At the End of our Stay in Seattle

Hey, everyone. It's Monday, and we've visited three national parks in Washington so far, all of them the same distance from our campground near Seattle. We've seen the snow-capped splendor of Mount Rainier, the beautiful river valleys of the North Cascades, and the lush forests of the Olympic Mountains. Overall, it's been a wonderful stay here in Washington, and the five-day visit of one of my dad's closest (and funniest) friends, Tommy, only made it better. Four days ago, he arrived in SEATAC airport from Anchorage, Alaska at 10:50 p.m. The next day, even though he was slightly jet-lagged, we drove to Mt. Rainier, the highest landmass in the state of Washington. The top of the mountain was completely COVERED in snow and ice. It's so interesting to see snow in the middle of July, when you consider North Carolina's 100-degree summers. Anyway, we all really enjoyed that day, although we were somewhat hindered by the traffic jams on the freeway back to the campground. The next day, a Saturday, was a lazy day for all of us. We hung around, got groceries, and watched the movie "Invictus." It's very good - I recommend it to all of you. Finally, yesterday we went to North Cascades National Park. Despite the fact that we never really made it all the way to the higher peaks of the Cascade Mountain Range, we all enjoyed ourselves. However, since we had a truck with five seats (and every one occcupied by somebody), we were a little bit tired of the dog, Scout, stealing our seats and squirming around looking for a more comfortable place to settle. Anyway, today is our last day, and since we've seen all the parks around here, we're taking the day off as another lazy day. I hope you guys are all following attentively - we have a lot more adventures to come on the way back! This is Spencer Paige, signing off.

Lazy Days, and Incredible Views

Hey, guys. Sorry I haven't been posting as much as last year. I've been a little busy, regardless of how ridiculous that sounds. We're on a huge vacation, on the opposite side of the country from where I WOULD have work, and somehow, I'm busy... sounds a little fishy, doesn't it? Well, believe it. Two days ago, Philip earned $20 by giving Mom a pedicure and a foot massage (Philip says he just did it for the money), while I worked on shining the truck's chrome details (such as the bumper - as of now, one can clearly see their face in it) and taking the dog on walks. Yesterday, after about three hours of driving, we arrived at the Olympic Peninsula, home of - you guessed it - Olympic National Park. Lack of creativity aside, Olympic is astoundingly beautiful. From the snow-capped peaks to its lush, teeming rainforests, Olympic seemed to have a bit of everything. It had snow, so Philip and I could paste each other with snowballs. It had great picture potential, which we took advantage of. It even had deer who, having pretty much never been threatened by the presence of humans, strolled up within mere feet of the oohing and ahhing tourists, who had their cameras in hand and in action (I do not regret being one of said tourists, as the deer provided some of the best shots). Today, we hung around, did a small amount of work, and mainly just enjoyed each other, and the fact that, for once, the sun decided to shine in Seattle (not just this day, but EVERY day so far - unbelievable). I hope we're keeping you interested! This is Spencer, signing off. Stay tuned!!

Olympic NP

After clouds in Montana, we have been blessed with exceptionally clear and warm weather in Seattle, expected for the entire next week! Although the ground is saturated, the air is perfectly comfortable. Wish we could bottle it up and send it to all of you broiling on the East coast! Spencer will tell you about the last couple of days later. For now, we are getting ready for our friend, Tommy, to arrive this evening.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes, everyone! We broke our pattern of preparing dinner at our camper, and we ate at a wonderful little Italian restaurant in Coeur d'Alene, ID. It was a great end to a fantastic birthday.

Olympic National Park, WA

Glacier National Park and Flathead Lake

July 4th at Glacier NP

It's a beautiful, sunny morning here in Kalispell...on the day we must leave! We have had rainy days with bookends of sun. Yesterday, we finally took the "Road to the Sun," the windy, narrow 28 mile road with "dead drop offs" as the boys called them. We got up very early and drove halfway up the mountain, left the truck, and took the park shuttle the rest of the way. The temperature dropped from 52 to 28 degrees at the top. It just snowed three feet up there on June 17th! I closed my eyes and prayed for part of the ride up. Ten foot snow drifts greeted us there, fog drifted around and obscured the views of the peaks. People were cross-country skiing.

The mountains are stunning and so steep! Water is running everywhere from the melting snow and ongoing rain. Glacier NP is a bit like the Smoky Mountains, a large land area bisected by only one road that gets REALLY crowded! It's a place for hiking, not driving. We were thankful to leave the park as the crowds loomed at the entrance.

The other incredible feature of this area is Flathead Lake, the largest natural lake in the west, according to the local literature. Glacier gets all the attention, but this lake is gorgeous, with islands and fishing galore. We didn't fish, however, because a boat is required and we didn't plan that far ahead. However, it's been a relaxed visit here, and we got quite a bit of "housekeeping" done during the rain. Sadly, cleaning and shopping must occur on vacation, too.

When we returned yesterday, there was a note on the door, instructing us to visit the campground office. Since we left Scout in the camper for the day, we assumed that he was barking, creating a disturbance. I walked up there, grumbling to myself that I was going to have to listen to the office matron chew me out for leaving the dog. Imagine my surprise when she beamed as I gave her my name and turned around to hand me a platter of pastries! My sister, Gail, had them delivered for my birthday breakfast! Thanks, Gail!!! We are enjoying them this morning.

Photos will be forthcoming. Off to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, today, and then to the Seattle area for eight days. We are looking forward to seeing Tommy H., Mark's friend from Alaska, who will fly down to visit us. Best wishes to all of you on our country's birthday...God bless America!

Of Glaciers and Goodies

Well, seeing as we're in the midst of another long stay, this time at Glacier National Park, we can also have some down time as well. Yesterday, we visited Glacier, but not to truly "see" it. We actually went to get some information on tours, fishing, and hiking. Of course, the myriad of high-priced tourist traps attracted Philip to buy a crow call and both of us to get five-dollar ice creams (ridiculous!). Besides that, Mom and I went to do some shopping. Naturally, since a full-fledged teenager was with her, I had to do a little arm-twisting to my own ends, such as to get a twelve-pack of Coca-Cola, some chips, some gum. You know, the typical teenage "necessities." After we got back with our spoils, we watched the final two episodes of season one of 24. After THAT, Dad (fully addicted by now) requested that we watch the first episode of season two. You know how that turned out, I'll bet. We watched the first episode, of course, but it didn't end there. We watched the first TWO episodes, instead. We're like couch potatoes! And Mom and Dad are just as bad as Philip and I! Anyway, from Glacier NP, this is Spencer Paige, signing off. Stay tuned!