Disappointment

Mile 3162

Well, we were dealt our first major setback on this trip. We are in Port Angeles in northwestern Washington at a coffee shop called Bella Rosa, and it looks like we will have to turn back. We found out that dogs need to have a rabies certificate to enter Canada. We even did research on this before trying but this is what happens when you don't read the fine print. Oh well, it's on to Idaho and Montana instead. We lost a little bit of time driving up to Port Angeles to take the ferry to Vancouver Island. But the trip wasn't a waste because we got to visit Olympic National Park while we were up here. The drive up here was very nice too. So we will return to Tacoma and sleep in nice warm bed at Helen's house again tonight. Then it's back on the road bright and early.

Seattle sights

Mile 2956

The mileage hasn't changed much because we are still in Tacoma and Helen has been doing all the driving. We are back here at Bertolino's Cafe for coffee and the free wi-fi.

Yesterday, we went to Seattle to see the Space Needle. It's not quite as tall as we expected for some reason. It's not even the tallest building in Seattle, but it is Seattle's signature structure. They must have been following us on this blog because they rolled out the red carpet for us. Actually, it was for the Pacific Science Center's "Festival of the Fountains" black tie fundraising gala.

From there we walked to Pike Place Market, the nation's oldest continually working farmer's market. Unfortunately, most of the shops had closed so we didn't get to see the world-famous salmon slinging at Pike Place Fish. Surprising considering that it was Friday night, but it was nice to explore the city on foot.

Later today, we will be meeting another friend, Luanne, for brunch and then the plan is to go by Olympic National Park and then take the ferry to Vancouver Island in Canada.

Drive-Thru Coffee Shops

Here's a picture of one of the coffee shops mentioned before. They are more common up here in NoCal, Oregon and Washington than Starbucks! Strange considering that they are based in Seattle. But, that's great for me. Some of you know how I feel about Starbucks. I think Eric F. has the right idea about what Starbucks should be used for. Sorry folks, inside joke. Just think: emergency pit stop.

These places are everywhere! Even in almost all of the one stoplight towns we have passed through. Another bonus about these places. Without fail, every single one we went to (and there were a lot) had a supply of doggie treats. There is even a chain, Coffee People, that has free wi-fi.

Tacoma, Washington

Mile 2951

It's tough finding an internet connection in the mountains! Sorry, we haven't been able to post anything since Portland. We are in Tacoma now, staying at a friend's house. Helen has been great! Not only gave us a place to sleep in a warm, comfortable bed for a change, but also did our laundry! Now we are at Bertolino's Cafe near her house, as usual, drinking cofee. Here's what we've done since Portland on Wednesday. By the way, Portland is a really nice town:


This part of the trip was dominated by mountains. We headed east so that we could circle around Mt. Hood. At mile 2567 we stopped near the base of the mountain where Hapa took a drink from the ice cold White River. Then we headed straight for the Washinton border. We crossed the Columbia River, which is the border between the two states, and drove west along it for a few miles, then turned north up route 30. We stopped for the night at mile 2662 at the Swift Reservoir and camped out.



On Thursday morning, we continued north to the east side of Mt. St. Helen's. I wasn't aware of this, but it is currently in the state of eruption. You can actually see steam rising from the top every few minutes. Evidence of the 1980 eruption is plainly apparent everywhere. Although ground level vegetation has regrown, toppled trees numbering in the millions are strewn about for miles. It's very hard to imagine a force that powerful, so when you actually see the devastating result, it's mind boggling. We continued northbound and turned east at Route 12 to Mt. Ranier National Park. You have to have pretty good timing when you come here, because Mt. Ranier is so big at 14,411 feet that it makes it's own weather. For a large part of the day, when we circled it's south side, it's peak was obsured by clouds. As you can see from the picture, the left side is partially hidden. But when we went all the way back around to the east side, we were able to get great views. We were able to get up to 6400 feet at Sunrise Visitor Center to get the best view. This is the closest you can get by car.

By Thursday night, we had made it to Tacoma. We will spend at least a day in the area, visiting friends and exploring the Seattle area. Then it's on to Canada, eh!

Portland, Oregon

Mile 2482

We are now in downtown Portland, Oregon sitting here in Pioneer Courthouse Square. It's a nice little open area in the heart of downtown. What's happened until now:


After Florence, we took our time driving up the coast exploring all the beaches and coastal towns. It really is a beautiful area. The weather has been perfect! Usually around 65-70 degrees with bright sunshine. A far cry from the triple digits we've been hearing about back home in SoCal. We made it to Astoria, the northernmost city on the Oregon coast just in time to get a few snapshots of the Astoria Column before we lost the sunlight. Actually, it does seem like the days are a bit longer here. You can still see daylight on the horizon after 10pm. After that we crossed the border into Washington to catch Interstate 5 back south. Didn't realize that Astoria was so far north of Portland. We camped out just outside of Portland before driving into the city this morning.

We plan to head east from here to explore Mt. Hood before turning north back into Washington again.

Two detours

Mile 2202

Sitting here at Big Guys Cafe in Newport, OR. We just visited cousin, Camille. I think the last time anyone in our family had seen her was over 30 years ago! We only had a couple hours to catch up, but it was a very nice visit. They have a really nice house in a great little coastal town. We really like it up here.

There isn't much else new to report since the last blog, but here's what's happened:
After leaving Bend, we really didn't get to see much. We were trying to take the McKenzie Pass which would have taken us just north of Mt. Bachelor (the ski resort) and the Three Sisters Mountains. Unfortunately, we were detoured completely around the range by a forest fire. So that set us back about an hour. And we didn't get to see those mountains.

When we finally got to Eugene, we stopped by just to drive through the downtown area. We really didn't have much time to stop and walk around or anything. Seemed like a pretty nice town though. After Eugene, we headed straight for the coast, but again we were diverted by a closed road. Lost another hour here, but at least the drive was really pretty. Found out later on the local news that one of those double gas tankers overturned and road will be closed for at least 24 hours. Must have been pretty bad because they had to evacuate some local residents.

We made to the Oregon coast by mile 2118, once again just in time to see the sunset. It wasn't quite as impressive because of the heavy low fog, so no pics to post. After that, we checked into the Old Town Inn in Florence, OR for the evening..

Crater Lake

Mile 1898

Finally found a wi-fi connection here in Bend OR! Up in Crater Lake we were cut off from the world. Barely had a cell signal up there. Anyway, here's what's happened since you last heard from us:

We hit the road bright and early Sunday morning, heading for Crater Lake. Another beautiful drive. The drive started out following the Rogue River through the valley again. Those are always nice. Stopped at this cool site where the river actually flows underground for about 300 feet. Pretty neat. Then the road became a gorgeous treelined strech for miles. Very nice! By mile 1617, around 9:45am, we had arrived. Crater Lake has been the highlight so far. Trees? We see trees all the time. Big ones, like the redwoods are magnificent. But, there is nothing that we had ever seen like Crater Lake! We circled the crater via its 33 mile rim drive and spent so much time around there we decided to camp there.



We left early this morning and now we are taking a break at Di'Lusso Bakery Cafe in Bend. After this, the plan is to turn west and go through Eugene on our way back to the coast.

Another thing I learned about Oregon. It is unlawful to pump your own gas here. Every gas station has pump attendants. In Grants Pass, just after we crossed into Oregon, we stopped for gas, and there were these ladies out there in hot, hot sun, pumping gas for everyone. Not sure if I was supposed to tip them or not. Didn't seem like anyone else was.