We have managed to circumnavigate Olympic National Park in Washington State, visit friends for five days, and find our way back to Oregon...and still no connectivity with our phones. I hope people don't think we have forgotten about them. I think of you all often, and long to reach out and call, but the few conversations I have managed to have with my parents always end with an abrupt cut off and no way to call back.
O. K. Now that I have cleared my conscience of that...I must now say that this is the first solid WIFI we have had in as much time. It will be a challenge, but I will try to remember, in order, the events of the last few weeks. "Rolling Thunder" left Portland and headed into the exciting and bio-diverse Olympic National Park. The first campground was a real winner. It is the season for the older folk to head out and camp, so it's as if we are surrounded by lots of happy grandparents (who are much relieved and eager to reach out, once they see that Fiona and Ethan are well behaved children). As we parked and situated ourselves we noticed tons of scat. This was from the local elk herd that roams the area...and guess what? They decided to roam around that same evening!!!! What an animal. Right through the campers and sites those regal beasts just grazed on by. I could hear their munching and smell them. It was good...like a horse. And the sound the females made! Like a whales recorded sound is the only way I can describe it. Salmon were also spawning in the river. Huge fish in shallow water all ripped up and close to death having just laid and fertilized their eggs. And just to top it off, we were entertained by a couple of river otter! I swear they were smiling! Then it was on to our first oceanside campground. Our friends Ben and Meg recommended this lovely campground because they know it well. It is a great place for them to take their three children. Here we saw a sea lion hunting in the waves at the edge of the tide pools and a variety of seaweeds (most of which are edible). The Waltons joined us for dinner our second night there, and then the next day we moved into their driveway! What a perfect fit...in so many ways. Bailey (8), Miles (5) and Taylor (3 and a half) were magnificent hosts along with their awesome parents (who, by the way, have three of the best behaved and sweetest children I have ever met). Dinners were delicious, healthy and homemade (thank you Meg). Breakfasts were the same (thank you Ben)... Our families enjoyed a tour of Ben's Coast Guard Base and we all got a turn sitting at the controls of his helicopter. He was also kind enough to arrange a tour of one of Scott's old boats. Kids got to see where their dad used to sleep, and stand on the bridge of the 110 foot cutter he used to captain. Let's see...there was also the walk around their neat town, a trip to the farmer's market and bookstore, yummy lunch at Meg's favorite BBQ place, a quick swim at the community pool, we dropped Ethan into a BMX race with the Walton kids, hair-cuts at their friends house and Scott managed to get a hike in with Ben (they even got into some snow)! I have to say, it was difficult for all of us to say goodbye. Quite car and teary eyes as we pulled away. Our next travel destination was to an indian reservation right on the crazy, rocky cliffed coast of WA. WOW! We rounded a bend coming out of the forest, and I just gasped. What a wild and crazy ocean the Pacific is! This place was special because we got a permit for a beach fire! Our first. Scott and I let the kids build the pit next to a fort they had been working on the day prior. It made for a glorious night. Poor Scott was tortured watching all the surfers run into the waves. Definitely will be purchasing a surfboard in the next week or so. From there it was back into Oregon. This was the state where I spent my birthday and will be where Fiona turns 12!!!! On our way to our most recent site we enjoyed some seashore towns and a rainforest! This is my first time ever seeing the Pacific and it doesn't disappoint. We are all looking forward to what the rest of this glorious coast has to offer.
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| Honest to God! Does it get any more wild? |
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| Tons of oysters. |
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| She's 12 in two days. I thought she was old enough for her own shell phone. |
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| Oopsy daisy! Don't eat those oysters without a quick boil...or else! |
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| Lush four mile hike. |
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| Fiona fashioned this out of surrounding flora and fauna...we left it for the next campers. |
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| This is Mount Baker. Visible from our camper window across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. |
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| Huge seaweed gardens. Tons of scuba divers. |
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| Gym class with coach Scott. |
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| Exploring the tide pools with the Waltons. |
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| Miles is quite the climber. He reminded me of Ethan at that age! |
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| "Oh! Hello sweet, sweet angel. I hear your name is Taylor." |
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| So awesome! We managed to get all the kids into our home for movie night! |
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| Did I forget to mention they have a trampoline? |
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| Bailey. Happy, curious and beautiful don't even begin to describe her. |
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| Miles couldn't resist trying to hug Ethan every chance he got. |
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| Here's "Uncle Ethan" getting the little ones across the street safely. |
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| Scott would have smuggled this one if we hadn't kept a close eye on him at pack-up time. |
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| No, we're not in Boston. The "R" legitimately fell off. |
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| Ben was so patient with us. |
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| Before the BMX race. (Someone only has eyes for Ethan.) |
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| The perfect size track. |
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| Grabbed this funky cauliflower/broccoli at the farmer's market. |
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| Great climbing wall at the pool! |
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| Even the daydreaming face is adorable. |
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| Can you find Ethan? |
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| Can you find the babushka? |
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| So many greens here!! |
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| And then BOOM! You see it. |
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| Can you find Ethan here? |
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| I am in photographers heaven. |
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| Happy birthday to Scott!! |
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| From Ethan. He used a picture of Scott on the ball players body. So clever. |
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| Fiona sewed him "Gertie". |
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| She came with a lovely story about how she decided to have Scott... |
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| This was on our walk through the Hoh Rainforest. There is a squirrel above Fiona's head! |
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| The tipped over tree roots are insane! Gives you a vague idea of how tall they are. |
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| Our last campsite had a ship wreck on the beach from 1904! |
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| We also explored some abandoned battery that was there. Did you know that the Japanese attacked the shores of Oregon? They hit it with over 14 shells from a submarine!! The guys stationed here that night could have obliterated them with the guns that were here...but they were ordered to hold their fire. No one was injured, and the submarine turned and left. |
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| Coolest parents ever! (opps, I turn around for one second and the kids start typing!) |
