The Magic Bus takes a ferry ride!

As we headed south from Anacortes to begin making our way down the west coast, we decided to avoid the Seattle area.  Soooo... that meant taking the magic bus on a ferry ride!  We left Oak Harbor from Coupeville and arrived at Port Townsend.  It was a fairly short ride (maybe half an hour) but quite a different experience!  Debbie felt seasick as we started rockin' & rolling in the bay. But we arrived safe & sound and without sinking the ferry. (She was worried about that). We'd originally planned to take a ferry to Victoria, BC but for various reasons, that didn't work out.  We hope to hit it next time around.

                     The ferry we took to Port Townsend pulling into the dock.

Here we are at the Artic RV Park near Cosmopolis & Aberdeen, WA. Once again we felt as if we were in the wilderness surrounded by deep woods. Great park! The owners were terrific and had planted a garden full of vegetables, berries and flowers and they encouraged guests to harvest whatever they wished. Between the garden and the generosity of a new good friend (a farmer named Ray) we greatly enjoyed fresh Washington blueberries, blackberries, sweet corn and carrots.

We took a nature trail hike that ran along a creek and deep into the woods.  We saw some amazing vegetation. There was this Sitka Spruce that was over 10' in diameter, tons of ferns & moss. Roy, the owner had done an incredible job placing stepping stones and clearing a path through about a mile and a half stretch through the thick woods. There were a few too many spider webs and sharp sticks to avoid but otherwise a cool experience!

It's a jungle out there! I'm standing in a giant plant.

Harley loved the nature trail & the RV park. We never had to put him on a leash!!     

On Thursday we drove to Westport for lunch & ate at Bennett's Fish Shack, a little dive voted best fish & chips in town, made with really fresh cod. This is a picture from the observation tower looking back at the marina. They were selling fresh Albacore, Shrimp & Salmon right off the boats. If I'd had a way of getting some tuna back to the bus, I would have bought some. I'll try to get some in Astoria before we leave for Lincoln City. Fresh Tuna Steaks, Yum!!

Yesterday we continued southbound and arrived in Astoria, just across the northern Oregon border. We're staying at the Lewis & Clark Golf RV Resort (Sept 1 - 5).  Legend has it that Astoria is the oldest town settled on the West Coast. We'll be here until after the Labor Day holiday and then look forward to meeting up with Jeanne & Chris (in-laws) for a week's stay at Lincoln City, OR -- right on the coast.  Should be fun!

 

The view as we arrived in Astoria, Oregon.  

Anacortes, WA

We've been at Pioneer Trails RV Resort in Anacortes, Washington for the last week.  The best thing about this park is the awesome grassy off-leash dog park that's here in a secluded clearing in the deep forest. Totally surrounded by tall tall pines, ferns, shrubs, blackberry bushes and trees of all kinds. The woods are so dense, it just feels like Sasquatch could come walking out of there any second! Harley LOVES it and never tires of fetching the frisbee there and occasionally sniffin' butts of other dogs (although we usually have it all to ourselves). He makes a beeline for the entrance whenever we're near it.

But we are about ready to pick up and head south on Friday, the 24th to begin making our way toward the Oregon coast.

Those of you who know me best are familiar with my special homemade green chili and breakfast burritos that I affectionately refer to as "Esteban's" (Spanish for Steve's). So Debbie and I just had to stop and eat at my namesake restaurant here in Anacortes.  It was mui bien!  

Our next stop will be at Cosmopolis, WA south of Aberdeen. We plan to spend a couple weeks there if the RV Park is nice and if (big if) we can get satellite TV reception.

Until then - be happy.  Life is good!

Pacific Northwest

Catching up... we've been in Washington state now for a couple weeks.  Driving cross-country, we've mostly avoided the interstates and bigger cities... finding bliss on the smaller two-lane highways.  What a great way to see the country.  The roads have been great and very scenic. After a short visit in Bellingham (just south of the Canadian border on the Puget Sound) we've spent the last week in a terrific RV Resort at Fidalgo Bay in Anacortes, WA (north of Seattle). What a great place! The only down side was that early in the mornings when the tide was out, man was it stinky! But other than that... very nice. I did manage to play a round of golf at the Similk Beach G.C. which was just 6 min's from the RV. Nice course, but the heavy air & elevation messed with my game. I couldn't get the ball to the green, under clubbing almost of my approach shots. The weather has been great here, high's in the low 80's & low's in the mid 50's. It's wonderful to sleep with the windows open for a change.

Riding bikes at sunset

"I can see Russia from here!"

Working on my girlish figure, the rolls show how much

it's needed!!

The water was like glass this day. These are the cabins at the resort.

Wow - spotted a bald eagle

Bye!

A view of the Puget Sound off Chuckanut Dr just south of Bellingham

We finally made it back to the cemetery near this little white church on the hill where Dad's parents are buried. It's a beautiful spot north of Mt Vernon (where Dad lived for a number of years) and very close to the spot where he grew up.  I spread Mom & Dad's ashes on his parent's graves.  

My Dad's parent's graves 

Before we got to Anacortes, we visited my niece (Monica) and her family in Royal City in eastern Washington & man was it hot, 103 the first day & 108 the next. We stayed at the RV park which just happened to be at the golf course & of course I had to play a round. Debbie gave Monica her motorcycle leathers since we no longer have the Harley and they are thinking of buying one soon.  Looking hot, Monica! I gave my leathers to Monica's husband Trevis.

After we left Montana, we crossed northern Idaho staying a few days in a great RV park in Hayden, just north Coeur d'Alene.  Our space was very large and was a great place to get the pets outdoors for a little exercise.  

  

Little Willie is growing!  Here he is giving Jimi "what for".  Love those cats!

Giddy-up!

Glacier National Park - MT

Dropped anchor in Hungry Horse, Montana at the Canyon RV Campground & Cabins. Joined up with Joe & Carolyn Segler, our friends from Sioux Falls. The site we had was really narrow, my extended awning was only 2' from our neighbors rig. The location was in a very pretty area, which made up for some of the discomfort, but I wasn't able to enjoy sitting outside the bus. Tuesday Debbie, Harley & I drove into the beautiful Glacier National Park, it was spectacular! The road we took up to the summit was called "Going to the Sun" and it felt like it! What beautiful, lush green mountains. The lakes and rivers were a startling blue-green color. We were really struck by the waterfalls and wildflowers. And best of all... we have escaped the heat and have enjoyed temps in the 80's. Ahhhh - relief.

On Wednesday we took Joe & Carolyn's Paddle Ski out on Lake McDonald which was formed by the glacier 10,000 years ago. It's 475' deep. 

Here's Carolyn & Debbie (avoiding the deep, hugging the edges)

This is Joe.  (Where's MY picture?... need to fire the photographer).

On Thursday Joe & I went fly fishing. This is the only fish either one of us landed that there is a picture of anyway. Joe said he caught a couple more but no pic's. I on the other hand, didn't catch a damn thing except some bushes on the shore. I did have a couple of strikes, but couldn't keep them hooked. I still had a good time though. Beautiful place to fish. I should have taken some pic's of the rivers we fished.

Anaconda, MT

We really enjoyed the small town of Anaconda, MT.  The RV park was nestled at the foot of a mountain and right on Warm Springs Creek. Back home, we'd had our bicycles in the garage (collecting dust) for the last 25 years so we finally took them in for new tires and a little oil. We found Sven's Bicycle shop downtown and it felt like we were visiting Mayberry! What a treat. The trails followed along the creek which was a wonderful place for biking and walking Harley. On Friday I was able to play a round of golf at the Old Works Golf Course, a Jack Nicklaus design, built using federal EPA Superfund money. It was built on the original site of the Anaconda copper smelter and they used left over slag that had been tumbled to remove the sharp edges in the sand traps. Really beautiful and tough course. Saturday I went fly fishing on the South Fork of the Clark River with one of my camping neighbors, I didn't catch anything but a good time, but Bill did. I spent most of my time tying & losing fly's in the brush along the bank. Bill gave me two pan sized Brown Trout he caught though. I have them in my freezer waiting for a good time to fry them up. I'll be eating them lane though, Debbie doesn't care for trout. We weighed anchor Monday, heading to Hungry Horse, MT.

    

Big Sky RV Park - Anaconda, MT

Freedom at last and on the road again. The bus is finally fixed (fortunately all was under warranty) and we've headed west on I-90 from Billings to Butte. The drive was so very pretty! Just past Bozeman is especially scenic with beautiful grassy meadows, peaceful mountain valleys and clear blue skies. We're staying for a few days in the small town of Anaconda (near Butte). There is much to do here -- fishing, golf, a tour bus ride we plan to take and just exploring the town on bicycles. The RV park has a great little stream across the road from us and behind us is this steep rocky hill (looks more impressive in real life than in the photo). Loving life.