Sunday, October 4, 2015

MT, ID, BC, WA, and OR August & September 2015


Cow Moose
After we left Fernie, we headed toward Missoula, MT to pick up prescriptions.  On the way we did a bike trip on the Route of the Hiawatha, one of the best rail/trails in the country (all downhill with return by shuttle bus). We visited Savenac Nursery, where we previously volunteered, and caught up with Robert, whom we worked with there.  Missoula was very smoky from all the forest fires in WA and ID. We headed south-west into Idaho and followed the Lewis and Clark Trail. We wanted to circle back north, but the roads were closed as some towns had extreme fire activity. We headed back into Missoula, and had numerous tires problems (including 3 more flats). We toured the Smoke Jumpers Training Center, and killed some time at Holland Lake NF, while waiting on wheel accessories (lost during last double blow-out). The parts didn’t arrive so we left town and headed back to Fernie.


Demolition Derby

View from Steptoe Butte
 At Fernie, thanks to many rainy days, we got out of the smoke cloud we had endured for the last 3 weeks. We almost ran into a cow moose and calf on one of the trails. We slogged through the mud to see Fernie’s Demolition Derby. After two weeks in Fernie, we headed into Washington. We made stops at Steptoe Butte SP and Palouse Falls SP before arriving at Tom and Cornelia’s home.


Wildflowers
Palouse Falls
Lighthouse at Ft. Casey
 The four of us did some touring around Tacoma’s Point Defiance Park, before we took a RV trip to the San Juan Islands. First we went to Whidbey Island and Fort Casey SP. We toured the gun placements, the lighthouse and watched the sea lions.  At Deception Pass SP we hiked the trails and walked across the bridge. Below the bridge, dozens of fishing boats jockeyed for position as the salmon rushed by.

10 inch Disappearing Gun



Dahlia
San Juan Inland Ferry
 We camped in Anacortes and took the ferry to a different San Juan Island each day. Tom and Cornelia drove their car and we visited various attractions and parks on San Juan and Lopez Islands. San Juan is infamous for the Pig War. On Orcas Island, we did a hiked around Mountain Lake and got a view of all the islands from the lookout on Mt Constitution. We really enjoyed the brief time we spent in the islands and we plan to return and overnight on the islands next time. From here, Tom and Cornelia returned home and we went to the Olympic Peninsula. Here we had another flat tire (bad valve stem). We did manage to get our exhaust pipe replaced after it was damaged by the first tire failure in WY. We spent a day touring Ft Vancouver and then drove out to Ft Clatsop near Astoria, OR. Would you believe we had another flat tire here, and put two new tires on the front? (For those who lost track, we had 7 flats on Michelin tires and bought 6 new tires in 4 months).
Cornelia, Tom, Pat and Don
Sculpture Gardens, San Juan Island


View of San Juan Islands

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