Mount Saint Helens Video Clip

We are having a great time exploring Mount Saint Helens. It is going to take a bit of time to sort through info and photos to write posts from the past few days....I WILL complete them and back date the posts.....but for now, here is a video clip taken from the Johnston Ridge Observatory.

You are looking at the north slope of Mount Saint Helens, the lava dome, Spirit Lake to the left and Toutle River flood plain to the right.

Fort Lewis Travel Camp (Washington)

Fort Lewis Travel Camp is operated by the Army and is located on Joint Base Lewis McChord-North, between Tacoma and Olympia, Washington. You must have post/base access to stay at military recreational sites.

This is a beautiful, wooded setting along the banks of American Lake. Compared to many "RV parks" we've visited,  the sites are spacious.  There are full hook up RV sites, tent sites, cabins and overflow spots here.

Typical site

cabins

to show the distance between spaces

The park was quiet and well-maintained. You are not allowed to swim off the shores by the campground. There is a swim area nearby. There are boat ramps - and boating and fishing are allowed.

Fort Lewis Travel Camp offers free wifi, well-maintained common buildings which contain showers, laundry and rest rooms.  There is also a picnic area and propane gas and the PX and Commissary (opened 7 days a week) are nearby.

 

Maximum stay during peak season (1 May - 30 Sept) is 14 days, though they will extend for an additional 14 days. You may stay 28 days from 1 Oct - 30 Apr - and they will extend for 28 days if space is available. A 28 day year-long limit is stated, but I talked to several who have stayed in the park longer than this limit.

We paid $20 a night for our 30 amp full hook up. It is $22.50 a night for a 50 amp hookup and a bit more for a lakeside spot.

Lakeside spot

We enjoyed this location and found things we'd like to explore in the area. We would love to stay here again.  We have found this website, operated by a private citizen, to be helpful while researching military campground options.

 

For more campground reviews cruise the categories in the side bar.

Lake Pleasant RV Park - Bothell, Washington

Located in Bothell, WA Lake Pleasant RV Park is 30 - 40 minutes from downtown Seattle and 20 min to Lynnwood  - it was ideally situated for us. At $44 a night, it was a bit higher than we wanted to pay- but it was, by far, the most convenient and nicest spot we found in our search.

Pros:

This park is in a lovely setting. It was ALWAYS refreshing to drive back home after a long day of exploring. It is an oasis in the midst of the urban, Seattle area.

 

 

The grounds and facilities are well-maintained and clean. The laundry room was equipped to handle the business from the park.

The grounds are lush and green. We enjoyed the buffer of grass behind our trailer and the playground (the flip side of that below). This was close enough to Lynnwood  our son could get off work and stop by for dinner.

The "lake" is filled with catch and release bass - this was fun for the kids and they'll want to stay again. 

Blyth Park and the Burke-Gillman/Sammamish trails are minutes away from Lake Pleasant. Shopping is easily accessible. 405 on ramps are close.

Cons:
The advertised "free wifi" - is one hour a day. Our data plan worked well for us.

The spaces are narrow and packed tight - some are very unlevel. The hooks ups are at the rear of the pull through sites. This means you cannot leave a tow hitched - it also meant a bit of juggling for us to fit where we needed considering slide outs, length of space and position of hook ups. Cedar shrubs are planted between sites in an attempt to give privacy.

The grass behind the playground is used by residents as an off-leash dog run. This is noisy, messy and not safe. Yes, this happened daily. Yes, I made the staff aware.

Playground - dog run - general use grass

I was told (on the phone) there are no weekly or monthly fees - but it appears a majority of the park is occupied by residents who stay somewhat permanently. When I asked in person about extended fees, I was told there are no weekly fees but there are "seasonal/monthly" fees - though there are "rig restrictions" for seasonal residents. This was the first time I felt maybe our 2007 Outback wasn't quite "up to snuff" in a park....and I didn't like the feeling. I much prefer the mix of vintage, spanking new motor homes, and everything in between that is found in state parks and fam camps. LOL

It is what it is. This is NOT camping. It's a beautiful, clean, relaxing spot to land near a big city and is much cheaper than hotel accommodations. It was MUCH nicer than parks which are, in reality, paved parking lots with hook ups! Yes, the spots are tight - but that seems to be the case in most RV parks near big cities. Unless we find something comparable at a better price, we'll stay here again when we visit our son.

Unexpected Memories

We set up camp and gathered for a late lunch. As we sat around the table, I began to feel a familiar sensation.

"We're having an earthquake. Do they have earthquakes in WA?"

Everyone agreed it felt like a quake. Then we heard the whistle and the rattling became instantly understandable. It appears our new spot for is situated between I 5 and VERY active train tracks.  Yes, they run through the night.

Other than the trains - this is a great park. Tents for Troops originated here. We are receiving two nights of free stay. We've used this program three or four times - I guess a couple of days and nights of noise (while we enjoy a lovely park and great service) is small appreciation to show the originators of a program many enjoy. This park has the friendliest people and the nicest amenities we've experienced to date - except for the tendency to shake, rattle and roll every 20 - 30 minutes - it's quite perfect.

Fun in the pool and sitting in the hot tub IS a great way to end a travel/set up day!

 

 

Lessons from this stay: choosing to find the humor makes any situation better (and choosing joy is Biblical), unexpected memories may become some of the very fondest, and ALWAYS check Google earth before booking future campsites.

What are some of your fondest unexpected memories? Have you ever had a campsite come with "unexpected features"?

Blissfully Ignorant

 

 

A picture is worth 1000 words and words fail me in the face of such horror. There are some parts of moving day of which it is best to stay blissfully ignorant. Just stay inside, plump pillows, bang pans and seem to be generally terribly busy preparing to move....that's the best plan.

 

 

I may have blown my cover by venturing outside to take this photograph. 

Blyth Park and Rail Trails - WA

Today is our last day in the "Seattle" area. We looked for an activity up north near Josiah which would allow us to take Yuuki.  During our searches we discovered the Washington Rail to Trail movement. Basically, railways which are not currently being used, are paved and turned into walking, jogging, biking, skating (sometimes equestrian) trails.  The trails go past historical sites and are usually in gorgeous areas. Here is a list of Washington's Rail Trails. We'll remember these for future trips.

The 27 mile Burke-Gilman Trail begins in Fremont/Lake Washington (Seattle) and goes all the way to Blyth Park in Bothell. There, it intersects with the western end of the  Sammamish Trail and continues on to Marymoor Park in Redmond.

We met Josiah at Blyth park at 1130 - give or take 30 min. Josiah added a bit of adventure to the day by locking his keys in his car. Turns out apartment managers in Lynwood don't open apartments to retrieve spare keys. This led to meeting the least talkative locksmith in Washington. ::snort::  We made use of the wait by eating our picnic and playing frisby.

Stacia was happy to discover Hayley and Miles, kids from a former RV park we stayed in, were at the park. They played together for a solid hour or so. The kids asked for her big brother and dragged him into their game as well.

The kids have gotten much better at Frisbee in the past month

While the guys played Bocce, I took Yuuki and explored the Burke-Gilman Trail. This was a beautiful walk wandering along the river.

Renovated trail tunnel

Amazingly large house on river with LOTS of boats moored in front

 

Eventually, games were over and we decided to walk up the Sammamish River Trail a ways.  This was as beautiful as the previous trail.  You'll note we didn't do a great job getting a family picture today.....but I'm including them anyway.

Family Photo #1

 



The trail led to another park and the Bothell Historical Museum. This looks like a great spot to explore on a future trip. They were closed today. We stopped at the memorial to vets and peeked inside buildings.

Family Photo #2

We'll need to come back and explore the story of these three gentlemen.

Our next stop was ICE CREAM - because it WAS Sunday - and some traditions cannot give way to life-changing moves into trailers.

It was great to see Josiah. I'm glad we made the trip to see him. The Lynnwood Chick fil A is beautiful, he's enjoying the new challenge at work and his new position.

We're proud of him. We love the  man he's become.

Point Defiance with COUSINS

I have three cousins who live in the Seattle area - Lois, LaDonna and Launny.

LaDonna suggested Point Defiance and Dinner for our meet-up. It was absolutely perfect - and is a spot we'll need to explore a few more times to fully experience all it has to offer. We have discovered we like combining visiting with seeing sights in an area - at least ones that lend themselves to natural discussions (like falls, hatcheries, hikes, parks, obscure art museums, bird hikes or Simpson murals).  All of my cousins seem to be photo-adverse. Michael snapped some anyway - which I will look at and smile...but I won't post online as I know they wouldn't like it. (I really like one of LaDonna and I face to face in the exact same pose - genetics are wonderful).

Point Defiance Park began as a military reservation after the Wilkes Expedition visited Puget Sound in the 1840s to map the bays and estuaries. Wilkes is thought to have noted that with a fort positioned at the point, and at Gig Harbor across the narrows, one could "Defy" the world. In 1888, President Grover Cleveland authorized its use as a public park.

Point Defiance has a zoo, aquarium, beach, boathouse, ferry dock, wildlife (fox, eagles, sea lions, raccoons, wolves) trails, old growth forest, Fort Nisquilly and GARDENS. There are rose, dahlia, rhodendrum and Japanese gardens.

Fort Nisqually is a replica of a Hudson's Bay Company's fort from the 19th century when the company had trading forts stretching from Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River, to Fort Yukon on the Yukon River in what was to become the state of Alaska. We were unable to get inside the fort as they were preparing for a Candlelight event.

 

We walked out past the boathouse and watched the ferry for a bit....and walked on a terribly unstable dock. I found myself motion sick by the time we left the dock. Michael welcomed us to his world. That stopped me in my tracks.

"Do you really feel this much motion and instability?"

"On a bad day."

Hmmmm.....maybe we can overlook his distraction.

 

We walked down Owens Beach and visited as we walked. Stacia was excited to find SEAGLASS.....she found a bright blue piece and Alex found a brown piece.

This was a pretty walk. The whole day was lovely. On our five mile drive (which we stretched to about 7 with a detour) We saw EAGLES, old growth forests, raccoons, narrow bridges and lots of beautiful scenery.

These guys were begging - obviously people ignore
 the signs about feeding the wildlife

Not even worried about cars

As I said, we'll certainly visit Point Defiance again. All we did today was FREE. We need to explore the many gardens (also free), visit the Fort and the Zoo/Aquarium.

We ended the night sharing dinner together. Despite suggestions for Yeti Yogurt, we settled on El Torros. The meal was wonderful and our waiter was great.  I'll remember my "crispy burrito with nothing on it" for a long time. ::grin:: Launny, my cousin, made the kids' evening by giving us a couple of new kites. He knows how to fly the custom-made kites.

All our walking this week seems to be aggravating Michael's hip, we're looking for a low-key, sedate, fun outing with Josiah tomorrow...we'll probably save the tours we didn't take for another trip.