Dungeness Spit 7/18/11

Down from snowy Hurricane Ridge to sandy Dungeness Spit. We hiked down to the spit like we had done over 15 years ago. It was a "breathless" experience and a pretty one too.

Hurricane Ridge 7/18/11

Hurricane ridge is one of our favorite places to hike. It didn't happen this year because summer decided to make a late entrance. The trails were closed and still covered with snow. Wild life mingled with people near the parking lot, however someone couldn't see the "forest(deer) for the trees".

Canoe Journey 7/17/11

We rounded Olympic National Park and headed for the Port Angeles area. It was pure luck that we drove into town one afternoon in time to see canoes from several coastal tribes arrive on one leg of the Canoe Journey 2011.

In the last 20 years, the Coast Salish peoples have engaged in a cultural rejuvenation, culminating in the Annual Tribal Canoe Journey. Each summer, Tribal Canoes travel from their home territories to a common destination within the Coast Salish territory. The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community will host the end of journey events in 2011. (www.swinomish.org)

One canoe from the Lower Elwa tribe is crewed by "The Pink Paddles" for breast cancer awareness.

Interesting website:http://paddletoswinomish.com/history/

Time to See the Sea 7/9/11-7/14/11

Seal Rock State Park

The next part of the adventure took us "out to the sea". We crossed Oregon, through Bend to Newport on the coast. We camped at South Beach State Park and went agate hunting at Seal Rock.

Next, we continued up the coast to Long Beach and then to Kalaloch. The weather verified that we were definitely in a rain forest. The campground looked like a tarp city with mostly tent campers trying to stay dry. On the third day, we heard cheering throughout the park. The occasion? The sun came out! True, it was out for only a few minutes, but revered none the less. Shortly thereafter, I walked down to the beach and was shocked to find it crowded with people and pets. It looked more like Myrtle Beach during spring break. There were beachcombers, frisbee catching dogs, guys playing football, children exploring tide pools and people playing in the surf. Go figure!

Fly Me to the Moon

7/5-7/8/11

We left Lake City for our next destination, Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. It took a couple of long, hot days of driving with brief overnights before we arrived in Arco, Idaho.

Arco: America's first nuclear powered city and site of the first nuclear power plant. Yippee! Chris toured the now idle plant, but with warning signs of possible radiation and asbestos exposure, I opted out. Duh. I'm probably still glowing from all of the breast cancer scans last year. The monument covers a vast area of volcanic aftermath. Quite impressive. Much like areas of Mt. St. Helen's.

Arco also has an interesting feature. Every highschool class since 1920 has painted their year of graduation on the hills above town. Can you find yours?

It's About Time

...and all about time.

Where does the time go? It does go quickly and the last month on the road has really flown by.

I will try to get this caught up date:

June 30-July 5th

We spent the Fourth of July weekend in the wonderful Woodlake RV park (Lake City, Colorado). We reconnected with old friends and made many new friends. Our time was filled with activities such as a covered dish, campfire/cookout at Deer Lake and parade/fair in town on the 4th. We were fortunate enough to be visited by 2 moose on our Deer Lake cookout.

Ellie and Sally, 2 sweet new friends, hosted along with their "people" Kathryn and Cecil Childers, an evening campfire. Campfire tales included the story of the South Texas Christmas Miracle (snow: see www.texassnowbook.com) and The Mystery of the "Dropped Drawers" (don't ask).