Cape Disappointment 

The harbor entrance (Columbia River)

Cape Disappointment is in the south west corner of Washington state  as you cross over the Columbia River from Oregon. This was the final destination for the  Lewis and Clark expedition about 200 years ago. Since Gerry is so interested in history, we thought this would be a good place to stay for a couple of days.  I was surprised at the size of the Columbia River, it is absolutely huge and it was fun to watch several cargo ships leaving the harbor. We stayed in a state campsite that was on the coast and boasted the interpretive center depicting the journey that Lewis and Clark made all those years ago. One can really appreciate the magnitude of such a journey, the different types of terrain they had to traverse and the courage and determination they had to surmount all their difficulties. There is a great display of pictures and information as well as a movie that is very helpful.

For  Lewis and Clark a good campsite meant shelter, a good place to hunt for game and a nearby source of fresh water. I was struck by our current criteria of a good campsite. Lets see… we need sunlight for our solar panels, a good southerly sky exposure for Gerry’s TV, Verizon internet service and hopefully AT & T cell phone reception!  Could it be any more different? 

Greenwater (Washington)We were now on our way to a place called Greenwater. This was Gerry’s home for 25 years. He moved here from California to Greenwater when he was about 20 years old. This is an extremely small town outside of Seattle on hiway 410 and just north of Mount Rainier National Park. We were able to find a Forest Service Campground south of Green water that was close to the White River. This campground was probably the sunniest campsite in this entire area and came equipped with a runway for small planes! We had now entered into the land of the evergreen trees. Forests of Cedar, Fir, Hemlock, Spruce and the Pacific Yew were everywhere.  I felt very fortunate to have several hiking trails right outside our front door and a couple of these followed the White River and meandered through all these magnificent trees.

The White River

For the next couple of weeks we stayed here and Gerry got reacquainted with all his old buddies and I got a peek into Gerry’s earlier life.  About 200 people or so make up this community and  everyone knows each other and I was included in all the warm hospitality and welcome shown to Gerry.

Gerry & Bob (Old time friend)

We haven’t been this social in so long! We met the Baileys, Jim and Debbie and they immediately offered us their home including showers and internet services as well as inviting us to a few dinners, oh yes even showing up on our doorstep with strawberry short cake and cream!!!! That scored very high points with yours truly!!!  

Debbie, Gerry & Jim

Jim is quite the chef and I found myself returning to the campsite with several recipes.  We met other old buddies and neighbors, Mike, Bob, Joan and Frank and all these people filled in all the blanks on the community and what had happened to everyone. A lot of Gerry’s friends have unfortunately passed on and there were so many memories and hilarious stories. ( per Jim Bailey!!!).   It was definitely a catch up time for Gerry and I am very glad I was a small part of that.  I was very touched by the deep bonds that exist within this community, the way they help each other out and keep track of each other. It reminded me of a village separated from the outside world.

Gerry, Debbie & Mike

We visited Crystal Mountain a few miles south of our campsite. This is a beautiful ski resort and it is here that Gerry worked for many years on the ski patrol. We were able to go up a ski lift to the top of Crystal Mountain (thanks Debbie!) and from this peak you look out and make eye to eye contact with the incredible mountain peak of Mt Rainier.  Wow is the only word I have. Wow and wow!! Absolutely huge, massive and gorgeous this amazing snow covered, active volcano stands in front of you. There is a restaurant on Crystal Mountain and Gerry told me he lived in the basement during the winter months for a couple of years.

The Restaurant At the Top Of Crystal Mtn

I guess at night he had the mountain to himself and often saw Mt Rainier glowing pink in the early morning as the sun rose. Crystal Mountain and the surrounding area is pristine and beautiful, It is not cluttered with condos and so forth but has a few buildings that blend into the landscape making it a very neat, picturesque and well laid out ski resort.

A view from Crystal Mtn

Gerry’s sister Mary and brother Greg live in Seattle and we were able to connect with them too, actually having a hot dog BBQ lunch at our campsite. A first for us. I had actually longed to have people over to our home and now we were having the Baileys, Mike, Bob and Gerry’s family popping by!!! How very  fun!

Greg, Mary & Gerry (the Johnsons)

Mount Rainier National Park

We took a couple of days off from all our socializing to pay our respects to Mount Rainier. (14,410 ft tall) After all, this massive volcano just dominates the landscape and calls for immediate attention. It is a little shorter than Mount Whitney but it stands on its own apart from a mountain range with a very broad base. Even in Seattle you can see Mount Rainier on a clear day. About 9000 people a year attempt to climb to its summit and about half succeed. Well, since leaving Santa Cruz in May, we seem to have followed an eternal spring heading north. Once again we were amazed at all the spring flowers on the mountain slopes. Spring had just arrived here, and it was almost August! The air seemed  light and refined, the sky a deep blue and the mountain a brilliant white.

Spring is here again!

 What I so appreciate about the essence of national parks is the degree of protection that flora and fauna are able to have. The trees here were huge and old. In one particular end of the park there is the grove of the patriarchs where trees 2000 years old can be seen and felt. What a sanctuary to experience towered by Mount Rainier.

Photogenic Mt Rainier

Our July budgeting has not been that great and no wonder we had not calculated that for us it was a 5week month and we also had some unexpected expenses, that being said we are hoping that we will do better in this August month. I am also very pleased to report that  my home cooked  meals are improving  these days, I don’t think it is my imagination…….. of course it has helped to be inspired by the Baileys!

After 2 weeks in Greenwater, (almost the end of July) we left on an early Wednesday to start our journey towards Yellowstone National Park. We had a month to get there to meet my son Tyson from California and my brother Ricardo from Vancouver, Canada. We made it across the Cascade Mountains through the Chinook pass and immediately as we descended into eastern Washington, there was an immediate difference in temperature, terrain and vegetation. No more alpine mountains and trees, instead we were looking at sagebrush again and it was seriously warming up!

 Windust (eastern Washington)

We found a free campsite (Windust ) on the Snake River near the town of Pasco. The Snake River enters the Columbia River which goes to Portland and then onto the ocean at Cape Disappointment. It is funny how everything is now becoming connected. When we arrived at this campsite, there was no one here and we had the pick of the place. So we landed up close to the water’s edge in the sun of course. Not only is this place free, it also offers garbage disposal, flush toilets, water and a dump station!!! Yes, I know this might not sound like great news to you but it is luxury for us! This is what makes our world go round now, this is our reality and this makes our eyes light up and we both say WOW, what a deal!

This campsite is quite amazing, it is on the Sacajewea Lake, which is part of the Snake River. On this river there are 3 dams and next to us is a grain transfer station. I know that sounds boring but actually it is highly interesting and entertaining for us. The surrounding  area is covered with golden wheat and we have arrived at the height of harvesting. Trailers, one after another arrive here to unload this golden produce and then it is loaded into the hulls of huge barges. So we sit here watching these barges get lower in the water as they fill up with wheat. One night we sat outside as a tug boat showed up pushing along two empty barges and removing the loaded one. This process took hours and was all done in the dark illuminated by bright lights from the tug boat. From here the barges go down the Columbia River to the ports like Portland and Vancouver and then I guess it is exported. Now across from us on the other side of the river/lake is a railway line and we are serenaded periodically with the freight noises of trains going up and down the river. They too are hauling wheat to Canada and other places. The other day we saw a tug pushing a barge that was labeled in big letters “ transporting juvenile fish”. So I guess salmon come up here to spawn and then the young are helped back down the river to get pass all these dams. Are you at all interested in this?  It is very busy here and on the week end the world showed up at our campsite and now we have several ski boats out on the water fishing for bass and sturgeon. The temperatures have been in the nineties and we have been cooling off in the water. It is also very muggy and it is difficult to keep ones eyes open! This reminds me of living in my hometown Durban in South Africa.

Tugboat on the Snake River

Today is a big day we are off to do our laundry after a thunderstorm of hail!

Windust Campsite