The following was written a week ago. We have been on the move pretty much ever since. I will fill in details in the next post.
We left the very busy campground at Fort Stevens with sites barely big enough for our coach and more kids per site than I could imagine for an easy drive to Kay and John Harrison’s 20 acres of serenity on the Tilton River which they share with 7 other families.
Without specific directions it would be very difficult to locate this place 8 miles west of Morton WA. Once there we settled in to one of the sites that was temporarily vacant with the river mere steps from the coach door.
We were welcomed by the Harrisons and their neighbor Kathy and made to feel at home immediately. The quiet is impressive dominated by the sound of the river flowing over rocks and the birds calling. The Bald Eagle regaled us with flights up and down the river seeking readily available meals.
During our stay we had two adventures away from the campsite. We made an all day drive to Mount Rainier NP
entering from the southwest traversing the park to the southeast exit stopping at Longmere Inn for a lovely lunch and not stopping at Paradise Lodge as the parking for a mile in every direction was full. We returned after Happy Hour and made our own and had dinner in the coach. The next day after breakfast we joined Kay and John in their truck to venture even further to Mount St Helens NP.
This is the site of the 1980 eruption which devastated the area to the north of the mountain and killed 8 people. The views from the Johnston Lookout are incredible and it the dome growing the in center of the crater is plain to see. We stopped at River View Inn (?) for a late lunch on our way back to the coaches. As we entered the driveway we were pleased to note that the pasture had been mowed in preparation for haying. We said our goodbyes to John as he was heading off to play golf early in the morning and waited for the morning to bid Kay and Kathy farewell.
Friday the 13th saw us on the road by mid morning and we took a slight detour to avoid the very narrow one lane bridge – maximum width 9 feet – which we had driven over on our way in. Our arrival at the Mannings was delayed as there was some trouble with communications. After a bit of chasing around we got together and Carol backed the coach up and around into their RV spot where we had water and 30 amp. Our stay included fun time with their daughter and granddaughters and friend Lorna. We had boat rides on Lake Cushman and swimming – refreshing – and I had a delightful time in one of their kayaks.
We drove out to the Olympia National Park where we took a hike on the Staircase Trail.
The traffic on the narrow dirt road was incredible even into the mid afternoon as hundreds of cars were headed out to spots along the lake. It seemed there were far more vehicles then available parking. We were happy to get tucked back into the house by the lake where Dick and I took a sunset boat ride while others relaxed following dinner.
As I write we are preparing to head out to the town of Chimacum where Evergreen Coho SKP Coop has a spot reserved for us for the next two nights.
What fun to hang with Jojobians outside of JJH. This post of particular interest as we covered some of the same territory a year ago. The dome on Mt St Helens is probably 2x larger than when we saw it last year from the same vantage point. Let’s hope we are long gone when Rainier blows, such a beautiful mountain harboring unimaginable potential destruction. Looking forward to your future posts. Happt trails!