Goodbye to Washington

We are all amazed at the sights in the western part of this lush state. The three parks we visitied are quite different, which was a surprise to us. Spencer hinted at it. At Mt. Rainier, there were such huge Douglas Firs (we think), they reminded us of small redwoods. The roads in the park were built around the big ones. No pictures; we were intent on staying safely on the road.

In the Cascades, the road seemed to remain in the valleys, following the Skagit River. We found it hard to get up high enough to see many of the snow-capped peaks and glaciers that we know are there. The steepness of the mountains continues to be astonishing. The movie about the area in the Visitor Center even mentioned it. Early loggers left many of the trees standing, because the nearly vertical terrain was simply impossible to log.

Throughout this time, we have had gorgeous sunny weather and no bugs at all...even in the deep, green, shadowed forests. It seems impossible, but the "Off" has not come out of the camper. In this typically rainy corner of the world, we were blessed with the best -- wonderful weather and a very good friend's visit.

Yesterday, we headed to Vancouver after dropping Tommy at the airport. The Canadian Customs official was very thorough...questioned if we were carrying firearms. When I responded that we weren't, he asked me "Why not?" I sort of choked out a reply, "We aren't hunting." I guess that was an acceptable answer, as we got through without being searched.

We are in the tightest space in an RV Park we have ever been in. A special tractor with an arm that grabs the hitch pivoted us into our spot for the next two days. It's very nice here, once the camper got settled. We'll let you know what happens next...