Cross Country Adventure 2022 (day 15)

 West Glacier KOA campground, Glacier National Park, Montana

31 July 2022

Marc-  We started out early this morning at 06:30 in order to get into the park and up to Logan Pass before all of the parking spots were filled.  It is also the time of day to see the most wildlife.

We took the Going to the Sun Road through the center of Glacier National Park.  This is an incredible road built during the Great Depression and well built.  My only complaint is that there are many sheer cliffs along the edge of the road.  The view of the mountains and lakes (even a glacier) is incredible.  We made it to the Logan Pass Visitor's Center and trailhead area in time to get a parking space, albeit on the side of the road.  We took the Hidden Valley trail that takes you up over snowfields to view a hidden valley and yes, a hidden lake.  It was on this trail that I saw the three goats.  Two of them looked very healthy and one not so much (losing lots of its fur).  I forgot to mention that it was 51 degrees at the campsite this morning and 92 degrees in the afternoon.  Still it was in the 70's when we were up at Logan Pass.  Sue spotted a local squirrel called a Columbian Squirrel, which looks like a cross between a squirrel and a chipmunk.

Our adventure continued as we visited two waterfalls and several lakes. We did a picnic by St. Mary Lake.  We stopped for dinner at West Glacier at the Glacier Park Lodge (massive wood construction) across from the Amtrak train station.  (Both the hotel and the station were built by the Great Northern Railroad 100 years ago.)

I was half expecting Julie Andrews to jump out and begin singing "The Hills are Alive".

Intrepid skiers climb to the top of this snow slope and ski down.

Wild flowers everywhere.

                                                                    This is Penstemon

This is called bear grass.

This is Mountain Indian Paintbrush

Sue leading the hikers across the snow field.

This mountain Goat just walked right up on the trail.

Hi there!

Hidden Lake

Another goat on return down from Hidden Lake.

Columbian Squirrel

Jackson Glacier

Horse tunnel (there are horse trails in the park).

St. Mary Lake

Ford Tour Buses circa 1940s

St. Mary Lake

Burned forest on our way to St. Mary Falls.

St. Mary Falls

Glacier National Park is really an international park.

Amtrak

Glacier Park Hotel

Douglas Fir tree interior.

Western Red Cedars on the exterior.

Running Eagle Falls (the river comes right out of the mountain).

Running Eagle River

Two Medicine Lake

Cross Country Adventure 2022 (day 14)

 Potholes State Park Campground, Othello, Washington

29 July 2022

Really warm day here.

Marc-  We left the Skokomish campground at about 09:30 and started our return trip to Vermont.  For most of the day we retraced our route.  We also had a repeat of heavy traffic in the Tacoma area.  We did not return to Leavenworth but continued East on Route 90 toward Potholes State Park.  Once East of the Cascade mountains the terrain became very dry and desert like.  The exceptions were when irrigation was in use.  The Columbia River Irrigation Project provides a great deal of water to farms in this part of Washington.  Think of large apple orchards and fields of various fruit plantings, many covered by netting (this went on for about 70 miles).  Potholes Lake is a large reservoir adjoining the State Park.  The name for the park comes from the holes that were made by glaciers and have since filled with water.  The park and the farms are each like an oasis in the desert.  There are many RV resorts near the Lake.  Fishing is a major sport here (bass, crappie, walleye, perch, bluegill, whitefish and well stocked rainbow trout).

Goodbye Lake Cushman.

Deer beside the road driving out.

Arid Eastern Washington.

Well irrigated Eastern Washington.

Entry road to Potholes State Park (Black Poplar trees).

Here the park personnel planted a row of lodgepole pine trees next to a row of black poplar trees.

A view by the lake with irrigated fields in the distance.

Potholes Lake.

Cross Country Adventure 2022 (day 14)

 Skokomish Park Campground, Olympic National Forest, Washington

28 July 2022

A great swimming hole if only the water wasn't 50 degrees.

Marc-  08:30 departure from our campsite for the gatehouse store to get internet access again.  Sue prepared lunch and snacks for the day.  Our plan for the day was to visit the Southernmost part of Olympic National Park entering through the Staircase Gate.  We proceeded out on Route 118 past the National Forest day sites and trailheads and past the loose gravel section of the road and past where it narrows to one lane.  The road widens and becomes paved again as soon as you enter the National Park.  No Ranger was at the entry gate when we arrived.  A camper explained to us the the Rangers would arrive later.  This area contains a large campground by the Skokomish River with showers, bathrooms and water.  The sites are nicely shaded by the rather tall Douglas fir and Western red cedar trees.  This is one of the last “first come first served” campgrounds in all of the National Parks.  We found trail maps and a Park brochure at the Ranger Station and headed up the Staircase Trail (in the 19th century a cedar staircase was built to get over a stone ridge blocking access.  The staircase is no longer there) that follows the Edge of the River into the Mountains.   Very large and tall Douglas fir and Western red cedar surrounded us.  Some of the trees had green moss growing on them.  The river water was a beautiful green color apparently caused by glacial runoff.  We hiked about two miles before returning to the campground.  Later we followed a trail to a fallen giant cedar of 14 foot diameter.  The tree was lying on its side and hollow.  Children climbed inside to investigate.

A rather impressive suspension bridge.

You can camp inside this tree.

On our way down.

Around noon we joined the rest of the family at a National Forest day site on Lake Cushman for lunch and swimming. 

Lake Cushman Swimming (water temp. 70 degrees)

Later we went South to Olympia for an overdue oil change in Big Blue.  On the return trip we stopped at a marina to look at a pilot house motor sailer for sale.

I am afraid the shipping cost would exceed the purchase price.