Washington
Hello again! We've been busy and it turns out there is neither WiFi nor signal out in the mountains, so this is a recap of our time in Washington state.
Once we picked up the van we had a quick test drive around the block, Amy took the first drive, then Mike headed for the United States. The van has cruise control which means Mike has perfected his feet (and hands!) free driving technique - straight road required for hands free. Other than that it's a doddle to drive, slightly longer than the Sprinter but as American roads are GINORMOUS this has not proved to be an issue.
First stop, after accidentally going North instead of South on an interstate thanks to Amy navigating due to the lack of a Satnav, was to the Peace Arch border crossing. We were told to go to a special area and to leave the van unlocked, we then went to be quizzed by the border police about where we were going and how long we would be in the states, Mike by this point clearly looking suspicious with his travellers beard! Luckily M&M's do not count as declarable/illegal contraband and so we were free to continue on our way.
Our next stop was for supplies and a Satnav, so where else but Walmart? Other than being very entertained people watching (lots of shouting at children!) it turned out that Walmart stocks neither fresh food nor Satnavs. This was also our first brush with guns as a popular family car decal is this:
For our first night in the van we camped in a layby (pull-in) near Samish high over the sea with view over San Juan Islands. From here we watched a spectacular sunset and watched hopefully in case there were whales.
The next morning after a long discussion we decided to head on to Olympic National Park - this meant we drove past Seattle where the drivers were really rude, and went way over our daily mileage limit. We could see huge snow-covered peaks in the distance and had fun trying to guess which mountains they were.
Once past Seattle we headed up the peninsular towards Puget Sound, passing many roadside firework shacks. Once around the coast the pebbles looked pale and strangely lumpy, on closer inspection it turned out to be millions of Osyters! We didn't fancy trying any though as we weren't sure how long they had been in the sun and didn't fancy getting "travellers stomach" so early in our adventures.
It was also on this day that we drove past many parking lots with big white drifts in them and it appeared to be snowing despite blue skies and hot sunshine, it turned out to be pollen from a particular tree and made the drive much more atmospheric.
At a potential camp site we went for a wander in the woods and came across huge mossy trees and a very blue river, a common theme for the Olympic peninsular as it turns out!
After deciding on a whim to drive up Mount Walker (2805ft) with spectacular views of Vancouver island, we cooked our supper then decided to spend our first night in Cougar territory. The signs advised that if a cougar attacks you must fight back aggressively (no thanks!) - needless to say we did not venture far off the paths and kept our eyes peeled.
After waking from a peaceful and somewhat chilly night we headed back down the mountain then towards discovery bay, on the way we passed the "Discovery Bay Cannabis Train" which was a roadside cannabis shop composed of brightly painted old train carriages.
We went to a coastal wildlife refuge with famous views of Vancouver Island but due to a dense sea fog we saw nothing except the waves under the cliff.
Our next, and far less foggy, stop was Port Angeles which had a very helpful tourist information centre and this magnificent "Rocktopus".
We then went for a drive up to Hurricane ridge for more great views and happily got to add marmots to our wildlife list, the cheeky critters were sneaking into each others burrows and stealing food.
There were also a lot of deer around, grazing on the grass freshly uncovered by melting snow.
We then camped at Salt Creek campground right on the coast, our pitch even had steps down to the sea - cue lots of sunset over waves photos. Whilst trying to get the fire to stay lit a Raccoon snuck up hoping to find food, it left quickly when it saw us watching it!
Next stop - the very clear and blue Lake Crescent.
After a short hike to Marymere Falls Amy decided to have a rest inside a tree, highlighting that EVERYTHING is bigger in America, especially the trees and unfortunately also the mosquitoes - now dubbed "big bitey bastards".
Then we had another hike to another waterfall, this time Sol Duc falls, where the spray mixed with the sunshine to create beautiful rainbows over the falls.
Next we camped by the Hoh river then headed on towards the Hoh Rainforest, Incredible giant trees draped in mosses and lichens, and no sparkly vampires despite being in Twilight territory.
Back on the coast we visited Ruby Beach, which we thought should be renamed drift wood beach due to lack of Rubies and abundance of driftwood trees.
A point of interest from the highway was the giant Cedar tree, which had unfortunately blown down in a winter storm, but luckily there was a grove of similar sized ones nearby.
Our last night in Washington was spent camped in Dismal Nitch, named by the pioneers Lewis and Clarke when they were trapped there by a heavy storm, across the river from Astoria. Needless to say we had slightly better weather although it did rain in the morning, which we took as our cue to head on south to Oregon.
The bridge over the river to Astoria was 4 miles long! The state crossing was while we were on the bridge so sadly we were not able to get a picture with a big welcome sign.
Next blog: Oregon!
For extra photos see Mike's FlickR click here
Once we picked up the van we had a quick test drive around the block, Amy took the first drive, then Mike headed for the United States. The van has cruise control which means Mike has perfected his feet (and hands!) free driving technique - straight road required for hands free. Other than that it's a doddle to drive, slightly longer than the Sprinter but as American roads are GINORMOUS this has not proved to be an issue.
First stop, after accidentally going North instead of South on an interstate thanks to Amy navigating due to the lack of a Satnav, was to the Peace Arch border crossing. We were told to go to a special area and to leave the van unlocked, we then went to be quizzed by the border police about where we were going and how long we would be in the states, Mike by this point clearly looking suspicious with his travellers beard! Luckily M&M's do not count as declarable/illegal contraband and so we were free to continue on our way.
Our next stop was for supplies and a Satnav, so where else but Walmart? Other than being very entertained people watching (lots of shouting at children!) it turned out that Walmart stocks neither fresh food nor Satnavs. This was also our first brush with guns as a popular family car decal is this:
For our first night in the van we camped in a layby (pull-in) near Samish high over the sea with view over San Juan Islands. From here we watched a spectacular sunset and watched hopefully in case there were whales.
The next morning after a long discussion we decided to head on to Olympic National Park - this meant we drove past Seattle where the drivers were really rude, and went way over our daily mileage limit. We could see huge snow-covered peaks in the distance and had fun trying to guess which mountains they were.
Once past Seattle we headed up the peninsular towards Puget Sound, passing many roadside firework shacks. Once around the coast the pebbles looked pale and strangely lumpy, on closer inspection it turned out to be millions of Osyters! We didn't fancy trying any though as we weren't sure how long they had been in the sun and didn't fancy getting "travellers stomach" so early in our adventures.
It was also on this day that we drove past many parking lots with big white drifts in them and it appeared to be snowing despite blue skies and hot sunshine, it turned out to be pollen from a particular tree and made the drive much more atmospheric.
At a potential camp site we went for a wander in the woods and came across huge mossy trees and a very blue river, a common theme for the Olympic peninsular as it turns out!
After waking from a peaceful and somewhat chilly night we headed back down the mountain then towards discovery bay, on the way we passed the "Discovery Bay Cannabis Train" which was a roadside cannabis shop composed of brightly painted old train carriages.
We went to a coastal wildlife refuge with famous views of Vancouver Island but due to a dense sea fog we saw nothing except the waves under the cliff.
Our next, and far less foggy, stop was Port Angeles which had a very helpful tourist information centre and this magnificent "Rocktopus".
We then went for a drive up to Hurricane ridge for more great views and happily got to add marmots to our wildlife list, the cheeky critters were sneaking into each others burrows and stealing food.
There were also a lot of deer around, grazing on the grass freshly uncovered by melting snow.
We then camped at Salt Creek campground right on the coast, our pitch even had steps down to the sea - cue lots of sunset over waves photos. Whilst trying to get the fire to stay lit a Raccoon snuck up hoping to find food, it left quickly when it saw us watching it!
Next stop - the very clear and blue Lake Crescent.
After a short hike to Marymere Falls Amy decided to have a rest inside a tree, highlighting that EVERYTHING is bigger in America, especially the trees and unfortunately also the mosquitoes - now dubbed "big bitey bastards".
Then we had another hike to another waterfall, this time Sol Duc falls, where the spray mixed with the sunshine to create beautiful rainbows over the falls.
Next we camped by the Hoh river then headed on towards the Hoh Rainforest, Incredible giant trees draped in mosses and lichens, and no sparkly vampires despite being in Twilight territory.
Back on the coast we visited Ruby Beach, which we thought should be renamed drift wood beach due to lack of Rubies and abundance of drift
A point of interest from the highway was the giant Cedar tree, which had unfortunately blown down in a winter storm, but luckily there was a grove of similar sized ones nearby.
Our last night in Washington was spent camped in Dismal Nitch, named by the pioneers Lewis and Clarke when they were trapped there by a heavy storm, across the river from Astoria. Needless to say we had slightly better weather although it did rain in the morning, which we took as our cue to head on south to Oregon.
The bridge over the river to Astoria was 4 miles long! The state crossing was while we were on the bridge so sadly we were not able to get a picture with a big welcome sign.
Next blog: Oregon!
For extra photos see Mike's FlickR click here
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