December, 2024.
We met Richard and Betty Bark from San Diego, CA at a Foretravel Grandvention in Columbus, Indiana, ten years ago. We have stayed in touch and met for a week one year in the Black Hills of South Dakota and a few days at Quartzsite in Arizona. And a couple of times for just a day or two at a time as well.
We have been trying to find a place and time where we could get together for a couple of weeks. This year we decided to make it happen on the Oregon Coast. It is one of our favorite places to go and gave us a chance to see Glacier NP again, our friends Klaus and Jean Peters in NE Washington, and my sister, Judy and her husband, Bruce on the Oregon coast. And as long as we were going, we added a (my) bucket list stop at the Boeing Museum and Everett Plant Tour. On the way home we planned a stop in the Tetons, another favorite place to visit.
All of this started with planning up front, the when and where sort of thing. To get reservations where, when, and in which sites we had to get online exactly six months to the day ahead of time and make reservations. We do this all the time these days, even as much as a year or more in advance. Richard and Betty had never made reservations that far in advance or for that long. But they were up for it. The Oregon State Parks reservations meant for them getting up before 6 AM and getting online and ready to click on the button to make our selections. We had been checking each day for several days in advance to make our best guesses as to which sites would be available. We made reservations at Ft Stevens State Park near Astoria. And then a few days later for a longer stay at Nehalem Bay State Park near Manzanita, Oregon. They overlapped by one day to get the sites we wanted at Nehalem Bay. There were a few anxious moments hoping for the days and sites we wanted but it worked. We were all ready and got what we hoped for.
Ditch Digging
Between getting the driveway paved and our pickup fixed and all of our other summer projects, my dermatologist was concerned about a spot on my head, so she took a sample. They said it was squamous cell carcinoma and it needed to get removed with a Mohs procedure. So that got squeezed in. Removing a small 1/2” thing left quite a hole. When the football shaped excavation was all stitched up I felt like my ears were raised.
All of my hair covers up the hardly visible scar now.
Load ‘em Up, Roll ‘em Out
After the broken tow bar incident in April, the coach got patched up well enough for travel. The pickup truck was finished just a week before we were scheduled to leave. A new tow bar had arrived and got installed and there was some last-minute wiring and connections left to get done on the pickup. It all got done in time.
We loaded up the coach and made ready for the trip west. It was more like a road trip than we have done for some time. We needed a wide range of clothes for different weather. Food choices for sharing. We were ready and we left.
Glacier NP
We headed off across North Dakota.
Good grief, it was hot. The last time we crossed ND it was 116°. North Dakota is almost as far North as you can get in the continental US, how come it is so hot? We ran the generator and all of the air conditioning. We stopped in a tiny city park in Buffalo in far eastern North Dakota and then in Medora, just about as far west as you can get in North Dakota. We have driven across South Dakota too at other times. Somehow crossing North Dakota seems to be a more interesting drive. And if it is hot in North Dakota, it is hot in South Dakota.
One more stop in Columbus, MT, and then to Wye, MT just south of Flathead Lake. The Eastern half of Montana was hot too.
Maggie helped with navigation. Jim and Mary’s RV Park was quite nice with lots of flowers, trees, and green grass.
Then North along Flathead Lake to the west side of Glacier NP to Mountain Meadow RV Park, about 8 miles west of Glacier NP. We were looking for a spot in the park but sites to fit even our smaller 36 ft motorhome were limited. And our friend Klaus Peters was driving over to meet us for a couple of days so we stayed just outside of the park.
We were surprised to find out that to get into Glacier NP you needed a daily pass for your car and everyone in it. These passes were only available on the night before you wanted to get in after 7 PM and only online and only good for one day. The last time we were in Glacier (1980) there was no such thing as “online” just “in-line”.
We wanted to drive the Going to the Sun Road, have lunch at McDonald Lodge, and visit the Many Glacier area.
We got a pass and drove over the Going to the Sun Road. It was crowded. That is why the daily passes. We stopped at a couple of turn outs for a look.
Klaus took a classy family portrait.
He took many, the scenery was spectacular.
The U-shaped valleys were carved by glaciers. When we were here in 1980 there were many more glaciers than there are today. And those left are much, much smaller.
Some people crossed the Road to the Sun the hard way. Whew!
Pretty interesting things to see in every direction.
We were going to stop at Logan Pass, the high point of the Road to the Sun but the parking lot was full and there was a long line of cars waiting to get in. We continued to East Glacier for a bathroom break and a cup of coffee. We wanted to go back into the park at Many Glacier but we were unable to get a one-day pass for that entrance. So we reversed course and went East to West on the Road to the Sun.
On the way back we stopped at Lake McDonald Lodge for a late lunch. It was closed for a special event. Best laid plans you know. We never did get there for lunch.
The fleet of rebuilt red touring busses is still running and for many would be a better way to drive, just ride and look.
So we had a long day of driving and sightseeing. That evening we got a pass for the Many Glacier entrance and had a nice dinner with Klaus.
The next day we gathered up Maggie and drove around the bottom of the park and up to Many Glacier. The road to the Many Glacier Entrance was almost all torn up. We drove over softball-sized rocks on the way in. No need for a speed limit here, no one went more than 5 mph. The Park Ranger at the entrance station said that the entire mountainside was slowly sliding downhill, there was no stopping it. The fix was going to be a very long elevated roadway above the moving rock. Someday.
We got to Many Glacier Lodge, did some exploring and had a nice lunch.
We drove down to the campground where we stayed in 1980. It was a nice campground, we chatted with the campground host who was from Wisconsin. It didn’t look like what we remembered. Actually, we didn’t remember much at all.
We could see remnants of the Angel Glacier. I hiked up there in 1980. Not much left now. But we did remember the scenery and mountains in the Many Glacier area are some of the best in the park.
By the time we got home it was well over a 100 mile day. But a good one.
We were glad to go back to Glacier NP if for no other reason than to see what was left. It was surprising how crowded it was, how they had to limit the number of incoming vehicles each day, and how that changed the experience of the visit. We have heard that other very popular parks are on the verge of implementing similar plans to protect the parks from overuse. If you have been to Yellowstone in the summer recently you can see the overcrowding, too much traffic, and the impact on the park itself.
NE Washington
We headed west into Idaho and then towards the most NE corner of Washington. Right near where the Columbia River comes into Washington from Canada to visit Klaus and Jean Peters.
They have been to many corners of the world with Klaus’ Mobil Oil career. They could have ended up anywhere after they retired but chose this corner of Washington.
Their property was just land when they bought it 30 years or so ago. Since then they have built several houses, barns, and sheds. Their main house burned down and is being rebuilt. The house near the entrance to the property got sold with some land to now good neighbors. Two other houses get used to live in and for guests.
One of the houses in use today.
The new main house being rebuilt.
Three Great Pyreneese dogs and a German Shepherd. And three horses in the barn.
Jean takes care of the horses.
And they have a mountain top cabin.
And some more property with a horse ranch, a runway, and a hanger.
Klaus took us for a drive to an overlook of the Columbia River.
It was fun to visit for a few days. They seem to have lots going on all the time. We appreciate the hospitality.
North Cascades NP
Our next stop was going to be at North Cascades National Park. There was no way to get there. All possible roads were closed by wildfires. So on to Anacortes, WA on the north end of Puget Sound.
Anacortes, WA
The traffic in the Seattle area is crazy. We got to I5 near Everett and spent 3 hours on a 1-hour trip to Anacortes.
We stayed 3 nights in 2 spots in the county campground. Both sites were in the woods, very close quarters, winding, hilly roads, and tight turns.
We know several folks who have spent the summer in Anacortes. It is a nice place but I don’t think they were staying in the county park. There are a few private RV parks nearby and a new one just opening up on the edge of town on the water. It would be nice to go back, maybe explore the area more, maybe stay on the other side of Puget Sound on the south end. That’s a whole other trip.
Southbound
Our next stop was Fort Stevens State Park in Oregon near Astoria. Apple Maps suggested it would take about 4 hours and 30 minutes. It did not figure in Seattle traffic. It was almost 8 hours.
Richard and Betty were delayed for a few days so we had to entertain ourselves. That didn’t take long. Klaus had mentioned he was looking for a Mercedes Benz-based camper. My sister and her husband had a Leisure Travel Van that they wanted to sell. I gave them phone numbers to let them talk directly. My sister and her husband were at their beach house near Nehalem Bay an hour south of Ft Stevens. The camper was in Portland 2 1/2 hours from Ft Stevens.
The talking was done, a deal was close, and Klaus wanted me to look at the camper and report.
My sister’s husband Bruce picked me up in Ft Stevens and we drove to Portland. I did an amateur-level inspection, best I could do, took it for a test drive, took pictures, and thought it looked pretty good.
I reported to Klaus what I had seen. There were a couple of things to fix which Bruce arranged to get done. Klaus drove to Portland the next week in his Jeep and completed the deal. He hooked up his Jeep and towed it home behind the Leisure Travel Van the next day. Everyone was happy.
This is getting long, I will finish the Out West Trip in the next post.
More Later, Much Love
Susan, Maggie, and Roger
Home2 with Roger and Susan 