June 22 - Mount Ranier

We drove up to Mount Ranier again. It wasn’t raining but it was still foggy. 

Stopped at the museum and the transportation exhibit. The pictures of the horses and wagons driving up that mountain were amazing to me. Hard to believe they did that. It must have taken hours and hours because it took us at least 45 minutes on a paved road. President Taft was the first president to drive up the mountain in a 1906 car but he had to be pulled by mules part of the way. 

Andrea and Shuff tried hiking but there is still lots of snow on the trails so didn’t get very far. 

Lenny and Banjo and I walked around the parking lot. They sniffed a lot and liked walking on the snow. 

A few wildflowers were beginning to bloom

On the way down the mountain, we stopped at Narada Falls. Water was gushing. 

Here’s a glimpse of Mount Ranier when the clouds moved through a little bit. You can just barely see it (need to know where to look). 

For dinner we stopped in the little town of Elbe, near where we were camped. There are railroad cars that are dining cars. Good food. 

Came back to the RV and had ice cream, played Skyjo and Sequence and had wine. 

Another full day. Tomorrow we are getting up early to drive one more time to hopefully see Mount Ranier. Then we’ll be on our way to Seattle. Andrea’s last full day with us. 

June 20 - Cape Flatterly

Fifty-eight miles … but 2-1/2 hr drive to Cape Flatterly, western most point in the lower 48. Gorgeous views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Emerald green waters with rocky coast. 

Stopped in Neah Bay for fry bread and peach cobbler with a view. 



Andrea looking for whales. 

Back at the TV for Salmon chowder and another rousing game of Sky Jo … which I won for the first time!

Our Mountain View from the winery had fog on it. 

Tomorrow we will be in Ashford near Mount Ranier. 

June 15 - Tillamook, Oregon

Route 101 up along the coast has a lot of elevation and is windy with beautiful views of the Pacific and cute little towns. 

We had a FaceTime call with Arlo and Shannon. Their camping trip to Scots Flat was successful and a lot of fun. A pic of the little man. He looks so grown up in this photo. 

Finally made it to Tillamook. Stayed at the Blue Heron Cheese Factory. Then drove to the Tillamook factory. Took the self-guided tour to learn about the cheese making process. Shopped in the store a then ice cream … what we really came for!  Andrea and Shuff had a flight, 3 different kinds and I had a cone. A flight of ice cream, what a novel idea!  

Drove to cape Meares lighthouse. Perfect timing with the sun on the lighthouse. 

Cormorants were sunning themselves on the rocks. 

Hiked to the Octopus Tree. 

Look at the size of the base. It measures 14 feet at the base. It’s 105 feet height and approximately 250 years old. 

March 17 - Route 60 from Socorro NM to Globe AZ

Route 60 is a mix of beautiful landscapes, plains, mountains, canyons and Apache Reservation. 

We passed the Radio and Astronomy Observatory. 

Staying 2 nights in Globe so we can do some exploring and hiking. 

June 2 - More Curvy roads to our next Harvest Host

While still at Brashley Winery, we took a short walk around their property. Saw these beautiful blooming bushes … a California Buckeye. 

They grow large here. 


The winery has several games, corn hike and disc golf. We decided to play a couple games of cornhole. Not going to mention who won but it wasn’t the writer of this blog. 

It was time to move on to our next Harvest Host, Chacewater Winery and Olive Mill.  More twisty and windy roads with wineries on either side of the road. 

We tasted at least eight wines and eight olive oils. We liked several of both so decided to join their wine club and buy several bottles of wine and oil. Our shipment from the wine club will come in September. 

Olive trees

Our evening stroll was among the olive trees. 

As we drove south and east away from the coast, our view is of olive trees and mountains. Notice the cloudy skies. First ones we’ve seen for weeks. 

May 31 - Curves Ahead - Route 1 - Westport-Union State Park

We left the Big Lagoon campground and continued south to take Route 1. We’ve heard about this route but this will be our first time on it  

No one can prepare you for this road unless they took a video. Bill’s brother, Lew, said oh you can make that. It’s easy. I think he’s trying to get back at Bill for something in their childhood 😜

There were twists and turns every 200 yards and some you turns were u-turns. Top speed was 30 MPH. This is a picture of our GPS with some of the turns. 

Most of the way was through forests of pine and redwoods. We knew the ocean was on our right side but there was a mountain of trees there. 

Then just when you wonder if we’ll see the ocean, it opens up to this

We are camped at the top of the cliff overlooking the ocean at Westport-Union State Park. CRAZY! Something I’ve always wanted to do. 

We had a fire and s’mores with the couple camping next door. They are from Redding and come here when the temperature rises to 100 degrees!!!  Perfect place to come. 

Sunset over the ocean wasn’t as spectacular as I had hoped because the sun dropped in the fog.