We're Home!!!!

Madison Wisconsin - Ewing NJ
6/27/24

Miles Traveled    933
Trip Total           8256
Travel Time      15:38

States visited: FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ, UT, NV, CA, OR, WA, ID, MT, ND, WI

Trip Statistics 1/Apr/24 - 26/Jun/24

Miles:           8256
Driving Time: 165 Hours

States                 17*
Travel Days   41
Total Days   88
Campground 55
BLM 2
Harvest Host 6
Parking Lot 1
Elks 18
        * States are only counted if we spent the night camping there.

We had one hell of a last day.  Last night we stayed in a Cracker Barrel parking lot.  Well we sort of stayed there.  We had gone to sleep at 9PM, with plans to wake up at 5:30AM.  Around 12:30 Angel woke up when someone parked directly behind our RV and Car and spent a few minutes looking around their car before going to the hotel next door.   There were also a few people hanging around outside the hotel that was adjacent to the Cracker Barrel parking lot.  With all the people hanging out that late at night, we decided not to stay there 

With a little more research, I found another Cracker Barrel 75 miles away, and off we went.  As much as we did not want to drive at night, the lack of traffic made it very easy.  Since the night time driving was not bad we decided, rather than stop at the next Cracker Barrel I would drive until I need to get some sleep.  

What a great decision, we ended up driving through the Chicago area at 5:00am instead of during rush hour. We did hit some traffic around Chicago, but nothing like we would have at 9AM with our original plan.  Knowing I would need to get some sleep we planned to drive until on of three things happened; Rush hour traffic, Me getting sleepy,  Blinding Sun Rise (We were heading east directly into the sun)  The sun and me getting sleepy happened at the same time so we pulled into a rest stop for a 40 minute nap.

After napping we hit the road knowing that we could make it home before dark.  It was a loooonnnnggggg day, but we did it.  Five states, two time zones, two fuel stops, and four bathroom breaks later, before we made it home at 7:25pm.

Once we parked we grabbed just what we needed for the night and headed for the boat.  Tomorrow we will return to unload the RV we are exhausted and need a good nights sleep.  

Madison, WI

Bismarck, ND - Madison Wisconsin
6/26/24

Miles Traveled     695
Trip Total            7279
Travel Time       11:45

States visited: FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ, UT, NV, CA, OR, WA, ID, MT, ND. Wisconsin

5:30AM comes awfully early, but we were up and on the road by 6AM.  Our plan was to drive about 550 miles and stop at a Harvest Host for the night.  The Harvest Host was supposed to have water and room for RV's up to 45 feet long.  We called the Host around 4:15, to find out they no longer had water available to travelers.  When we did arrive we also determined that they did not have anywhere that our RV could park that was even close to level.

After a little research we found a Cracker Barrel Restaurant that allows overnight camping for RV's. (Many Cracker Barrel's, Walmart's and Cabela's allow this)  After another two and a half hours of driving we arrived at the Cracker Barrel.  While their RV parking was not level, there was plenty of room in their parking lot where we could park on level ground without any issues.

After a quick dinner we headed to bed with plans to get up again at 5:30AM for our next leg. From Madison we have about 16 hours of driving.  Our plans are one more 10 to 12 hour day, and then a short 4 to 6 hours day to get home.   

Tomorrow we are going to see how far we can make it and find a place to stop while we are driving.    

Bismarck, ND

Bozeman MT  - Bismarck, ND
6/25/24

Miles Traveled    558
Trip Total           6584
Travel Time        9:30

States visited: FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ, UT, NV, CA, OR, WA, ID, MT, North Dakota

If you read yesterday's post you know we are heading home, we will be traveling long days covering 2200 miles in four days (Hopefully)  As you can see from the number above we are off to a good start.  At 6:30am we said a very sad goodbye to Mark and Karen and started home.

Planning the route home I found a Elks Lodge in Bismarck that allows RV's to dry camp (no electric, water or sewer) in their parking lot so that was our target.

We made several quick stops along the way, both for bathroom breaks and to stretch our legs. One of the stops was for fuel, what a mistake!  The entrance to the gas station was so rough two cabinets and the refrigerator opened.  Corelle and pyrex make a big mess when they shatter, add in a exploded container of applesauce and a can of Diet Pepsi and it gets even messier!!

 Around 2:30 I saw signs for a rest stop that was also a scenic overview, and quickly pulled over.  It turned out to be the visitor's center for Painted Canyon part of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  We spent about 15 minutes walking around enjoying the view, before getting back in the RV and "admiring" the view from the windshield.  

About an hour from the Elks Lodge we passed two RV's that looked like they were traveling together.  I easily passed the first one, but the second one, kept speeding up as I got along side him.  Finally I floored it and passed them.  At that point Angel & I wondered if they were heading to Elks also.  Shortly after pulling into the Elks who pulls in but the same two RV's.  We spent some time talking to the lady from the first RV, She spends most of the year traveling by RV and they were traveling together.

After a quick dinner at the Elks we headed back to the RV for some sleep.  Our goal for Wednesday is Black River Falls Wisconsin.  It is about an hour east of Minneapolis.

Boseman. MT

Missoula MT -  Bozeman MT
6/24/24

Miles Traveled   196
Trip Total          6026
Travel Time       3:30

States visited: FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ, UT, NV, CA, OR, WA, ID, Montana

As much as we do not like leaving early, we departed Missoula at 8:00am.  While planning our route, and looking for somewhere to stop for fuel, I saw the World Museum of Mining in Butte, MT.  It was a little over halfway between Missoula and Bozeman and right where we would need to get fuel.  When Mark looked at the website, he found the offer a tour in the mine.  The only problem was the only time slot that room for 4 people was 10:00am.  

Once we were on the road we realized to make it to the Museum by 10:00 we were going to have to drive faster than we normally do.  Once again I90 did not disappoint us, the road was smooth, flat and perfect views which allowed us to keep our speed around 66MPH.  Normally we try to keep our speed around 62MPH, even though the speed limit was 80MPH.  Once we got off the Interstate the GPS did take us the wrong way down two one way streets, but we made it on time.  

The Museum was on 22 acres which includes two mines The Orphan Girls Mine and The Orphan Boys Mine.  When the property was taken over my the Museum they open a 65 foot deep tunnel leading to the original  Orphan Girl Mine.  After walking down the 17% slope we arrived at the 65' Level from there we followed mine shafts that were dug over 100 years ago to the 100' level.  There are no lights in the mine, the only light was from the headlamps on our helmets.  At one point our tour guide lit a candle like the early miners used and had us shut off our headlamps.  One candle does not provide much light when you are 100' underground!!!  

The mine was opened in 1875 and active until the 1950's, the mine is over 3000 feet deep, with tunnels leading off the shaft at different levels.  The levels are designated by how many feet they are from the surface.  The miners would travel down the shaft in a man cage elevator, the cage looks like it would hold two or three people, yet the would put six to eight miners in it on the way down, and thirteen to sixteen on the way up.  

Another interesting fact about the mines in Butte is they are interconnected.  In the two mile by four mile mining district there are over 10,000 miles of tunnels and shafts.  Once the miners entered the shaft the were there for the duration of their shift.  Until the miners were unionized the shifts were sixteen hours.  In addition to the carts for the ore, they had two other carts with them.  One cart was for fresh water, and one cart for a toilet.  Depending on how big the crews were in the mine some of the toilet carts had six seats on them, GROSS!  

Overall I think the tour was more interesting for Mark & I than Angel & Karen.

On a sad note, Boseman marks then end of the trip for Angel & I.  Angel's dad has been admitted to the hospital and we are heading home first thing Tuesday morning.  It is approximately a 2200 mile trip home.  Normally we travel about 4 hours or 300 miles which ever come first.   Our plan is to drive about 10 hours a day.  If all goes well we plan to be home Friday or Saturday.  We spent the afternoon canceling our reservation and planning our route home.  

We did go out for one last dinner with Mark & Karen, after checking out 3 VERY expensive restaurants, we found a reasonable priced bar and grill.  When we asked for our check, the waitress told us our bill had been paid.  On our way to our table another patron told Mark how much he liked his Trump 2024 hat.  Apparently he liked it so much he paid for our dinner.  

Tuesday we will be leaving at 6:00am for our trip home.

Missoula, MT

Coeur D'Alene ID - Missoula MT
6/21/24 - 6/23/24

Miles Traveled    180
Trip Total           5830
Travel Time        3:20

States visited: FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ, UT, NV, CA, OR, WA, ID, Montana

Another easy beautiful ride through the mountains, this time through Idaho and Montana.  Again we were on I90 for most of the ride.  I wish the road departments in the rest of the country would come see what condition the interstates should be in.  There were a couple of sections where they were  redoing the highway, not resurfacing it, they dug the entire road up and were replacing it.

We are actually staying in and Campground right outside of Missoula.  All of the campgrounds in town were fully booked for the weekend.     While some of the reviews complained about the owner and how rude she was, we had no problems at all.  Turah RV parked turned out to be a great campground.  The sites were a little narrow but level with grass between the sites with a picnic table and a great firepit.

Saturday we took the bikes and explored the riverfront in Missoula.  What a difference between Spokane and Missoula.  While it looked great at first, as soon as we got on the trail we saw a farmers market across the river, and made our way to it.  It was a great farmers market, fresh produce, local farm raised beef, and local bakeries.  That seemed to be the highlight of the trail, as we left the farmers market we quickly found the homeless camp.  There was a large section of the river lined with tents and makeshift shelters, we quickly turned around.  There were a couple of sections where people were sunbathing and swimming, there was even a bridge that the kids were jumping off. The biggest use of the river seemed to be kayakers, and people in tubes.  This ride was only eight miles, and also included a stop for lunch.

Sunday we took a tour of the Smoke Jumpers Visitor's Center.  There are nine Smoke Jumper Bases in the US.  They are all located in the Western part of the country near large roadless wildlands with no other ways to reach a fire.  Missoula has about 70 of the nations 400 Smoke Jumpers and most of them are seasonal employees.  It is very difficult to become a Smoke Jumper, and most candidates have over ten years experience in forest fire fighting.  This year there were 12 openings and over 300 people applied. In addition to the small museum the tour took us through all of their facilites.   

We ended our time in Missoula with a campfire roasting marshmallows.  

Leaving Missoula we will continue on I90 heading to Boseman MT.

Coeur D'Alene ID

Moses Lake, WA - Coeur D'Alene ID
6/18/24 - 6/20/24

Miles Traveled   142
Trip Total          5650
Travel Time       2:46

States visited: FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ, UT, NV, CA, OR, WA, Idaho

Finally after 21 days we are out of Washington.   It has been a beautiful state but we are glad to say BYE BYE!  (Sort of??)  It was another very easy drive on I90, both campgrounds were within 2 miles of the interstate and I90 is very RV friendly, scenic and for the most part in good condition.    We had two choices for this stop Spokane WA, or Coeur D'Alene ID.  We decided on Idaho just so we could fill in one more state on our travel map.  Coeur D'Alene also has a very nice Elk's campground.  Their campground is truly a campground with 30 sites and each site has water and electric.  The only thing missing is sewer.  They even provide wifi to the entire campground.  All for $30 per night.

The reason for the (Sort of??) comment was, what did we do on Wednesday, we headed back to Washington to explore Spokane.  It was a quick drive and Spokane is a great town to visit.  

We started our exploring with a ride on the Numeric Skyride over the Spokane Falls.  It is 15 minute gondola ride, while it was interesting it was not worth the money.  We could have seen as much of the falls from the walkways as we did on the ride.  Our next stop was MOD Pizza.  At MOD pizza you "design" your own pizza, priced is determined by the size no matter what toppings you pick.  It was also one of the cheapest restaurants we have been to on the trip.  After lunch we walked along the river.  Other than the river the two big attractions were; the GIANT Radio Flyer wagon and the River Garbage Goat.  There is no significance of the Radio Flyer being there, but it is so popular that when it was refurbished several years ago, Radio Flyer provided the paint so the colors would be authentic.  The giant wagon is also a slide and has monkey bars built into the bottom.  There were as many adults playing on it as kids.  Yes I did go down the slide.   The garbage goat is a metal sculpture that "eats" garbage.  The goat has been entertaining people and helping keep a small corner of Spokane clean since they hosted the 1974 World's Fair.  The goat eats what trash people feed it.

Thursday we got our bikes out and headed for downtown Coeur D'Alene.  We choose one of the many waterfront parks to start our ride and toured for over 12 miles.  What we did not know when we started our ride was how many parks there were along the river trail.  The river was also line with beaches, including a dog beach.  I regret not taking any photos during the bike ride.  While we were there the city was preparing for an Ironman Triathlon on Sunday.  While it could be fun to see, I am glad we are missing the crowds. 

Friday we are off to Montana, state number fifteen on our trip. 

Moses Lake, WA

Ellensburg, WA - Moses Lake, WA
15/Jun/24 - 17/Jun/24

Miles Traveled    83
Trip Total         5508
Travel Time      2:07

States visited: FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ, UT, NV, CA, OR, Washington

The drive from Ellensburg to Moses Lake was awesome.  The scenery was great, this section of I90 was easy, and the road was in good condition.  What a shame that what a great drive ended up at such a crappy campground!

Pier 4 RV Resort, is part of Sunrise Resorts that owns several campgrounds.  It was also the one we could find two available sites for Fathers Day weekend.  How they can even call themselves a "resort" is beyond our comprehension.   Our first clue should have been the sign in the office that said no refunds given.  As we approached our sites, it was very very obvious that their webmaster is also a master of deceit.  I do not know when the photos on the website were taken but they are very old.  The website showed nice grassy sites, a nice dock, and a great pool.  In reality there was not a stich of grass, just weeds and dirt.  The dock was falling apart and blocked off with caution tape.  The pool was green.  There was no hot water in the bath house or laundry room,  Talking to other campers it has been that way for sometime, and getting worse as time goes on.  The long term residence were very obvious from the junk piled around their RV's and the oil stains on the roadways were they park.  Good thing we were only there for 3 nights, and it has been the only bad stop we have experienced on our trip.

The one good thing about Moses Lake is how close it is to Dry Falls State Park and Lake Lenore Caves.  We spent Fathers Day exploring the two parks.  Dry Falls was carved by the Ice Age falls 13,000 years ago.  The former waterfall was four times the size of Niagara Falls.  The once mighty river is now a three and a half mile wide cliff towering 400 feet over the deep gorges and spring fed lakes.  At the visitor center we stood on the edge of the cliffs looking down into the gorge that at one time was a mighty river.  The now missing river was formed when ice dams miles upstream broke free carving out the gorge and creating the falls.  The falls started out 15 miles south of the visitor center and over time the river eroded the cliff back to its present location.

After leaving the Dry Falls we traveled to Soap Lake to have what was supposed to be an early lunch at Del-Red Pub.  While we tried to be patient, after waiting two hours for our lunch and seeing patrons that arrived after us eat and leave, we decided to leave.  When we told the host we were leaving, they said no, that our food was just coming out.  We could see our very burnt sandwiches in the window, and left anyways.  We ended up having a very quick lunch at another restaurant.

After lunch we headed to Lake Lenore Caves for what was supposed to be another "easy" 1.5 mile round trip hike to the caves and back.   The Washington Trail Guide Association rates this hike as easy with a 200 foot elevation gain.  Wow were they off base on this one. While it was not crazy hard, the elevation gain was way over 200 feet.  The climb from the parking lot up the paved portion of the trail and the stairs cut in the cliff wall  were well over 200 feet.   After reaching the top of cliff the real "hike" started.  From there the trail varied; parts were dirt paths through the brush, parts were loose basalt lava rocks, parts were steep climbs through the loose rocks, parts were narrow cliffs that you had to face the cliff and hold on to the rock wall as you passed.   The caves were all shallow and more like depressions in the cliff walls, but still very impressive.  The last cave was the largest and was in the wall of a pit at the end of the trail.  Not only were the caves worth the hike, but the view from the cliffs was spectacular.   

Monday we spent the day doing RV chores. as much as it sounds like we are on perpetual vacation, we still have normal "household" chores to do.  Much of it is the same as a house, laundry, cleaning, etc  some of it is much different like sanitizing the water system.   We also spent time getting our butts kicked by Mark & Karen in shuffleboard.   

Tuesday we are finally leaving Washington state and going to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.  Washington has been a beautiful and diverse state.  We have seen everything from Beaches, Mountains, Rain Forest, Desert and everything in between.  The weather has been as varied as the terrain, and impossible to guess.  Hopefully as we head East it will get warmer.

 

Ellensburg WA

Enumclaw, WA - Ellensburg, WA
14/Jun/24

Miles Traveled   118
Trip Total          5429
Travel Time       2:45

States visited: FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ, UT, NV, CA, OR, Washington

Leaving Enumclaw we have 12 days to get to Yellowstone.  Yellowstone is the first stop on our trip that we made reservations in advance.  Even making those reservations eight months in advance we will need to change campsites during our stay.   We could easily make it in four days, but we will be taking our time.   

From Enumclaw we headed to Ellensburg where we spent the night on a farmed owned by a friends (Katie) sister Ellen.  Ellen has a small herd of cattle on forty acres and was nice enough to let us spend the night.  OMG what a beautiful view, from the RV we were overlooking the horse pen, and the cattle in the fields, and past that were farm fields where they were cutting hay.  In addition to the view we were able to "meet" some of the cattle including a very pregnant jersey cow (due any day), a bull and a couple of calves that were born this spring.  

We were also entertained by Peggy, Ellen's horse.  Peggy was very friendly and loves attention. When ever we would stop paying attention to her, she would bang her hoove on the metal fence.

We only spent one day in Ellensburg but at Katie's recommendation Angel & I headed into town to check out the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall Of Fame.   The Ellensburg Rodeo started in 1923 and has run every year since.  The Hall Of Fame was formed to preserve the history and traditions of the Rodeo.  In addition to learning about the history of the rodeo we also learned that Ellensburg is the "Mecca of Roping".  

While in Tombstone AZ I bought a "Rope" and have been playing with it.  It looks much easier than it really is.  I can promise there is not a cow on this planet that has to worry about me being able to rope it!

Saturday we will be heading to Moses Lake.

Mount Rainer

Burien, WA - Enumclaw, Wa
11/Jun/24 - 13/Jun/24

Miles Traveled     34
Trip Total          5306
Travel Time       1:29

States visited: FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ, UT, NV, CA, OR, Washington

Another very short drive, while it was only 34 miles it still took 90 minutes.  There were two goals in coming to Enumclaw.  The first it was time to get out of the city, Burien Elks location was great for exploring but that is all it had to offer.  The second reason was to get closer to Mount Rainer.  We are going to spend a day exploring the mountain, and this saves us three hours of driving.

We arrived at Enumclaw Expo Center RV Park (County Fairgrounds) well before the check-in time, but since our sites were empty we were able to check-in.  We have found that may  county fairgrounds have fairly inexpensive camping available. Some are no more than a dirt parking lot with electric and maybe water, some like Enumclaw are much nicer.  Enumclaw Expo Center has a very nice campground.  The sites are large with paved pads and with water and electric. It was definitely a great find.  It is also one of the few campgrounds where we are allowed to wash our RV's!  In addition to washing the RV, I took advantage of some free time to change the oil in it.  Mark changed the oil for me while we were back in New Jersey, and we have driven over 5000 miles since then.  When Mark changed the oil, he also replaced the drain plug with a "FUMOTO" valve.  This valve made changing the oil very easy.  Attach a hose to the valve, place the hose in a container and ten minutes later the oil was drained without spilling a drop.

Wednesday we spent the day exploring Mount Rainer, once again we used the Shaka Guide audio tour.  The Shaka guide has four starting points for the Mount Rainer tour, one of which is Enumclaw.  The Enumclaw starting point was less than a mile from our campground which is one of the reason we chose to stay at the Expo Center.  The first stop of the tour was still closed for the season, Rising Sun Road is one of two roads in the park that is not open because of  snow. We still find it hard to comprehend that in the middle of June roads are still closed because of snow.  It is not just the snow on the roads, they do not open the roads until there is not any chance of an avalanche. Leaving the Rising Sun Road area we continued on the tour stopping at around 6 of the 19 stops on the tours.  Many of the stops are hikes, with most of them being "Difficult", we skipped all of the hikes this time.

  Shaka Guides suggest taking 1 to 3 days to do all of the stops, we only have one day so we had to pick and choose where we stopped.  At our next stop Shaka Guide promised a great view of the mountain top, and told us the views were only going to get better.  Wow they were right!!!!   

Over all we took eight hours and drove over 150 spectacular miles around the base of the mountain. We stopped at places like Skookum falls, where the Skookum Creek drops 250 feet down the side of the mountain, Box Canyon a 180 deep slot canyon cut by the Cowlitz River and surround by a lichen covered hillside, Reflection Lake to see the peak of Mount Rainer mirrored in the thawed portion of the lake, The Nisqually River and the boulder strewn valley cut by the glacier,  and several overlooks just to see the different sides of the snow covered peak.

On the ride back to Enumclaw we saw another unusual roadside warning sign to add to the many we have already seen.  This one was a Volcano Evacuation Route, the scary part was this was what we thought was several miles from the base of the mountain.  Hopefully we are long gone before the next eruption.  We arrived back at the Expo Center just as Enumclaw High School graduation was starting.  We timed it just right, we were warned that the graduation traffic would make getting into the campground very difficult from 5pm to 7pm, we returned at 6:55pm!  We also got to listen to the ceremony and cheers from out campsites.

Thursday we had an easy going day of running a couple of errands.  Friday we are heading to Ellensburg WA,   Katie, a friend of mine offered her sister Ellen's 40 acre farm for us boondock for the night.    

Seattle WA

Bremerton, WA - Burien, WA  (Seattle)
5/Jun/24 - 10/Jun/24

Miles Traveled     60
Trip Total          5272
Travel Time       1:22

States visited: FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ, UT, NV, CA, OR, Washington

Another quick and easy drive,  for the first time in several weeks we were back on an interstate.  When we first got on the interstate it felt good, that lasted for about 2 miles, then we hit traffic.  I think I prefer two lane highways over heavy traffic.

With the interstate and heavy traffic comes city life.  Burien Elks is located in downtown Burien and the rv parking is along their parking lot.  They have eight sites with full hookups, we arrived early in the day because the sites are first come first serve.  Fortunately when we arrived there was only one site taken, but most of the time we were there all eight sites were taken.  There are only a couple of campgrounds near Seattle, most of them are much further away, and average $100 per night, the Elks is only $30, what a bargain.  

We started our tour of Seattle by heading to the iconic Pike Place Market specifically we wanted to go the Fish Market .  Pike Place Market opened as a farmers market in 1907, currently it is home to a variety of shops and vendors, this includes antique dealers, comic book stores, art dealers, and small restaurants. The upper street level contains fishmongers, fresh produce stands and craft stalls operating in the covered arcades. There are also over 500 homes located within the market place. Originally they started as low income housing bu tnow they are much sought after housing and far from low income.  Finding the Fish Market on the map was much easier then finding it in person. 

Because the Market Place is built in the side of a hill, a vary steep hill, and it makes navigating very interesting.  Google maps would tell us we arrived,but our destination was no where to be found.  We were on the street and asked for directions to the Fish Market, and the person told us to follow them, we got in an elevator took it several floors up, and we were back on the street level.  How confusing!  Pikes Place Fish Market is where, when a customer orders fish they throw it from the display table to the counter to be wrapped, also all of the employees repeat what ever order is called out.  It is really quite a show, if no customers are ordering fish they will toss the fish around for tips. The other Iconic stop in Pikes Place Market is the Gum Wall.  The Gum Wall is a 50 foot stretch of wall adjacent to the Market Place Theatre, where theatre goers would stick their gum on the wall.  After several attempts to clean the wall, the Market Place Development Authority embraced the "Gum Wall" and now in some places the gum is over fifteen inches deep, in other places names are spelled out in gum.  While gross it is also very interesting.  

After exploring Pikes Market we heading to the Space Needle.  While the walk is only about one mile, it is the mile from hell.  I swear the entire walk was up VERY STEEP hills. Had we known how steep the walk was we would have found a better way to get there.  HOLY COW what an engineering marvel and an spectacular view of Seattle. The Space Needle was is a 605 tall observation tower built in for the 1962 Worlds Fair.  Construction took less than one year, much less time than it would take to get the building permits today.  

We arrived at the Space Needle to find out that we would had to wait ninety minutes before we could go up. (We should have bought the tickets online before we started walking over) It was absolutely worth the wait.  The view of the bay and the city was stunning to say the least.  We were very fortunate that we had a perfect day for going up in the Space Needle, there was not a cloud in the sky and there was not a bit of haze.  Mount Rainer is 58 miles from the Space Needle and we could see it like it was right next to us.  We could also watch the sea planes take off and land from the sea plane base on Union Lake. 

Friday we headed back to Seattle to take a boat tour from downtown Seattle to Union Lake.  Seattle and Elliot Bay are located on the central part of Puget Bay, Union Lake feeds into the bay and is separated from the bay by the Ballard Lock.  While cruising along the Seattle shore line and past the cruise ships was cool, Locking through Ballard lock into the lake was the highlight of the cruise.  The Ballard lock raises the incoming boat traffic 26 feet to the lake.  In addition to raising the boats, the lock also keeps the saltwater from entering the lake.  

While traveling the Great Loop, both Angel & I and Mark & Karen traveled through over 90 locks.  This was a very different perspective we had nothing to do but sit back and watch.  Another big difference was the clearance.  Several of the locks we were side by side with three or four other boats,  and as many as six boats deep in the lock.  The tour we were on filled the entire lock, there was less than six inches of clearance between the boat and the lock walls.   There is a second chamber at the Ballard Lock, but it is much larger and design for much larger vessels.

Leaving the lock and entering the lake, the shores were lined with fishing vessels, houses and every type of vessel you could imagine.  The two most notable vessels we saw were the 150 foot crab  boat  from the TV show The Deadliest Catch, next was the topside of the another crab boat, the 91 foot Northern American.  Just six weeks on ago May 14th the Northern American sank at the dock.  We could see the very topside of the boat and the containment booms surrounding it.  

After passing the comercial docks we came upon the floating homes. Seattle is home to 507 floating homes in four distinct "neighborhoods".  At one time the floating homes were the slums of Seattle, now the floating homes sell for as much as six million dollars.  

Saturday Angel & I headed back to Union Lake to check out the Center for Wooden Boats.  It is a non profit organization dedicated to restoring and persevering the wooden boats of the area.  While it was not the most interesting stop we did spend the day exploring the shores of Union Lake.  We could not get onto the docks to see the floating homes up close but it was still interesting to see them.  One of the problems we saw was the very limited parking.   Between the docks there were several access points that were loaded with people launching kayaks, paddle boards, canoes and anything else they could get out on the water with.  For us the 54 degree water was way to cold to play in!  In Lake Union everyone thought it was perfectly normal  to be playing in the water.  After checking out the floating homes we headed back to the Ballard Lock.  Our goal was to check out the Harbor Seals that like to play at the bottom of the lock's spillway.  Along side the spill way is a fish ladder that the salmon use to return to their spawning grounds, and the seals love a free meal.

Sunday at the recommendation of the guide on the tour boat, we took the ferry to Bainbridge Island.  The tour guide made it seem like the only way to the island was via the ferry, we latter found out you can get there by bridge but from Seattle it is a 3+ hour drive, the ferry is only 30 minutes.  It was worth the ride, but not we expected.  Bainbridge island is know for two things, up until the early 80's  they were one of the largest producers of creosote wood, and in 1965 Pickleball was invented on the island.

After almost a week exploring Seattle, Monday was spent running errands and getting ready to hit the road again. Our next stop is Enumclaw, WA it is only a little over an hour away but it is the gateway to Mt Rainer.

Bremerton, WA

Sequim, WA - Bremerton, WA
3/Jun/24 -4/Jun/24

Miles Traveled     57
Trip Total          5212
Travel Time       1:24

States visited: FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ, UT, NV, CA, OR, Washington

The trip from Sequim to Bremerton was very interesting.  To start our day there was an American Bald Eagle soaring over our heads as we prepared to leave. What made it even more interesting was it had some prey in it's talons.  The picture was the best I could do with a cell phone.  Another milestone of this trip is we are finally done with Highway 101.  Yes it was beautiful but we are all glad to move on to new roads.  Our route took us over the Hood Canal and the Hood Canal Bridge.  This 1.5 mile long bridge is the world's third longest floating bridge, and the longest floating bridge in tidal saltwater.  The floating portion of the portion of the bridge is almost 1.25 miles long.  To open the bridge three sections on each side are raised above the pontoon, and the center sections slide under the lifted sections. 

In 1979 during a storm with 100MPH winds and 15 foot seas half of the bridge sank.  The quick actions of two of the bridge tenders kept the entire bridge from sinking.  When they realized the bridge was buckling from the pressure they opened the center span which saved the eastern half of the bridge, they were also able to get off the bridge before it sank.   Washington DOT has a webcam on the bridge, but the camera is shut off during openings.  A large portion of the marine traffic through the bridge come from the Kitsap Naval Base  and the cameras are turned off for security purposes.  Kitsap is the third largest US Naval fleeting area home to vessels ranging from submarines to aircraft carriers.

After arriving at the Elks, and setting up the RV's we headed to the U.S. Naval Undersea Museum.  The museum has exhibits on undersea mines, torpedos, naval research, and most importantly underwater rescue from submarines.  The museum was about 15 minutes from the Elks. It would have been cool if we could have seen the base and some submarines but the museum is outside of the main gate and we could not access the base.

Tuesday afternoon we went to the Elks club for lunch and an afternoon of playing Mexican Train.  Mexican Train is a dominos game, that friends of ours (Nick & Ginger from Ginger Gale) from our Great Loop Trip taught us.  The Bremerton Elks has a group of members that plays every Tuesday afternoon and they were very welcoming.  Rather than playing with the same people each week, everyone puts their name in a bowl. and the players for each table are selected randomly.   It was a great way for us to meet people.  Their rules are slightly different then we are use to, put we were able to catch on very quickly.

Bremerton Elks sits on a hill overlooking Dyes Inlet and Olympic Mountains the view is incredible.  Several of the members recommended that we come back to the lodge at sunset to watch the sunset. We did but unfortunately the clouds hide the sun.  Even though we did not catch the sunset, we did see deer hanging at the edge of the woods.

Our next stop is Burien Washington where we will be staying at another Elks Lodge.  Burien is located about 20 minutes south of Seattle and is a perfect place  for us to stay while we explore Seattle.

Sequim, WA

Copalis, WA - Sequim WA
5/31/24 - 6/2/24

Miles Traveled    183
Trip Total           5155
Travel Time        4:29

States visited: FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ, UT, NV, CA, OR, Washington

We started our trip to Sequim by heading out to get fuel.  Normally we try to get fuel along our route but logistically it made more sense get fuel before we left. We left the car at the campground for a quick fuel run.  Fuel on the west coast has been much higher than we are use to.  Chevron has been our best option but they are not RV friendly at all.  Chevron has a special going on, if you join their "Loyalty" program you get $1.00 off per gallon for your first three fill's.  It has been worth the hassle!

After fueling up we went back to hook-up the car before getting back on Highway 101 and heading to the Sequim Elks Lodge.  Other than rain it was a easy ride, and I think all four of us are more than ready to be done with Highway 101!!!   Sequim Elks has 18 RV sites with water and electric. They also  allowed us to sign Mark & Karen in as our guest.  Not all Elks allow guest RV's but so far we have been very lucky!  While we were signing in they told us that they were having a pork chop dinner at 5:00pm.    Dinner was delicious!  During dinner one of the local members suggested that we head to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park, but to go right after dinner.   Sequim lies in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountain Range, they recieve less than 16" of rain a year, but guess what the forecast calls for rain the rest of the time we are there!

The drive up the Olympic Mountains to Hurricane Ridge was awesome, each ridge we passed was more spectacular.  In addition to the many curves and twist, most with no guard rails, we also had to keep our eyes out for the deer.  Dusk was quickly approaching and the deer were constantly running across the road. Once we reached Hurricane Ridge we quickly agreed it was worth the drive.  Once again the view was incredible and the photos do not do it justice.  Both the parking lot and fields around the ridge were teaming with deer. Beside seeing people feed the deer, it was obvious they are use to being fed.  Anytime someone opened the back of their car, deer would walk up to the car looking for food.

Saturday rather then go back to the park in the rain, we took a "underground" historical tour of Port Angeles.   Port Angeles was built of the water front and major development started around 1850.  Many buildings were built on piers over the beaches and mudflats, and dropped their waste through holes in the floor. The town was plagued with two major problems, raw sewage dropped from buildings onto the beaches, and buildings flooding during heavy storms.  In 1914 the town built concrete walls and filled the area behind them raising the level of the town.  What at the time had been the store fronts instantly became "basements" behind the concrete wall.  The visitor center runs tours through the towns where we able to tour the few remaining "basements" and see the wall that was built in 1914.  They also told us much of the towns history. The are also has several murals throughout the town depicting the towns history. The largest mural has a ship in it, that no matter where you stand and look at it, the bow of the ship always appears to point directly at you.  Also if you stand next to the kids in the mural and have your picture taking it looks like the kids are not in the mural but standing next to you.

Sunday Angel Karen and I took a quick trip to a local Lavender farm.  Greg the owner of the farm gave us a very in depth tour of the 3 acre farm.  Him and his wife own and work the farm.  They retired and purchased the farm three years ago.  (Buying and running a farm, does not sound like retirement!)  It is still early in the season, and none of the lavender plants were blooming, they will start blooming the end of June and July is the highlight of their season.  You could tell Greg is very proud of the farm and it is a labor of love.  

After touring the farm we headed up to the Elks Lodge were Angel and Karen kicked Mark and my but in shuffleboard.

Monday morning we are heading to another Elks Lodge this one is in Bremerton Washington.