Thursday, August 18, 2011

Helen's Journal from Spokane to North Cascades National Park

This is August 18, 2011. Our computer has been down a few days so I got behind again. I will catch up from August 9, 2011

     We went for our morning walk then relaxed until 12:00  noon when Jerry and Janice took us out for lunch at Shakey's Pizza. It was buffet style lunch and very good food. There was a large salad bar, a food bar, and pizza. As usual we stuffed ourselves. This evening we went into Wal mart for water and cat food and also filled the truck with diesel. We went ahead and paid the $4.29 for it although we could have drove 15 miles and got it for $4.08. We got back to the RV and spent the rest of the evening getting ready for our move tomorrow. We have enjoyed our stay at the Ponderosa Falls RV park just west of Spokane, WA.

August 10, 2011



     We moved to Crescent Bar RV Resort just west of Quincy, WA today. On our trip here we drove across plains through the middle of Washington. There were the biggest wheat fields I have ever seen. W drove for over a 100 miles through these and on both sides of the interstate you could see wheat as for as your eye could see. There was corn and alfalfa hay fields also. I was amazed because I certainly had a different idea of what Washington was like.When we got to Quincy there were apple, cherry, and grape orchards. Washington is known for it's apple production. As we passed Quincy we started down a very steep hill into the Columbia River Gorge, what a beautiful spot for a campground. We were really surprised to find a Thousand Trails Resort in such a grand location. We will only be here five days and will enjoy them all but sort of dread the pull back up the steep incline to I-90. Above is a picture of the Columbia River there from our campground.

August 11, 2011

     Here is another picture of the Columbia River Gorge.

     We went for our morning walk then just sort of kicked back the rest of the day. It was such a lovely day we sat outside and read the day away. Temperature in the day get up in the upper 70s and in the low 50s at night. It always gets windy when the sun sets here in the gorge and one of our neighbors got his awning blown off. I felt bad for him because it is an expensive lesson to learn to leave your awning out. Helen called Jeff. He was doing fair.

August 12, 2011

     Today we went for our walk then I sat outside to read and enjoy the nice weather and beautiful scenery. Michael or rather we decided to shorten our stay here and move on to Fall City, WA to see some water fall that I found in a book I use to help us decide where we want to go. We really love this place but Michael has made reservation for RV Parks all the way up to December so in order to go to these fall I want to see we have to adjust out stay somewhere. It's easier to leave a park early than to change reservations ahead.  We will move on to Tall Chief RV Resort in Fall City, WA tomorrow so we can see the Snoqualmie Falls. We drove into Quincy for diesel fuel and had a late lunch at Casa Jalisco Mexican restaurant. Diesel was cheaper here than in Spokane. It was $3.95

August 13, 2011

                                   Clouds over the Cascade Mountains

     We left Crescent Bar RV Resort in Quincy, WA today and moved to Tall Chief RV Park in Fall City, WA. Tall Chief is an RPI park in our campground membership. We crossed the Columbia River and the Cascade Mountain Range on our way to this RV park. What a change when we crossed the mountains. It is cloudy and cool here and this resort is in a forest mostly of western cedar. Lots of trees and undergrowth.
The clouds hover on the mountain then drift down into the valleys. What an awesome sight, they move like something alive. Our computer quit working Thursday, probably because Michael was working on it, so we took it into Best Buy for one of their Geeks to fix it. We bought another computer because the other one was five years old and we we needed to be sure that we had one that worked. Michael sure hopes that none of our important files are lost. He worked so hard on his maps and other stuff. We had dinner at Fatburger, not as good as it sounds, then went back to the resort. 

August 14, 2011

                                  Snoqualmie Falls at Snoqualmie, WA

     This has been a very good day. We went for our morning walk then packed some snacks and drove to the Snoqualmie Falls. It was a breathtaking view. The water drops 268 feet and mist rises up from the crash of the water when it hits the bottom of the canyon. One view we stopped at there was a beautiful rainbow just begging for someone to take its picture, so we did. But the picture doesn't do the rainbow justice so we'll not post it.


                              Michael and Helen at Snoqualmie Falls

                                      This is a video of the falls.

     After viewing the falls we drove on to the town of  Snoqualmie

August 15, 2011

     Extended our stay here one more night because our computer is not ready to pick up. We went for our morning walk then I called Barbara but did not reach her. I called Rondal and he said that Barbara was doing good, feeling better and getting her strength back. She is able to get out and shop a little.
     Michael called Best Buy to see if the computer was ready. It was so we drove into Bellvue, WA to get it. We stopped for Chinese food then back to the resort. We worked setting up the new computer and backing up the files Michael was afraid he had lost.

August 16, 2011

     Left Tall Chief RV Park in Falls City, WA and moved on to Grandy Creek Thousand Trails/KOA in Concrete, WA about 30 miles from the west entrance to North Cascades National Park. This is a beautiful RV Resort nestled among some very tall pine & cedar trees. I think we will enjoy our four days here.


                Here are two pictures of North Cascades National Park


                   Helen sitting on a stump of a tree in the park.

                Another picture I though you would enjoy

August 17, 2011

     What a great day this has been!!!! We left the RV around 9:30 this morning and drove to North Cascades National Park. Our first stop was at Newhalem Visitor Center where we received some information on where to go and what to see. We watched a nice video about the park them walked the 1.8 mile river loop trail through the big red cedar and fir trees. A very pleasant walk. We rested at a picnic table and enjoyed our snack. Then we drove up the mountain to Gorge Creek Falls and walked a one mile overlook trail that overlooked the falls and Baker Lake. On up the Cascade Mountains to Diablo Lake and overlook which was very picturesque so I took several pictures.



                                    Diablo Lake

     Then on to Ross Lake Overlook. There was not a good place to pull off to view the lake so we walked the Happy Creek Forest Trail. Probably about a mile loop trail with a small creek running along the trail and some very large trees. It was very enjoyable. Then on to Washington Pass Overlook, another one mile walk but well worth the climb. What an awesome view, the highest point along highway 20 over the Cascade Mountains here in the National Park. Here is a video of that view.


                         Washington Pass


                            

                             Washington Pass



                                Washington Pass

    After Washington Pass we began to spiral down the east side of the mountain and drove on as far as Winthrop, WA. a little town with an "Old West" look. We drove around some then headed back over the Cascades through the park. When we got back to Concrete there was a huge herd of elk in a meadow just east of our RV park. We took pictures but they were too far away. They look close with Michael's binoculars. We are both tired but truly enjoyed the day in the Cascade National Park.

    



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