Glacier National Park - Day Seven - June 30, 2006

Today was another long day of driving, mostly along route 20 from Burlington to Spokane. The ambling drive through North Cascades NP was never too challenging with snow capped peaks contrasted against a clear blue sky. Despite the mountainous scenery and elevation, the temperature still stayed in the 80's and 90's all day long. From the mountains, I then headed towards Coulee Dam, a massive man-made structure that rivals the natural scenery for its magnitude but not for its beauty. Onward to Spokane and my stop for the night.

Glacier National Park - Day Six - June 29, 2006

After meeting a friend for breakfast at Pike Place Market (best time to be there when it's just starting to come alive and the crowds haven't gathered yet), I strolled along the water to Pioneer Square to stop in at the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park as well as the NPCA office to see an exhibit of local artists reflecting the national parks in the area that I had read about. Well worth the effort.

Once I got back in my car heading north, I decided to stop at the Boeing "Future of Flight" tour and exhibit. Interesting to see a bit about the new 787 being launched but otherwise not as much there as I expected. The site is nearby the ferry departing from Mukilteo to the south end of Whidbey Island so I decided to get in line and wait (about 45 minutes) to make the crossing and drive north through the beautiful countryside. I arrived in Burlington, my stop for the night, by 7 pm.

Glacier National Park - Day Five - June 28, 2006

The morning sun glistened off the lake as the breeze gently lapped at the surface. It was difficult to leave but I knew even better views lay ahead. I drove east to Port Angeles and then up the 17 mile drive to Hurricane Ridge. By the end, you feel like you are on top of the world looking down on the Olympic mountain range. The sky was crystal clear making the views spectacular. From there, I continued east and decided to take the Kingston-Edmonds ferry across Puget Sound, a short 30 minute ride, and then drove down I-5 into downtown Seattle where I stayed for the night.

Glacier National Park - Day Four - June 27, 2006

I headed north across the sun-drenched bridge from Astoria into the state of Washington this morning with low lying clouds ahead of me. The weather was changing slightly along the coast so my drive up to Olympic National Park along the coast was cloudier, as expected. Route 101 north through Washington meanders through evergreen forests, touches the coastline here and there and is generally lightly traveled though the occasional logging truck thunders by. My destination for the night was Crescent Lake Lodge along the north end of Olympic NP. I took the time to take the drive from the west side into the Hoh Rain Forest area and take a couple of short hikes. It took imagination to visualize this temperate rain forest in its rainy state. With fairly warm temperatures and dry conditions, the greenery was longing for a drink of water.

Further up the road, Lake Crescent is a spectacular setting for a lodge. The water is a deep blue with the surrounding evergreen trees reflected in its waters. I took a short hike up to a waterfall before dinner and had the trail to myself which was wonderfully peaceful.

Glacier National Park - Day Three - June 26, 2006

Departing Corvallis mid-morning, I took a leisurely drive up 99W through Willamette Valley, Oregon's wine country. Unfortunately, Monday is not the day to drop into tasting rooms for a visit. Several tries ended up with locked doors despite the "Open" signs in the windows. With the temperature hovering at 105 degrees, I finally gave up and headed towards Portland and then west on route 30 to my destination for the evening - Astoria - hoping for cooler temperatures. After checking in at the early hour of 4 pm, I decided to head over to Fort Clatsop National Historic Park where Lewis and Clark resided. I had been there back in the mid-'90's on a bike trip along the Oregon Coast. However, in October 2004, the fort succumbed to a fire and burned to the ground. It ended up that the cause of the fire was a stray ember from the chimney within the fort. They are now in the process of rebuilding which was interesting to see.

Back at water's edge, the temperatures are beginning to drop, along with the sun. My hotel for the night is just under the bridge leading to Washington which I will take tomorrow morning as I continue my trek north.

Glacier National Park - Day Two - June 25, 2006

Redwood NP

After a relaxing start in the morning, I headed to Redwood National and State Parks just south of the Oregon border and embarked on a couple of hikes surrounded by the majestic coastal redwoods at the Simpson-Reed and Stout groves. With the rays of sun streaking through the foliage, the redwoods are the tallest living trees in the world and offer much in the way of perspective on a peaceful midday walk.

Oregon Coast

Back in the car, I drove west to 101 and then north along the coast of Oregon to Newport before turning to the east to stay in Corvallis for the night, having driven a total of 347 miles. Another cloudless day made the views along the coast absolutely breathtaking. Interesting juxtapositioning of numerous hitchhikers along the drive (harkening back to a different decade) with signs warning of tsunami threats (reminiscent of more recent tragedies).

Glacier National Park - Day One - June 24, 2006

I departed San Francisco on my way to Glacier National Park where my entire family is meeting for a week of vacation together. Rather than flying, I decided to explore Oregon and Washington by car on my way to meet everyone in Kalispell, Montana.

On a day that was 60 degrees and foggy in the city, it was up to 50 degrees warmer than that only 40 miles to the east. Luckily, I drove north on 101 so the temperatures were more reasonable most of the way though I did hit a high of 107 degrees near Lake County (about 2 hours north of SF). It was a cloudless day, gorgeous for driving 345 miles along 101 to Crescent City where I stayed for the night.