August 31...Our 14th Wedding Anniversary...En Route to Mt. Rainier NP

(Kim's Perspective)
Today was our 14th wedding anniversary. Congratulate us - 14 years of putting up with each other deserves some kudos I think. ;)

It was raining when we woke up. It's very dark here under this thick canopy of trees. Dark and wet. Dark and wet and cold. SOOO... we decided to leave and head for better weather and another park.

We packed up and left around 10 am. By 10:15, we were already pulled over for our first stop. Normally, stopping after 15 minutes in the car would be unacceptable. It is hard for me to break free of being the Mileage Nazi when we have miles to cover and a destination in mind. When it's time to drive, it's time to drive. This time, I was happy to stop after 15 minutes on the road. Let me explain.

On our travels back and forth, we had noticed an organic fruit stand but hadn’t stopped. Between the fog and navigating unfamiliar roads, we hadn't noticed that it was....gasp....a CASCADIAN FARM fruit stand. No WAY! I buy all their stuff. Then, it hit us...Ohhh…CASCADian Farm…now I get it. If you don't get it, just give it some time to sink in... :)


I got an organic mocha and Bill got an organic hot chocolate. We also bought a half flat of organic, fresh picked blueberries. Wow were they good. I walked around the farm awhile looking at the biggest, prettiest and fullest blueberry bushes I've ever seen and snapped off a few pics to commemorate the event. Hey...it might be weird, but I'm part of the organic revolution remember? At least I have a t-shirt that says so.

We ate blueberries, drove, ate more blueberries, and drove some more. We drove through Seattle on the 405 in the rain and fog. How fun. Funny thing about the fog - you can't really see much.





The road leading toward Rainier was cool and would have been perfect had we been on the bikes in dry, sunny weather. Unfortunately, we were in the truck pulling a 31 foot, seven thousand pound trailer in the rain and fog. Not nearly as much fun I gotta tell ya'.


Along the way, we stopped at a pulloff to check the view. I don't remember the view - I was too entertained by this tag...


Remember Fuzzy Wuzzy, Sis? Wonder what he's up to these days? :)

We finally found a campsite at the Rocky Point Rec Area around 6 pm. Electric and Water site. Wooohooo. Thank you, Tacoma Power.

Since it was still early, we unhitched and drove towards the park.


We wanted to check out the NP's campgrounds despite their warnings that the campgrounds could not accommodate RVs over 27 foot. We have found that these warnings or restrictions don't generally apply to us. It's kind of like the recommended safe speed for a turn. Those warnings are generally for unskilled drivers. Bill is not an unskilled driver. In fact, he's gotten incredibly adept at maneuvering this beast through some pretty hairy places. We assumed the NP's warnings were meant for the bad drivers. We were wrong. Humpf.

The light was fading quickly and we wanted to make dinner before the local restaurants rolled up the carpets on a sleepy Tuesday night. In order to save ourselves some time and potential aggravation, we had dinner at the National Park Inn. Like all restaurants at the NPs we’ve been to, the meals are slightly mediocre and the price is on the high side. No matter. It was our anniversary dinner so we weren't going to be scrooges about it. Some occasions are exempt from the budgetary mandates. :) Seafood linguine for Bill, pot roast, wild rice and broccoli for me. Not extravagant mind you, but again, it's a NP restaurant. Extravagant is not usually on the menu, just slightly extravagant pricing. :)

The Boys, who had been sleeping in the truck while we were at dinner, were very interested in my pot roast leftovers. They got a piece. They wanted more. They learned that you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need. And they only needed one piece. :)

We headed back to the trailer in the dark and, you guessed it, in the rain. I suppose we can't have perfect weather for the ENTIRE trip. No complaints though. Hard to complain when you've spent your summer flitting about the country and now you're spending your wedding anniversary camping in your travel trailer at the base of one of the coolest mountains in the world. :)

August 30...North Cascades National Park (Day 2)

(Kim's Perspective)
This morning we got up and checked out the forested area surrounding our campsite. We played with the Boys awhile...

Apparently, Merlin can move at the speed of light! HA HA HA HA


...and made them pose for some pictures. Awww...aren't they handsome…?!!!


We went to the Visitor Center and chatted with Aimee, the oh so friendly park ranger (seriously, she was really nice, I’m not being sarcastic). We listened to her Ranger Talk and then asked her a few things about the park. We specifically asked her about her favorite areas and she told us about the views of the glaciers at the end of a 12 mile dirt road in the central part of the park. We thanked her for the info., headed back to the trailer, had lunch, then took a drive along Cascade River Road (her suggested route).

Much to our surprise, we actually spotted Sasquatch along the way.


He smiled and waved - at least, I think it was a smile – it may have just been gas. Either way, he looked a little rough. In hindsight, I should have offered him a tissue.

Anyway, we stopped by two of the NF campgrounds along Cascade River Road and were shocked at how densely packed the forests are.




The ride along Cascade River Road was beautiful. The road was narrow, twisty, and had some great views.



Two of my Boys... ;)



The wildflowers were STILL in bloom.




The end of Cascade River Road terminates in a parking area and trailhead. Not up to a vigorous hike (and not properly geared anyway), we had to be content with the available views from the parking lot. Parking lot views or not, it was still a beautiful site.












The fog rolled and danced along the tops of the mountains and transformed the view of the glaciers minute by minute.









While we were watching the changes unfold in front of us, we heard the loud rumble of a section of glacier cracking away from the mountain top and crashing to the ground. Uh...that was cool.

A small group of backpackers arrived from their overnight hike to one of the glaciers and we briefly chatted with them a bit. They all looked pretty beat and happy to get to their warm cars.

After a few more minutes of watching the fog roll by, we headed back to Marblemount and then west along route 20 to check out some other campgrounds in the area.

At a pulloff, we stopped to watch the elk lying in the open field.


Merlin and Twister were intrigued...


We got back “home” around 8pm, ate dinner, copied pics to the computer and then headed to bed.

Not an uber adventurous day, but I don’t suspect that the next few weeks will be very exciting from an activity level standpoint. Still, we’re on an amazing trip across the country, so even if a busted up rib keeps me from being active, just driving around and seeing what this side of the country has to offer is still pretty entertaining. Nothing on the east coast can compare to the incredible mountain vistas, the glimpses of glaciers or the miles and miles of pristine lakes that abound out here.

We love Western North Carolina and Maine's coast and New Hampshire’s White Mountains are beautiful as well, but everything out here is just on a much larger scale with so many unique features that you just can’t get back home. I feel really fortunate to have this opportunity and am so glad to be out here. Regardless of my now restricted activity level, I really want to make the most of our time out here and enjoy as much as we can. Life is short after all. We might not get a chance to do this again.

August 29...North Cascades National Park

(Kim's Perspective)
We were happy to leave the screaming wretched "Kettle Falls" children (like Children of the Corn only scarier) who began yelling again at first light. We quickly (as possible given Bill continues to have to do most of the work) hitched up the trailer and took off. En route, I mapped out a route for us and we headed to North Cascades NP.

The scenery en route was nice and then we came upon the road leading into the Park. Wow. I say that a lot. Wow. What does that mean exactly? All I can tell you is that it's incredible. There you are driving along, and then all of a sudden, BAM! - jagged, snow crusted mountains pop up right in front of you like you teleported, or demolecularized as it were, to another region in an instant.











The road was a motorcyclists dream. Provided you were actually skilled enough to ride it. These particular monkeys were not. In fact, at least two of them owe Bill for saving their lives.



No, you shouldn't pull out to pass on a blind curve with oncoming traffic and expect that your pathetically low in horsepower potato motor is going to get you safely around in time. Idiots. Here's an idea - get some skills and get a real motorcycle - you know, one that can actually get out of its own way. If you're going to ride stupid, at least do us all a favor and potato, potato, potato off a cliff (I'm going to live FOOORREEEVVVVERRRR!!!!) when no one is around instead of, in your lame and pathetic attempt to gain attention, involving 5 other cars in the witness of your demise. Guess what...you really CAN'T ride faster than a Hemi can pull a travel trailer. How sad. BTW - Most of you won't get the Forever reference, but all you motorcyclists/STNers should be snerking right about now. :P

Deep breathe...ow...

We pulled over at Diablo Lake for an incredible view of the mountains and the dam. The water has this incredibly blue-green hue from the "glacial flour" running down the mountains. That's just the NPS' warm fuzzy description of rocks that have been ground to a fine powder and carried down the mountain streams and into the lakes. The powder is suspended in the water and when the light reflects off of it, it causes us to see it as a bluish green color. That's my layman's explanation, I'm sure a PhD Rocket Scientist (Dr. Bob) could more eloquently and accurately explain it. :P






After much ogling and picture taking, we left and headed to Newhalem campground to secure a site. We found a great, secluded, neighbor-less, screaming kid-free site and proceeded to set up camp.

We had dinner and just chilled at the campsite for the rest of the night. It was a great site for playing stick. :)

August 28...Kettle Falls (Day 2)

(Kim's Perspective)
We took multiple scenic drives today. I think I’ll entitle the next few days “On the road for recovery”. The scenery was quite nice...








We made the mistake of stopping at Fort Spokane and spent a long time reading about the atrocities that were committed there.



What they did to the Native Americans and how they kidnapped their children and forced them to work in what could realistically be called a concentration camp is appalling. They had the audacity to call it a "Boarding School". The school's prime directive was, and I quote, "Kill the Indian, save the man." "Boarding schools carried out a federal policy of coerced assimilation of Native American children." What that actually means is that they brutalized the children and forced them to become "white". They were beaten and put into solitary confinement if they were caught speaking their own language. If the children escaped, as many tried, they were hunted down like animals and dragged back only to face imprisonment and more brutal beatings. Many of them died. What our government did to the Native Americans is no different than what the Nazi's did to the Jews during the Holocaust. Genocide is genocide no matter what you call it. We were disgusted when we left.

Even now as I write about it, it makes me sick. My sister no doubt remembers my total fascination with Native American Indians during my teen years. Most teenage girls are interested in reading the latest fashion magazines - I was more interested in reading about Native American Indian heritage. Mom provided me with countless books on Native American culture and I happily decorated my room with pictures of great Indian Chiefs, a deer skin on the wall (courtesy of the buck my father bagged when I was a small child) and a large dream catcher. No, I never believed in their "religions" or the myths they believed in (such as the dream catcher), but their abilities and respect for nature and all that it encompasses gained my respect. I'm still fascinated by their culture and way of life (pre white man screwing it up), but having never read anything resulting in a positive outcome for their people, it's too depressing of an interest to much pursue.

Anyway, part of our travels took us via the scenic route and ferry to the Coulee Dam.

















Just a reminder...Romans 10:9-13


The Coulee dam is an amazing marvel of engineering brilliance...







...but a disgusting example of our government's indifference and complete disdain for the Native American cultures whose land was stolen from them and their way of life completely decimated. A small, out of the way display covers what was done to the Spokane and other local Indian tribes to create the dam, but it's generally glossed over by the myriad of displays and educational material about how great a feat the dam was and how it helped create jobs and provided irrigation systems for the surrounding lands.

The story on the 10,000 people (Natives and Whites alike) that were literally flooded out of their homes and farmlands didn't get a lot of display room. The entries in the guest book were things like "amazing", "fascinating", "impressive". I left the comment "Sad what the building of this dam did to the Native American cultures". Much like when we left Fort Spokane, we left Coulee Dam feeling less than proud to be Americans.

We shook off our depressing funk and decided to pick up a few groceries as well as some pre-made deli sandwiches at a local market. We headed back to the campsite and arrived sometime after dark. That was fine because the campground was crawling with screaming children at every turn. Is it REALLY necessary to be screaming in the campground at 9:55pm? Yeah, I know quiet hours don't start till 10, but is it necessary to scream AT ALL? Shut your cake holes and quiet down you ill behaved little twerps. Are your parents deaf or do they just not care??!?! I'm getting to the point that I think the parents are the ones that need a beat-down. I'm certain I should have grown up in another era.