Giant Patriarchs and Silver Falls

Suspension bridge over Ohanapecosh River

Enough rain!  What did we expect, coming to the Pacific Northwest? Started raining Saturday night and continued until yesterday morning.  Not hard rain like Ohio gets, just a gentle rain - Dave said on Tuesday the rain looks like snow.  You can see it come in waves, sometimes heavy continuous rain, then soft drizzle.  Saw Mt. Rainier on Saturday - and now beginning to think that that was our only shot at seeing it while we are here!  Yesterday morning we said, enough! decided to go hiking in the rain.  Headed back to the Stevens Canyon entrance of Mt. Rainier on the eastern side to two hikes we wanted to do - one was the Grove of the Patriarchs and the second was the Silver Falls hike.  We could park at one and be able to hike both from the same spot (parking is limited there).

Giant Cedars and Douglas Firs

The Grove hike meanders along the Ohanapecosh (Oh - hahn - ah - peh - cosh:  love to say that!!) River following a well worn, delightful scenic trail.  Came to a one-person suspension bridge over the river which swayed as you walked across it, but so very cool!, and continued on to the Grove. I wanted to feel how cold the water was from the river and about froze off my fingers - this river is the result of a glacier melting and therefore was almost a pale blue color (the sign of a glacier runoff).  These trees are over 1000 years old, enormous, and even though you saw many fallen dead trees covered in moss, the dead trees had smaller trees growing out of them.  Life from death.  Just an amazing thing to see this forest.   Very idyllic, very humbling being around these Patriarchs.

The park has done a great job identifying the trees you were looking at, telling the ecology, the age and history of how and why the trees look like they do and how the Indians used the tree for clothes, medicines, tools, etc.

Bridges over creeks

Lush greenery, idyllic waterfall

Silver Falls

After the Grove we crossed the road to the Silver Falls Trail head and again walked through very old growth trees/forest.  Trickle of a spring passing by, birds tweeting, very very moist and humid from all the rain, and the smells!  About 3/4 mile along we started to hear the Ohanapecosh River getting louder - the bounding of waterfalls. A cascade of falls down to the deep drop of the main break and the park has placed overlooks and a wooden bridge over it to get the best views. The cascading waterfalls, spray, lush greenery, huge boulders, the mist rising from the water, sunlight trying to come through the canopy, and the noise of the water rushing over - just awesome to see and hear and feel.  We went through starting out being comfortable (had jackets on) to being warm from the walk (only 60 degrees) to being quite chilled from the low temperature of the water, to comfortable again, then back to being warm from the hike back.  Not only a scenic beauty to the eyes but a sensory feel from the moisture, warmth, humidity and coolness.Very lovely walk.  To heck with the rain - still had a great day.

Tipsoo Lake

The day was still young (1:45pm) we decided to drive up the eastern side of the park to where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses at Chinook Pass. The PCT transverses from Canada to Mexico through mostly the Cascade mountain range.  People typically start from the south and hike north which is good since this area in Washington is still under anywhere from 1 foot to 12 feet of snow! The Chinook Pass has only been open since the 16th and we guessed there was 8 feet of snow still on the ground right at the pass.  Obviously no hiking can be done now, but in another month - this area will be filled with hikers and day-use picnickers.  The fog and mist from the melting snow and the gentle rainfall was amazing to see and feel. Stopped at an ice covered Tipsoo Lake at the Pass and was amazed at how blue it was - just beautiful!  Found out that in the summer months this lake is one of the most photographed lakes in the country - Mt. Rainier is typically reflected in this lake - would like to come back here on a clear day to see this again.

Orientation to Mt. Rainier

Christine Falls

When you live in the Pacific Northwest, rain is not an issue, and for us yesterday - it wasn't.  We decided to get the scoop on Mt. Rainier by driving into the park from the south west side.  Traveled through a national forest that looked like something out of the dinosaur age - trees branches hanging low over the road to form a canopy, moss dripping down to the ground, everything and anything covered with moss, and a swift flowing river racing by.  Saw many campers tucked into the small spaces between the road and river, I would not want to be camping like that - in rain, in a tent, and no facilities.

Roadside waterfall

Once we passed into the gate of the national park the scenery opened up with wide vista views of rivers and creeks rushing by, huge trees - some you can tell have been hit by cars with deep gouges in them, just a pretty scene even though it was raining and we were looking through the wipers of the car.  We are excited as to what we will see again - while the sun is shining - when we come back on a clear day.

Stopped at the Longmire Visitor's Center and talked with a park ranger and got more information on the lay of the park.  It is one thing to look at information on-line and try to imagine what you will see but it is totally different when you actually drive the roads.

Lush Greenery - snow at 5,000 feet.

Drove farther eastbound on the park road (you can drive around Mt. Rainier from the south and east but there are no roads on the west and the north road does not travel deep into the park) and came to Paradise - Jackson Visitors Center.  Viewed the orientation movie, collected more information, and viewed their displays.  This area is under at least 6 feet of snow and has only be open since the 19th of June and therefore whatever hiking we will do will be on the east side where snow has melted.  This morning when I looked on-line to the live webcams of the park, I saw where Paradise is having a snow storm.  Predicted, but not what we want to experience or drive in.  The north visitors center is not open - they are still under a deep snow cover and predict it will be open on July 3rd, hopefully.  Rainier stays snow covered from 7,000 feet and above  all year (14,492 is peak) due to the glaciers found there.

Snow at Jackson Visitor Center - notice hikers?  Elev. 5400 ft

One thing we noticed - there were many places where we could pull off the road and get out to take pictures - very friendly to the photographers and scene gawkers.  This was not so in Glacier National Park.  Rainier is the 5th oldest national park and the engineers who designed the roads and services here kept the visitor in mind when they planned where and how they would be able to get to see the most.  Every turn is so different in views.  Great planning!

We saw some magnificent waterfalls up close and from a distance, lots of flowers blooming, mist hanging along the valley and rising up over the mountain peak, just gorgeous.  The weather prediction is snow on the mountain today through Wednesday afternoon, cleaning later that day.  Will sit tight, get caught up, plan where and what hikes we will do, and fortunately have time on our side waiting for the sun to show.  Some people visit the park and never get to see the mountain top.  At least we saw the peak when we came in on Saturday and hopefully will get to see the sun again before we go.

The Drive to Packwood, Washington

McNary Dam on Columbia River

We left Wildhorse Casino in Pendleton this morning without any problems and were on our way by 8:30am.  Got on I84 traveling west and once we crossed over the Columbia River, we headed north and west again on I82. Saw the McNary Dam.  Water flowing pretty good with the rains the last couple of days. Traveled through fruit country with fruit vendors every so often and fruit packing houses with wooden crates stack at least 10 X 10 deep in yards.  This area reminded me a lot of Napa Valley in California, mountains on each side with a pretty valley below and so many vineyards, you could not imagine.  And fruit trees - cherry, apple, saw signs for huckleberries and I am glad to get back into huckleberry country!  So sweet.

Rimrock Lake

Once we passed through Yakima and headed west on Route 12, the same route we were on in Clarkston, the country side became more what I expect for the northwest...fir trees, rugged mountains, waterfalls, river meandering by road, just very scenic. The smell - you can't imagine. Started up into the foothills of Mt. Rainier, driving up into the Cascade Mountains.  Every now and then you would get a view of Mt. Rainier getting closer. And it has lots of snow on it - will probably limit us as to how much hiking and sightseeing we will be able to do while visiting the national park. We passed Rimrock Lake at the base of Mt. Rainier - just spectacular.  We both said - this looks just like Flathead Lake in Montana!  Will have to get an evergreen (fir) tree book because there are so many varieties, we don't know which is what.

Mt. Rainier thru clouds

After putting 233 miles on RV/truck, pulled into Packwood RV campground about 12:30pm, took us over an hour to get the RV set being on grass and with all the rain and previous RVers here, there are some big ruts we had to maneuver to get the RV level.  Once set and slides out and the RV settled in, I just looked out the back window and can see Mt. Rainier as plain as day.  How cool.

Will be here for two weeks to get us through the holiday week.  We passed many National Forest campgrounds on the way and they looked pretty full.  We are glad we are set and settled now for the next two weeks.  And - as predicted - no cell service at all.  We can walk over to the coffee shop or sit at the picnic table right by the library and use their wifi to get on.  Will be a nice quiet two weeks (I think I will be in withdrawal - I always look at my emails, look at weather, look at Facebook but oh well.)  I am glad I already booked our next campground in Port Townsend - have no way of calling them!

Zig Zag Back Into Washington

Today is our last day in Pendleton, Oregon but we will be back in Oregon sometime after middle of August.  We will be moving to a small town in Washington just 6 miles south of the entrance to Mount Rainier National Park, the town called Packwood. Our plans are to visit with Mount Rainier National Park while there. Packwood is about 100 miles south and east of Seattle.  The downside to going to this little town is that we may not have any internet connection while there, so posting may be sparse until we move to Port Townsend, Washington on the 7th of July.

A little about our stay here at Wildhorse Casino in Pendleton.... it has been entertaining to say the least. By 9am most of the overnighters have gone and within an hour the next group comes in.  We would have to say that people come here to gamble.  Period.  RVs come in, set up in 20 minutes and we see the shuttle bus picking them up to go over to the casino (about a 15 minute walk within the grounds of Wildhorse). We have had vintage RVers, toy haulers (have a motorcycle or ATV tucked inside the back end), lots of motor homes (Class A) and 5vers (5th wheel like ours), and many many travel trailer boxes.  All sizes, all shapes, all years - very old and beat up to very new.  And many many dogs.  One of the biggest surprises was when a small box (travel trailer) and our opinion only room enough for 1 person to sleep inside,  and multiple dogs were inside it.  That one had 2 large dogs (black lab size) and 2 small dogs (about 5 pounds of a yapper dog) inside. When Mom and daughter went to the casino to gamble those 4 dogs just howled and howled.  Glad they were back by 9pm!

And then there are the barkers - the littler the dog, the louder and more annoying the yap.  Been amazing to see all the variety of dogs.  We have made a joke to ourself - if it is Oregon plates (most are) then there must be dogs inside (99% of the time there is). We are the abnormal with an indoor cat.

We were surprised with Pendleton.  It is a good size town for the northwest - about 12,000 people, with a large population of Umatilla, Walla Walla, and Cayuse Indians. We did go to the Pendleton Woolen Mill store but I would have had to gamble at the casino to get enough money to buy something.  Absolutely beautiful, but very expensive.  Did learn why Pendleton has the largest rodeo in the country - the Umatilla Indians had the largest herd of horses in the country for centuries.  They developed the Appaloosa and the Cayuse horse breed by careful cross breeding.  The rodeo has been in existance for over 100 years now.  Draws people from all over the country.

And of course, being on the Umatilla Indian Reservation here at casino for the past week has been interesting.  Being a sovereign nation, they are their own country, have their own government and with that their own police department.  Let me just say - you don't want to get into trouble here.  Security (police) patrol the RV park constantly - we have always felt secure here - never an issue.  We did make it to the Umatilla's cultural museum called Tamástslikt Cultural Institute - was very impressed with it. Could not take pictures but was worth the visit.

Oregon Trail and Vintage RVs

Conestoga Wagons

Yesterday we traveled backward - going east on Interstate 84 towards Baker City (not far from Idaho border) where the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center is located.  Since we had visited the National Interpretive Trail Center in Casper, Wyoming a couple of summers ago and learned about the Mormon, the California, and the Oregon Trails and also the Pony Express where they all passed through Casper and from there broke off into different destinations - wanted to see the Oregon portion of the trails and learn what we can.

The Wow factor was not there because we were so impressed with the National center in Casper - nothing could compare to that center.  Was  impressive in it's own right, tremendous actual documentation of pictures and journal entries of those who trekked the road, very nicely done. As Dave said later - what a sad story for so many trying to get to Oregon, the hardships they faced and the deaths of so many people and livestock.  Every 80 yards was a grave.  Accidents, Indian attacks, rattlesnakes, starvation, those that turned back, those that got lost, criminal activity, and the list goes on as to how so many lost their lives on the 2,000 mile trek between Omaha and the Willamette Valley of Oregon to a better life in Oregon.  There are only chancy estimates of how many took this trail from 1812 to the1870's - anywhere from 200,000 to 600,000!

On the way back from Baker City, crossed through the Blue Mountains - pretty, reminded us of the Smoky Mountains back east.  Stopped at the Emigrant Springs State Park where there were markers and interpretive signs regarding the Oregon Trail.  Pretty little park. Ironic that I am reading a book about the Astor Fur Company and talks about the mountain men passing through this area.   We learned at this park of an Ezra Meeker who as a young adult traveled the Oregon trail in 1852 seeking a better life, and then between 1906 and 1908 he traveled the trail again to dedicate it and set markers along it to commemorate the route.  He retraced the route again in 1910, the again in 1916. He was instrumental in getting Congress and the President to dedicate this Historic Trail in 1923. He rode the trail again in a biplane in 1925 and was planning another trek in 1928 when he passed away (at age 97).  Now that's a wow!

Vintage RVs

At our campground last evening we got a really big kick out of some vintage RVs that came in - 9 of them - and I had to be nosy and went over and chatted with one woman.  Sisters On The Fly is a name of an organization that is for women only, rules are no husbands, no pets, no kids, and to be nice - to camp and have camaraderie with other women.  Can bend the rules and not have a vintage RV, but those were so cute - if I ever did this, I would have a vintage RV like these sisters.  How adorable - each were named and there was a theme with each - for example: one was the "disorientated express" and was in railroad motif.  Another was called Gypsy Rose and had roses as it's theme.  Another was Eggroll and looked like an eggroll and decorated as such.

Wildhorse Casino and RV Park, Pendleton Oregon

Made the trip to Pendleton today, a quick 3 hours - 124 miles later, we are set up at the casino RV park on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Geographically, we are just east of Pendleton, and about 20 miles south from the border of Washington.  This is the third casino we have camped at on this trip - two on Indian Reservations.  We purposefully don't seek them out - they just happen to come with high ratings on park reviews and they are central to where and what we want to do in the area.

I have to tell you about our last day in Clarkston - what a treat!  It seems that everyone and everything were giving us a grand goodbye - so many things happened that are now ingrained in our mind and memory forever.  We had pontoon airplane buzz by, lots and lots of fishing people doing their thing, weird people in even weirder RVs coming in to set up.  Paddle boat passing by, ospreys flying overhead, motorcycles buzzing by, lots of kids riding around on bikes too big for them and no helmets on - and zooming around and we were afraid they were going to get hit, we did not know where to look, so many things at one time.

Then the real fun started about noon when a bunch of pick up trucks with cowboys/cowgirls clamoring/falling out of the trucks, talking loudly, they were BIG people too, with coolers and crock pots of food.  Many of the party (females) were dressed in all shades of pink - the predominant shade of HOT PINK and on very large women - did not go well.  Our site was just past the office, right near the meeting room and indoor pool/laundry and of course they all parked their vehicles right around us.  We were witnessing a red-neck wedding!!! And wow, did we get an eyeful!  We saw some of the guests change clothes right there in front of us in the parking lot, the bridal party slurping down Jack Daniels from flasks - and passing the flasks around so all could get a tote. Women deep kissing men - was not sure who was with who - guess it didn't matter!  It was quite a warm day and then witnessed some of the women actually fanning themselves by picking up their dress skirt and swishing them up and down - saw some amazing things! Good thing they had panties on!  Was not a pretty site.

They were well behaved, but wow!  Could not tell who was the groom until I had to crash the reception - I was doing laundry and the only way to get to the laundry room was through their reception area and then had to wait until the bridal dances were done to escape out of there. Obviously did figure out who was bridge/groom but WOW, amazing to see.  I don't think I want to see hot pink anything for a very long time.

About 6pm more fun with more RVers coming in to park - had some real weirdos beside us.  Glad we left this morning.

Saying Goodbye to Clarkston

Today is the last day in Clarkston, Washington - will be heading to Pendleton, Oregon tomorrow.  Some thoughts about this area.....

Sunset over Snake River

Clarkston/Lewiston is a relatively large city for western US (more than 7,000 people in Clarkston and 32,000 in Lewiston, Idaho) but has a small town feel to it. We wonder if it is a nightmare for taxes for people who live in Clarkston and travel to Lewiston to work and vice versa - crossing state borders.  If there is an area of wealth, it must be in the town of Asotin which is south of Clarkston, don't see it here.  But.  People are out doing things, kids riding bikes, boaters, bicyclists, kayakers, a lot of small mom-pop businesses, an international airport (services to Canada), a feel-good town.  Winters are very cold but little snow (goes to 30 below).  They get the winter wind blasts from the upper prairie of Canada.  We spent most of our down time in Clarkston and traveled over the Snake River to Lewiston for shopping. They have most of the regular stores that you see in a large city, and of course all the tourist stuff.  I could live here - was very comfortable.  Except....

Riverboat

With a large wood processing plant - Clearwater Paper - the smell at times is awful.  Thankfully we are on the western side of the mill and only when the wind shifts does it smell.  When the wind shifts at night from the east, thankfully it is chilly enough at night that we keep the windows closed and keeps the smell out.

Have loved being here at the marina, fun times watching the action......fishing boats, barge and tugboats going by, a riverboat, hearing the sounds of the boats (shrouds hitting the masts of sailboats), and of course watching the RVs come in and out.

Learned a lot here - more about Lewis and Clark and putting places read to actually being there. Saw some beautiful sunsets, and visited a very scenic area - Joseph, Oregon.  Fond memories of the area.