded me of New England towns somehow.  The steep roof lines, all the colors of the rainbow and lots of patterns or gingerbread work.  This house was in pretty good condition.  Others were either under repair or in need of repair.

At first glance, I thought this building was a church.  But when I stopped to take a pic, I realized this was an Inn.  It sat on top of a hill overlooking the village and the water beyond.  The food was reported to be quite good, but we wanted to eat on the water.

This house was in need of a bit of repair but was quite lovely.  The texture of all the siding was especially interesting.  The color of the trim made the house stand out from those surrounding it.

We made our way to the state park to enjoy some of the Lewis and Clark Trail.  Our first stop was an overlook that afforded us our first glimpse of the water.  Ah, water, what a wonderful sight and sound.  The waves crashed on the rocks below a reminder of how dangerous these waters truly are to man and ships alike.  There is no swimming here for the under currents are fierce and the water quite cold too.

Here is one of two lighthouses that are are located here at the mouth of the Columbia River.  In 1853, it became dreadfully clear that a lighthouse was needed.  The site of the lighthouse is called Cape Disappointment and it was the priority site.  The channel is narrow and always dangerous.  Ships would often be forced to wait days or even weeks for the weather to be favorable to “cross the bar.”  Even if the tide and winds were favorable, a ship might begin the journey only to have conditions change rapidly leaving the ship stranded.  In this condition, without wind or current, they could be quickly surrounded by sand and founder.  Even the ship that carried the supplies needed to build the lighthouse fell victim and was lost.  A very dangerous place indeed.

Standing behind the lighthouse looking down, I could see how rough the waters are at Cape Disappointment.  It was awe inspiring but deadly.

Behind in the hills above the lighthouse there is a trail that winds through the thick forest to an overlook.  Along the way are ruins of a number of weather stations and other buildings.  This water tower was nearly engulfed in the thick vegetation.   During WWII and before, this area was an important weather monitoring site.  The remains of a couple of facilities are slowly being claimed by the forest.  Placards told about the innovations that were used to track and transmit weather information.  I must admit that I do not remember ever studying anything about this area in school; it was quite educational.

When we arrived at the overlook, what a breathtaking view of the area.  The wind was strong and the waves stretched out as far as we could see.  We could see folks walking the beaches, but no one was in the water.  Smart.

Fraser Canyon, Last Leg to the Lower 48

As the sun rose on a beautiful day, we were filled with anticipation mixed with sadness.  Once we exit Canada, it feels as if the trip will be over.  Of course, that is not true as we will cover lots of places we have never seen between here and Arizona.  And besides, every day will be an adventure of some sort, right?

Looking at the Guidepost and talking with fellow travelers, it seems that Fraser Canyon is often avoided because the road is winding with lots of inclines to be pulled.  But our philosophy for travel is that the road least taken is the road we like to take.  We actually love the roads where seeing another traveler is rare.  We feel a kind of freedom in the solitude.  It allows us to suddenly stop if we see an animal or drive as slowly as we like and not hold up traffic.  So, we decided to go through Fraser Canyon even though we needed to be in Seattle by mid afternoon.

The route took us through beautiful country unlike what we have experienced in Canada on this trip so far.  No one was exaggerating about the roads.  They snaked their way through the land dropping deep into the canyon floor, climbing upward, going through many tunnels through the mountains and ending in rolling hills as we approached the US/Canadian Border.  We stopped many times to enjoy the scenery and of course take lots of pictures.  There was no real hurry, we would get there when we got there.

Take a look at the Beautiful Fraser Canyon, British Columbia.

The canyon is a study in contrasts.  On the one hand, it is a kind of high plains desert with sandy looking hills covered with sagebrush and other scrubby plants, but then on the other, it was an oasis of cultivated fields and livestock.  It is amazing what irrigation can do to land that is otherwise barren.

Here you can truly see the contrasts.  The lush fields give way to sandy terrain that rises to trees.  In this case, there had been a fire and the trees were blackened sticks giving testimony to the heat that is both death and rebirth.

What goes up, must come down.  The road hugged the canyon sides and turned and switched back again over and over.  Deep in the canyon, a river rages -- as we soon saw as we came down this section.

Once on the canyon floor, we discovered that our road rode the banks of the river on one side while railroad tracks rode the other.  As you can see, the rails cut through sections of the canyon wall much like our road would do further on.  You can see the ventilation shafts that are cut in the wall not only for air but also for light.  Several times as we traveled, we saw trains rushing along on the far side.  It was an interesting sight.

After many miles, the rail tracks crossed over the river and ran parallel to the roadway.  Imagine our surprise when a train suddenly rushed past us.  It gave us an odd feeling to have the iron behemoth so close to us.  As you can see, the road is two-way and the shoulders were narrow -- not much room for error in steering.

As we climbed upward once again, the tracks cross over again and moved up on the opposite wall.  I must say, I was glad.

After several hours of travel, the road climbed into forest land.  This was more like what we have seen in BC in preceding days travel.  There was however, an interesting lack of fall color here.  Once we crossed the border, we found little fall color in the Seattle area either.

The closer we got to the border crossing, the heavier the traffic became.  At one stop, we met a couple who had just driven from where we were going.  They told us that a bad wreck had occurred on the highway and the east bound lanes were gridlock.  Luckily for us, we were going west bound.  As we merged on the highway, wow, what a shock.  After months of little traffic with the exception of the Anchorage area; it was a rude reminder of what we could expect going forward.

Okay, this was a funny sight.  An older couple out for a pleasant ride?  Perhaps.

We finally arrived in Seattle.  My niece, Lisa and her husband, Paul live here as well as my Father’s only living brother and his family.  I was glad to be here and looking forward to spending time with them.  We had reservations at a KOA not far from where Lisa lives.  We expected to get there by mid afternoon easily.

Best laid plans....  We arrived not exactly at rush hour, but tangled in traffic for a Seahawks game and another baseball game that was nearby.  Seems our KOA was located on the route to the Seahawks stadium and was bumper to bumper.  We inched forward at 20 mph and less.  By then, Jim was quite tired as was I and the girls too.  Instead of arriving mid afternoon, we arrived and finished set up at 7:30 p.m.  Good grief!  But no matter, we had a great time with Lisa and Paul.  Paul is an Executive Chef so you know we ate well.  In addition, I visited my Uncle Forest and cousin Liz and her partner, Craig.  It was a good visit.

Racing for Arizona

Hello Dear Friends

As I write we are sitting in the middle of high plains desert, surrounded by sand cliffs and stunted trees and low growing vegetation.  I was surprised to even get a signal strong enough to bring up the Internet, so I rushed to log in and send you all a message.  I have a number of posts ready to upload but until we get into more civilization where I will have a stronger signal, I can upload text only.

As you might have guessed, we are back in the lower 48.  We are actually just off Highway 50 dubbed the Loneliest Highway in the United States (and also a Pony Express Highway).  It winds and winds through endless miles of a different type of desert than what we have seen in the past.  While there is a beauty about it, it is also repetitive and -- lonely.  After driving for a little more than eight hours yesterday, we finally ended up here at a way station in the middle of nowhere in a gravel area on the edge of cattle land.  The smell of cattle dung hangs in the air and a haze covers the land promising a hot day.  After spending the summer in cooler climate, I dread the heat!

But I digress.  We are rushing to get to Prescott, AZ to an Open Range RV dealer.  Twice during our trip, the largest of our slides has failed and we were stuck trying to find someone to help us.  At the last event, the service tech told us that the motor needed to be replaced sooner rather than later.  We decided it would be prudent to do it before we head across country.  Long story shortened, our best course of action is to stop at Prescott where it is cooler than it will be in the Phoenix valley and have the work done there.  Fortunately, it will be under warranty but it also means it will take a few days to get authorization, yadda, yadda.  So we have been breaking our rule of not traveling more than 250 miles in a day in order to give us more time to get the work done.  Yesterday and the day before, we were caught by our own lack of proper planning.  We headed out and did not realize that it was such remote country without many places to stop or get gas!  Reminded me of the Yukon.  Once on the road, we had no choice but to keep pushing.  I have to say, the girls and I were complete undone yesterday by the time we stopped.  Luckily, we found this way station where truckers seem to pull off and stop for sleep or we would have had another hour and a half to drive.  Poor Jim, he was so exhausted he looked pale as a ghost.

Today will be different.  We will only drive four hours and stop for the night.  Thursday is the day of our appointment and we will have only two hours remaining to drive to get there early.  Savannah for sure will be happy.  The last hour we drove yesterday she was beside herself.  Pacing the back seat and panting as if she could not stand another minute.  I understood how she felt.

I have several final posts to share with you from the remainder of our trip out of Canada and into the US.  While the Alaska trip is completed, our adventures are just beginning.  I hope you will continue to head out with us as we embrace each day's adventure.  Love you all.....

And Then There Were Bears

Of all the animals that live in Alaska or any part of the Great North, the Bears are the most feared and sought after.  There are Black Bears, Kermode Bears aka Spirit Bears, Polar Bears, Brown or Grizzly Bears and Pizzly Bears, the result of the union of a Polar and Grizzly.  The Kermode Bear is actually a subspecies of the Black Bear.  By far of all of these, the Grizzly is by far the one most sought after by tourists.

During the summer months, the Grizzly Bears are all about one thing, eating.  They must eat and gain weight in order to survive the harsh winter months.  They can be seen eating the young, tender grasses and flowers in the Spring, gorging on berries of all kinds in the Summer and of course, fishing for Salmon.  There are lots of opportunities to view the fishing.  In Hyder, the Forestry Service has build a boardwalk of sorts out to the Fish Creek viewing area where the bears are known to frequent.  Blacks and Browns and even Kermode Bears can all be seen here along with Eagles and other birds hoping to get a free meal.  Even the rainy weather we had experience since arriving in Hyder did not keep folks away from a chance to see the bears.

Here is a collection of bears for you to enjoy.

Come on little one, it is only a short distance further to the stream.  I will teach you how to catch you fill of Salmon!

Everyone is eager for a meal.  The bear is watching for a fish to come near enough for him to pounce on it, while overhead an Eagle watches for his opportunity to catch a meal.  The Gull waits for a free meal of scraps left by both the Eagle and the Grizzly.  

Momma, Momma, I don’t want to get my feet wet.  You catch one for me!

Mmmm, sushi fresh and tasty!  Meanwhile, a Gull shadows the meal waiting for his turn to eat.

Got one!  Now, where can I sit and enjoy this in peace?

 Grrrrrr, Mine!  I dare you to come any closer to my teeth.

I thought I had it!  But all I got was a face full of water!

A good shake to clear all the water away.  Look out bird, you will get wet!

Up to Salmon Glacier

Our goal for the day was to drive up the mountains to see the toe of Salmon Glacier.  The toe is the lowest end of a glacier.  Salmon Glacier is the fifth largest glacier in North America.  It sits at 4,300 feet in a beautiful alpine valley.  Our destination will take us above the glacier where we expect the views to be remarkable.  A picture is worth a thousand words.

At this point, the glacier is still above us.  This large, slow moving river of ice, is formed from compacted layers of snow.  Glacier ice is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth and second only to the ocean as the largest reservoir of total water.

The glacier moves slowly down the mountain.  As it flows, it picks up rock and debris creating the striped effect seen here.

This is an example of a Kettle.  A kettle hole is formed by blocks of ice that separate from the main glacier.  When these blocks melt they leave behind holes that fill with water to form kettle lakes.  The color is caused by fine silt that is suspended in the water.  Amazing.

The view from the top of the toe below.  The Salmon Glacier toe splits into two parts.  What an amazing sight to behold.

Yep, here we are at what seemed like the top of the world.

Up close the texture of the ice looked like mini pyramids.  The blue of the ice contrasted with the darkness of debris was stark and amazing.

The girls enjoyed a refreshing drink of the pure, glacial water flowing direct from the source.  It was cold and good.  Yep, we tried a drink too.

Our final view of the glacier and we made our way back to camp.  What a wonderful day.

The Mountain Reclaims What is Hers

Riding along the road that winds up into the mountains, we passed some of the rusty remains of what was once a vibrant mining industry.  As I stood quietly looking for just the right angle to take pictures, I could imagine how the mountain had been invaded and stripped of her precious minerals.  She was blasted apart, graded for roads and holes drilled into her heart where silver and other precious metals were stored.  But the mountain is patient for she has stood hundreds of years and will be here hundreds more.  All that remains of man’s efforts are rusty ghosts of machines that rip out the heart of the mountain.  Slowly, over time the mountain reclaims the land.  Man’s machines rust, decay and return to the land.  The trees and plants cover roads and buildings until one must look closely to even see any of the remains.

Nature is powerful and beautiful.  How small I feel in her presence.  Here are a few of the pictures of the remains of mining operations that are rusting and being covered by vegetation.

The vegetation was so thick, it was hard to even see the rusting bits and pieces.

The rusting remains of a machine that pulled cars along tracks as they removed the silver from the mountain.

More machinery rusting in the vegetation.

How long will it take the mountain to erase all traces of this mess I wonder.

The remains of a bridge that toppled when the glacier released water and flooded the valley.

Ghost Towns and Glaciers

Stewart, British Columbia and Hyder, Alaska are like a coin.  Stewart is the head and Hyder is the tail.  To get to these villages, you must travel 40 miles through scenic Bear Creek Canyon into the magnificent Coast Range mountains.  These mountains are snow capped for much of the year with waterfalls cascading down the mountainsides all along the way.  This summer has been particularly rainy for this area so the waterfalls were plentiful and large too.

Stewart and Hyder sit at the head of Portland Canal, a narrow saltwater fjord about 90 miles long.  The fjord forms a natural boundary between Canada and Alaska.  Stewart has a deep harbor and is Canada’s most northerly ice-free port.  Hyder became important in the late 1890s when gold and silver was discovered.  Hyder boomed as it became the access and supply support for the several mining companies that came to the area.  As with many places, the boom is followed by bust.  So it is with Stewart and Hyder.  Stewart has a population of 699 while Hyder has less than 100.  Still, tourists flood the area to enjoy hiking, climbing and viewing glaciers and bears.

We arrived at Stewart and headed to Bear River RV Park.  Alas, there were two caravans visiting and they were full.  We headed to Municipal Campground to find a place.  They had room available but because of the heavy rains, the sites were covered with water, not what we had hoped for.  Not to worry we were told, you can go to Hyder.  Now, Hyder is a mere two miles and a border crossing away.   The US side of the border is not manned but the Canadian side is manned 24-hours a day.  We found Camp Muk A Bout.  They had plenty of room and the sites were gravel with grass and mostly dry.  Good-o.

Neither of the two towns are anything to write home about.  Many of the businesses are closed and in the process of decaying and falling apart.  Actually, they both refer to themselves as ghost towns.  Hyder most especially refers to itself as a ghost town.  In addition, they presence of bears is not a might but a common site.  We were told it was not unusual to see bears crossing the roads even in “town”. 

We hoped that the rains would stop the next day at least for part of the day to give us a chance to explore.  There are ruins of some of the old mines to be seen, Salmon Glacier to be visited and the Fish Creek Wildlife Observation area to see as well.  Here are a few pictures of the general area.

Coast Range Mountains

There were Eagles all around.  If you look closely, you will see three Eagles.  One on the ground,  one on top of a left branch and one below and to the right on a log.  Oh how I wish I have a stronger lens at times like this.

Fish Creek flowed behind our campground and along the road up into the mountains.

With so much rain, moss covered much of the rock surface while evergreen trees tower above.

Waterfalls were all around us.  I could not get enough of looking at them and hearing the musical sounds they made.

One of many streams that gurgle over and around the rocks.  So much water all around.

There were many reflections pools for me to try and photograph.  I love the way the mountains rise above and within the water.  So peaceful.