Here are the totals for our trip.
Miles Driven: 3,079
Days: 24 (12/22/09-1/14/10)
People: 2
Dogs: 2
States: 4-ish CA, OR, WA, ID (we saw bald eagles in Idaho)
Gas Fill-ups: 15 (the truck is a beast)
Cheapest Gas: $2.06/gallon in Spokane, WA
Most Expensive Gas: $3.13/gallon in Mount Shasta, CA
Best Mileage: 10.7 miles/gallon
Worst Mileage: 6.7 miles/gallon
Propane Fill-ups: 3 (we have 5 gallon BBQ-style tanks)
Flat Tires: 1
Tickets: 1 (a parking ticket that was quickly reversed - yay!)
Times Magnus Rolled in Deer Poop: at least 3 (he loves the stuff)
Polar Bear Swims: 2 (Wiley in Seaside, OR - brrr)
Phones Washed: 1 (Wiley's went in the washing machine, but is working)
Times We Wore the Same Outfit: 5 (we only brought 5 days worth of clothes)
Dollars Saved by Never Paying for a Campsite: A LOT
Lowest A.M. Temp: 9 degrees (Lake Shastina, CA and the sun was already out)
Times We Ate Fast Food: 0 (a new record for Tina)
Books Read in One Week: 6 (what a relaxing trip)
Dead Batteries: 1 (less than 8 miles from home)
Times the Keys Were Locked in the Truck: 1 (also less than 8 miles from home)
Friday, January 15, 2010
H-O-M-E
Our trip ended yesterday, 1/14/10.
We stayed at a friend's house in Sacramento on our last night and drove home in the morning. It was I-5 all the way with little excitement until we reached Fresno. A closed freeway with long detour, dead battery, replaced battery, keys locked in the truck, and 2.5 hours later than expected, we finally arrived at our house. What an ending to a great trip :)
Thanks for following our trip online! We hope you enjoyed it and will let you know when our next adventure begins.
We stayed at a friend's house in Sacramento on our last night and drove home in the morning. It was I-5 all the way with little excitement until we reached Fresno. A closed freeway with long detour, dead battery, replaced battery, keys locked in the truck, and 2.5 hours later than expected, we finally arrived at our house. What an ending to a great trip :)
Thanks for following our trip online! We hope you enjoyed it and will let you know when our next adventure begins.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Sea to Shasta
Headed south last night, we passed Port Orford, the western-most point in the continental U.S. and possibly the windiest section of coastline we've ever seen.
We stayed in the camper, plugged into a friend's house in the Port of Brookings, OR. The rain dumped on us most of the night but we woke up to cloudy skies. The break on the beach was awesome, only 100 yards away. The winter waves are huge.
We got on the road and drove through the northern tip of Redwood National Forest as well as Jedidiah Smith State Park, along the Smith River.
Back on I-5 south, we passed Mt Shasta and couldn't miss an opportunity to play in the snow so we ventured up to Bunny Flat, the end of the road in the winter and start of the trail for the climb to the summit (Wiley did that a few years ago but not this time). Wiley did a little skiing and the dogs sank to their chest every time they took a step, both of which were hilarious.
We stayed in the camper, plugged into a friend's house in the Port of Brookings, OR. The rain dumped on us most of the night but we woke up to cloudy skies. The break on the beach was awesome, only 100 yards away. The winter waves are huge.
We got on the road and drove through the northern tip of Redwood National Forest as well as Jedidiah Smith State Park, along the Smith River.
Back on I-5 south, we passed Mt Shasta and couldn't miss an opportunity to play in the snow so we ventured up to Bunny Flat, the end of the road in the winter and start of the trail for the climb to the summit (Wiley did that a few years ago but not this time). Wiley did a little skiing and the dogs sank to their chest every time they took a step, both of which were hilarious.
Monday, January 11, 2010
The Beaches
We woke up to more heavy rain and headed to Seaside, OR today.
As with many of the more touristy spots on our trip, a lot of the shops were closed. We headed further south to Cannon Beach, OR, and the famous Haystack Rock.
It's pretty huge - compare the rock to the people walking in the lower right hand corner.
My mobile office for the day, overlooking the beach near Manzanita (the next town south of Cannon Beach).
The view from my "office".
We continued down the coast to the Tillamook Dairy where we watched people make cheese, a lot of cheese. This factory produces one million packages of cheese every week! We wanted to support the local economy, so we made sure to buy cheese, fudge, and ice cream.
As we write this post, we are "camped" at the Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City, OR. No Christmas trees this time, so no free electricity, darn.
As with many of the more touristy spots on our trip, a lot of the shops were closed. We headed further south to Cannon Beach, OR, and the famous Haystack Rock.
It's pretty huge - compare the rock to the people walking in the lower right hand corner.
My mobile office for the day, overlooking the beach near Manzanita (the next town south of Cannon Beach).
The view from my "office".
We continued down the coast to the Tillamook Dairy where we watched people make cheese, a lot of cheese. This factory produces one million packages of cheese every week! We wanted to support the local economy, so we made sure to buy cheese, fudge, and ice cream.
As we write this post, we are "camped" at the Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City, OR. No Christmas trees this time, so no free electricity, darn.
Portland, OR
For a quick change of scenery, we spent the day in Portland, OR. We visited the OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) where they have a VERY detailed display of human fetus development, among other things. While walking through the exhibit, we heard a bunch of kids yelling at each other - "You're an alien!" "No, you're an alien!". It was pretty entertaining. There was also an IMAX theater and a planetarium.
We met my college friend, Addy Zacher (SCU Crew), and ran the dogs at Cathedral Park. Then we had dinner with her and her boyfriend, Ross, at an amazing Thai restaurant in Portland called Thai Cottage. Great food at decent prices!
On our way back to the coast, we stayed the night at a rest stop about 30 miles east of Seaside, OR.
We met my college friend, Addy Zacher (SCU Crew), and ran the dogs at Cathedral Park. Then we had dinner with her and her boyfriend, Ross, at an amazing Thai restaurant in Portland called Thai Cottage. Great food at decent prices!
On our way back to the coast, we stayed the night at a rest stop about 30 miles east of Seaside, OR.
Hoh Rainforest
The Hoh Rainforest was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.
Dog photo shoot - I bet Cesar Milan can't get a dog to sit on another dog's nose...
Wiley spoke with an employee of Peak 6, a rental shop near Olympic National Park, and found out about a bunch of trails outside the park. We knew the park would be pretty strict about dogs and we wanted to take them with us. Since we were only a few miles away from the regular trails, we still got to see the same beautiful rainforest.
We played hide-and-seek with the dogs in these fern.
After leaving the Hoh, we stayed at a rest stop near Aberdeen, WA. The rest stop had a dump station which was great. As for Aberdeen and the surrounding towns, don't bother.
Dog photo shoot - I bet Cesar Milan can't get a dog to sit on another dog's nose...
Wiley spoke with an employee of Peak 6, a rental shop near Olympic National Park, and found out about a bunch of trails outside the park. We knew the park would be pretty strict about dogs and we wanted to take them with us. Since we were only a few miles away from the regular trails, we still got to see the same beautiful rainforest.
We played hide-and-seek with the dogs in these fern.
After leaving the Hoh, we stayed at a rest stop near Aberdeen, WA. The rest stop had a dump station which was great. As for Aberdeen and the surrounding towns, don't bother.
Port Angeles to Minnie Peterson Campground
Most of the day was spent driving with a quick stop in Port Angeles. All of the tourist attractions were closed since it was a weekday, so we didn't get to see the museum or discovery center.
We continued driving on 101 until we reached Lake Crescent. It was pouring, but we needed to run the dogs. I'm not a huge fan of rain, but as far as rainy days go, this was a pretty nice one. For all you Twilight fans, we weren't very far from Forks, WA where some of the movie was filmed.
The dogs on the dock - Magnus looks ferocious. And yes, they did go in the water.
I wouldn't normally post a picture with rain drops on the lens, but I wanted you to see how much water was coming down while we were there.
We stayed the night at the Minnie Peterson Campground, a free site just outside the Olympic National Park entrance for the Hoh Rainforest. I think we were about 7 miles from the park, but we didn't have to pay the park entrance fee or camping fee.
We woke up to absolutely gorgeous, lush rainforest. It rained most of the night, so there was water dripping off the trees and leaves.
We continued driving on 101 until we reached Lake Crescent. It was pouring, but we needed to run the dogs. I'm not a huge fan of rain, but as far as rainy days go, this was a pretty nice one. For all you Twilight fans, we weren't very far from Forks, WA where some of the movie was filmed.
The dogs on the dock - Magnus looks ferocious. And yes, they did go in the water.
I wouldn't normally post a picture with rain drops on the lens, but I wanted you to see how much water was coming down while we were there.
We stayed the night at the Minnie Peterson Campground, a free site just outside the Olympic National Park entrance for the Hoh Rainforest. I think we were about 7 miles from the park, but we didn't have to pay the park entrance fee or camping fee.
We woke up to absolutely gorgeous, lush rainforest. It rained most of the night, so there was water dripping off the trees and leaves.
Keystone to Port Townsend Ferry
We took the truck and camper on the ferry from Keystone to Port Townsend, then began driving toward Olympic National Park.
One of these kids is not like the others...
We stopped at some scenic viewpoints along the way and did a short hike at Deception Pass (WA) to watch some kayakers. Hiking in Oregon sure is different than in California.
Magnus posing for the camera.
We spent the night at 7 Cedars Casino in Sequim, WA. Thanks to the parking lot Christmas trees that were still lit up, we had free power all night.
One of these kids is not like the others...
We stopped at some scenic viewpoints along the way and did a short hike at Deception Pass (WA) to watch some kayakers. Hiking in Oregon sure is different than in California.
Magnus posing for the camera.
We spent the night at 7 Cedars Casino in Sequim, WA. Thanks to the parking lot Christmas trees that were still lit up, we had free power all night.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Trying out my video camera
I got a video camera for Christmas. Here's a quick video of where I worked on Monday at the Summit at Snoqualmie (WA). Still figuring out how to edit, so it's a bit shaky. Can't complain about the view.
Anacortes - Friday Harbor, WA
First day driving south was from Bellingham to Anacortes, WA. We parked and left the truck in Anacortes, took the dogs, and boarded the ferry to Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, WA. This is the view of Mt. Baker from the ferry dock:
The ferry people gave us the front row seat. The dogs are welcome, but they can't be upstairs in the passenger area.
In Friday Harbor, we already had problems:
We spent plenty of time walking around the town, sampling the food, more walking, more food... Finally we boarded the ferry back to Anacortes in the late afternoon.
The sun set quickly. The view from the ferry was awesome.
Back in Anacortes, we found a spot next to the water and woke up to great views of the islands as well as the town:
The ferry people gave us the front row seat. The dogs are welcome, but they can't be upstairs in the passenger area.
In Friday Harbor, we already had problems:
We spent plenty of time walking around the town, sampling the food, more walking, more food... Finally we boarded the ferry back to Anacortes in the late afternoon.
The sun set quickly. The view from the ferry was awesome.
Back in Anacortes, we found a spot next to the water and woke up to great views of the islands as well as the town:
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Bellingham, WA
We visited family in Bellingham, WA. The Fuller's have been in Tina's life since she was very young. They live in Bellingham, WA, just above Lake Padden which is a small lake with amazing views from all sides. There is a 2.6 mile trail that circumnavigates the lake. They took us in for dinner and to spend the night away from the camper. We were spoiled.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Seattle, WA
We arrived in Seattle, WA in the afternoon and met Andrew Thompson (SCU Crew) for dinner near University Village. We found "free" overnight parking at Fisherman's Terminal about 5 miles from downtown Seattle. Seattle is very difficult for campers passing through but this place popped up on a web search. It's actually kind of cool. There are a ton of commercial fishing boats but none of the smell you would think would be here.
I talked to a few boat owners who were working on repairs and learned some interesting things about commercial fishing. At the end of one of the docks was Seattle Fire Station 3, 5th wheel trailer crew quarters and all. It wasn't staffed at all but the boats were there in all their glory.
In the morning, we drove over to Commodore Park and checked out the Locks and fish ladder. There is a Lock building built in the early 1900's on-site and some pretty fancy gardens. We also checked out Discovery Park which is mostly very natural forest. Then we headed towards downtown Seattle Center. We walked around the Space Needle and the rest of the Center buildings and sculptures. From there we walked to Pike Place Market. The dogs loved the people and smells from the market. We got a salmon piroshky, a russian pastry filled with just about anything you want, at Piroshky Piroshky. The bakery was featured a while back on Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" tv show.
I talked to a few boat owners who were working on repairs and learned some interesting things about commercial fishing. At the end of one of the docks was Seattle Fire Station 3, 5th wheel trailer crew quarters and all. It wasn't staffed at all but the boats were there in all their glory.
In the morning, we drove over to Commodore Park and checked out the Locks and fish ladder. There is a Lock building built in the early 1900's on-site and some pretty fancy gardens. We also checked out Discovery Park which is mostly very natural forest. Then we headed towards downtown Seattle Center. We walked around the Space Needle and the rest of the Center buildings and sculptures. From there we walked to Pike Place Market. The dogs loved the people and smells from the market. We got a salmon piroshky, a russian pastry filled with just about anything you want, at Piroshky Piroshky. The bakery was featured a while back on Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" tv show.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Snow!
Some pictures from our rest stop last night. We slept very well considering our doubts about reststop camping. Our truck looks pretty tiny next to the big rigs. We woke up to an empty parking lot but never heard the 20 or so trucks that left early.
Wiley okey-rigged a mount for the computer after we figured out how to flip the screen-shot upside down so we could watch a movie.
Drove up to the Summit at Snoqualmie this morning in some nice, dry snow. The Summit West resort was closed for the day, but we were able to park in the lot and enjoy the snow. Wiley did some A/T skiing with Ellie while I worked. Then we both hiked a bit up the mountain and skied/snowboarded down. Officially our first runs of the season! About 4-6 inches of new snow fell while we were there. It was beautiful.
Wiley okey-rigged a mount for the computer after we figured out how to flip the screen-shot upside down so we could watch a movie.
Drove up to the Summit at Snoqualmie this morning in some nice, dry snow. The Summit West resort was closed for the day, but we were able to park in the lot and enjoy the snow. Wiley did some A/T skiing with Ellie while I worked. Then we both hiked a bit up the mountain and skied/snowboarded down. Officially our first runs of the season! About 4-6 inches of new snow fell while we were there. It was beautiful.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Basketball, dragonflies
Last couple days in Spokane.
We ate huge, delicious sandwiches at Domini's in Spokane.
We went to our sister-in-law's sister's basketball game at Gonzaga. She plays for UCSB.
On New Year's Eve, we saw Avatar at the IMAX theater in 3D. It was awesome! We also went to First Night, a festival in downtown Spokane. It's an indoor and outdoor event with shows at the Spokane Opera House, ice sculptures, music/dancing, a snowboarding contest, and fireworks. We saw the coolest balloon animal/insect yet: the dragonfly. I want to see Slocum tie this one.
We rode the Carousel. Wiley looks pretty happy.
Me and Nick (Wiley's brother).
We left Spokane today and are spending the night near Cle Elum, WA. We'll hike around the Summit at Snoqualmie tomorrow and head over to Seattle, WA.
We ate huge, delicious sandwiches at Domini's in Spokane.
We went to our sister-in-law's sister's basketball game at Gonzaga. She plays for UCSB.
On New Year's Eve, we saw Avatar at the IMAX theater in 3D. It was awesome! We also went to First Night, a festival in downtown Spokane. It's an indoor and outdoor event with shows at the Spokane Opera House, ice sculptures, music/dancing, a snowboarding contest, and fireworks. We saw the coolest balloon animal/insect yet: the dragonfly. I want to see Slocum tie this one.
We rode the Carousel. Wiley looks pretty happy.
Me and Nick (Wiley's brother).
We left Spokane today and are spending the night near Cle Elum, WA. We'll hike around the Summit at Snoqualmie tomorrow and head over to Seattle, WA.
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