Rolling Along With The Reynolds

Jim and Cindy's Adventure Blog traveling all over the USA

Author: Rolling Along With The Reynolds

City of Auburn (near Tacoma)

     Happy Birthday to our son Caleb! It was perfect timing to be in this area at the time. He lives right on the coast of Puget Sound in Tacoma. Finding a campground close to Caleb was extremely challenging for two reasons; the first was a short notice booking, and the second was to accommodate a large rig. Dash Point State Park is literally 5 minutes from his place, but as with the majority of parks, they can only fit smaller rigs. We got lucky with a 7-day slot at the “Game Farm Wilderness Park“, which is a beautiful municipal park in Auburn nestled alongside the Stuck River. Navigating the busy roads of Seattle had my anxiety up a tad, but the actual route to get us there was a fairly smooth sail.

      We enjoyed indulging more than usual on dinners out to celebrate with Caleb. “Hops n Drops” was one such fun restaurant, serving cocktails in frozen ice glasses. Next night we continued the fun at “The Rock“, serving super sized bucket drinks and delicious wood fired pizza. Yummy.  Wrapping up this first week included more nom noms and decadent desserts at “The Cheesecake Factory” and “Famous Daves BBQ”.   

Pictures in Auburn and BD celebration dinners (album 31)

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Mt. Rainier surrounding area 

         On Saturday, we were lucky to have our very own local tour guide. Caleb chauffeured us on a day trip out to the mountain forests via the Chinook Pass Scenic Byway. Starting with a swing by “Legendary Doughnuts”, we headed off to Enumclaw ( a cute little town full of colorfully painted and blooming yards), to make our way to the Paradise entrance to Mt. Rainier. Unfortunately, the road was closed so we officially didn’t make it into the National Park. However, Mount Rainier’s 14,410 feet of majesty was in full sunshiny view as we cruised the roads around there. At the pass summit, we stopped off for a fun snow-crunching hike right on top of the frozen Lake Tipsoo (pictured above). There were still snow skiers out here, taking advantage of the late snow melt. Caleb then took us out to his fave Jeep playground area on the Little Natches River in the Wenatchee Forest. Picnicked at Whistlin’ Jacks and had yummy Moose Tracks ice cream.

         The weather was perfect, sun out and in the 70’s.

Pictures around Mt. Rainier (album 32)

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Happy 4th of July! Fireworks at Puget Sound

       God Bless America! 🇺🇸  We spent a glorious fourth at Caleb’s place right on Puget Sound. His house is straight down a cliff near Dash Point and is an interesting 102-step staircase journey. An idyllic locale for sure, with clear views of the Tacoma port and Mt. Rainier beyond that. One is treated to views of Tacoma proper on the other side of the Sound, with sailboats, motorboats, paddleboarders, and huge barges all sharing this body of water (along with seals and even whales!). It’s a one-of-a-kind place.
      Jim and I brought over hotdogs, beer, and a celebratory attitude to cook out on the deck and later watch the fireworks explode along the coastline. Boom, boom, booms!

Fireworks at Puget Sound- Album 33

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Snoqualmie Falls

       Quoting Wikipedia, “Snoqualmie Falls is a 268-foot waterfall in the northwest United States, located east of Seattle on the Snoqualmie River between Snoqualmie and Fall City, Washington. It is one of Washington’s most popular scenic attractions and is known internationally for its appearance in the cult television series Twin Peaks”. It’s the second most visited natural landmark in Washington after Mount Rainier. It is more than twice as high as Niagara Falls! Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the falls are a site of natural, historic, and cultural convergence
      We crossed over the footbridge to the Upper Falls view, There are several very good views all along the gorge rim, and there is a steep 1/2 mile trail to the base of the falls. The trail is absolutely gorgeous, feeling as if we had entered a hobbit world. Hiking back up the trail was no joke, but we took it nice and slow and savored the scenery. At the top is the Salish Lodge and Spa, looks to be a perfect romantic weekend getaway.

Snoqualmie Falls pictures- Album 34

Visit. Explore. Dream.

We have had a tremendously enjoyable time exploring the state of Washington, The past three weeks have been exclusively driving around the entire Olympic Peninsula (including a day trip over to Canada!). Diverse landscapes abound here:  magnificent snow-capped mountains, rugged coastlines, temperate rainforests, charming small towns, and ventures out on the water to whale watch. 

Bonus to have the opportunity to visit with our son Caleb several different locations!

I’ll be posting subsequent logs to share more detail about our adventures on each of these areas soon, to include full picture album links. Stay tuned!

HIGHLIGHTS:

  • City of Auburn (near Tacoma)
    * Mt. Rainier, Wenatchee Forest
    * celebrated July 4th right on Puget Sound at Caleb’s 
  • Snoqualmie Falls (TV show Twin Peaks made this popular)
  • Gig Harbor
  • Sequim (pronounced “Skwim”) – home to numerous Lavender Farms, and the awesome 5-mile long Dungeness Spit
  • Neah Bay and Cape Flattery – the northwestern point of the contiguous US
  • Olympic National Park – we made it to three different entrance gates, each unique in their own right. This park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve.
    * Hurricane Ridge – alpine region and got to spot a bear!
    * Sol Duc Hot Springs
    * Hoh Rainforest and the Quinault Rainforest
    * Beaches! Rialto Beach, Beach 4,3, and 1
  • Port Townsend – took a Whale-watching cruise and were not disappointed with the Orca pods we spotted.
  • Town of Forks – stayed at a campground that featured daily visits from a herd of Roosevelt Elk!
  • Hoquiam/Aberdeen 
    * home of Nivana’s Kurt Cobain, and the sandier beaches of Ocean Shores

 

 

 

 

Link to the full picture album of Vantage

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Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park and Wapanum Recreation/Camping Area

Campground right on the water!
Windy at times (gusts of 32 MPH); no wonder tent camping is not recommended here.   
 

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Wild Horses Wind Facility – Tour of a Turbine!

Toured the facility and got to enter one of the Turbines.
Mt. Rainier was seen clearly at the entrance.

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Wapanum Dam

Pretty amazing place. Non federally funded.

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The Gorge Amphitheater and surrounding area

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Blackwell Island

     We’re camping on an island right in downtown Coeur D’Alene (locals refer to it shorthand as CDA) on the lake, which is 26 miles long and has 135 miles of shoreline. Soon after we landed, we hopped on the e-bikes and began exploring. The Campground features a beach on the Spokane River/CDA Lake with a nice dock lined with many adirondack chairs, inviting folks to stop and soak in the sights. We found the beach via biking along their ‘Enchanted Forest’ Trail (my kind of place!).

      Also on the island is a busy top-notch Marina, featuring indoor dry storage 5 floors high! Too bad it was closing time as we just got to peek inwards before the large bay doors were rolled down, otherwise we would’ve ventured inside to marvel up close.

      Cedar’s Floating Restaurant is also found here – perfect for a Friday night date night. Last minute reservations afforded an 8:45 PM slot, which was fine by us. We find that we’re eating later and later into the evening due to traveling west and have now entered Pacific time zone. It was a nice change of pace, getting all fancied up and indulging in a romantic and delicious steak dinner. The restaurant actually does float as evidenced by the swaying chandeliers, but you don’t really feel the movement; it had a wonderful ambience with large windows to view the lake and was a circular shape; I half-expected the building to rotate like a carousel, lol.  

Pics of Coeur D’Alene (CDA)

Lake Coeur D’Alene 

         On Saturday, I had hoped to visit the Seven Stars Alpaca Ranch, but disappointingly the ranch was closed since it was shearing day. Check out http://sevenstaralpacaranch.com. On a return trip, we won’t miss it. So, we took advantage of having the morning off and slept in.

         Again, due to last-minute reservation planning, we only had one full day to explore the area. I had hoped to stay 4 nights here to have 2 full days and 2 half-days, but we managed to make the most of our time.  What to do with only one day? Scenic Cruise on the Lake! http://www.cdacruises.com    They offer 90 minute day cruises, 2 hour sunset dinner cruises, and 2 hour Sunday buffet cruises.  We struck gold with openings for a late afternoon day cruise on Saturday, a bit surprising in the midst of all the people here for the Ironman event happening tomorrow.  The weather was perfect, and we enjoyed chatting with several other cruisers who happened to be participants in the Ironman event. Hours earlier, a few of them were in the water just yards away from the dock practicing their swimming.
          On a side note, Jim and I have found it interesting to bring up the Zillow app wherever we are to peruse the local real estate market. Not surprisingly, the lakeside homes here run in the millions, but oh, what a view and lifestyle that would be. I’d opt for one right down on the waters edge, which would provide for your very own personal marina to house your boat and jet skis.

Downtown CDA and Tubbs Hill

         Did I mention the sun doesn’t set here till close to 9 PM? Well, after our lake cruise, we still had a few hours of daylight left. It wasn’t intentional, but it turned out to be a pleasant  situation to have parked about a mile away from our intended Independence Point parking lot for the cruise (everything was blocked off in preparation for Sunday’s Ironman). So, meandering back to the car, we had time to see McEuen Park, take an abbreviated hike on the Tubbs Hill Trail (where young’uns were happily bathing in the sun and jumping off rock cliffs into the lake) and leisurely stroll down the pretty flower-lined Sherman Avenue with unique shops and alfresco dining.

 

CDA Idaho – Album link

       

        Alas, on Sunday our check-out from the campground was necessary. We were warned that it may take 60 minutes to leave the island due to the Ironman event going on with roads partially closed.  But it turned out we only waited 10 minutes to get out onto the road due to awesome coordination by the intersection crossing guards. During that time, we had the pleasure of watching the bicyclists zoom on by, getting cheered on by roadside spectators.  This event by the way was just a 70.3 half-distance race ( entailing a 1.2 mile swim, followed by a 56 mile bike ride and then a 13.1 mile run). Next year in 2023 is a full 140.6 one. Either way, I think I’ll just be a enthusiastic spectator, LOL

Big Sky,

Spectacular Sunsets 

We were only able to revel in this beautiful spot for an overnighter. That’s all I could manage to squeeze in availability. Seems to be more challenging nowadays, I suppose it’s both due to being Summer time as well as more popular locales. What a beautiful place.  
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Having only 4 to 5 hours before sunset arrived (which occurs well after 9 PM!), the local attractions had already closed down for the evening. Too bad, as there’s lots to do in this region; several ghost towns are within an hour or so, then there’s the Old Prison Complex in Deer Lodge, and hot springs too. This area is one that is marked for a return visit when we can stay 3, 4, or even 5 nights to immerse ourselves.
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Staying at the Riverfront RV Park, we had to do the hike near the water’s edge as was suggested by our golf cart camp host greeter. “It’s just over that hill. Go to the water and you’ll see the trail that will take you over the train tracks. Then go underneath the I-90 bridge and continue. It’s a very nice walk”. Well, it certainly was. Not much of a nice trail however (unless we managed to take a little-used offshoot, which I think was the case.) Yet the scenery and environs changed around every bend. The river was crystal clear (and cold!) and so pretty lined with round rocks.  We did indeed cross over the train tracks, excited to hear a train whistle coming our way, but disappointingly it was a sister track so we only go to see the train snaking alongside about a half-mile away. Next up (after stepping high and wide over the downed barbed wire fence) we found ourselves under a bridge. The vehicles crossing over it above our heads was a surreal sound; a strange mixture of whirring similar to the windmills we just heard/saw a few days ago and a high frequency buzzing of rubber. Cool! We don’t find ourselves underneath bridges like that very often! Moving onwards, the trail became less and less defined and staying close to the water’s edge was not possible because of mushy marsh. But the cows on the river’s other side kept us entertained with their very loud and insistent moos to each other. Turning back towards home, we discovered two horses that we didn’t even notice on the first pass. They were friendly and very interested in our presence. Too bad our backpacks had no carrots.  Once back to the campgrounds, we were yet again treated to a spectacular sunset. Back-to-back with the one last night in Idaho Falls!
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We will be back. Yet another locale that begs one to stay for much longer.