La Push, Hoh Rainforest, Forks, & Allens Bar Campground (WA)

We left Fort Townsend Historical State Park in Port Townsend, WA, on the morning of 15 Aug 2019 and headed southwest on WA State Route 20 to U.S. Highway 101. We stopped in the adorable town of Sequim, WA (skwim), to do some grocery shopping and were both impressed by how clean and lovely the town was. We stopped very briefly for me to take some photos of sparkling Lake Crescent in Clallam County, WA, before continuing west. If I am remembering correctly, when we saw the first sign for La Push, I asked Margaret if we could go there first before continuing south. Happily, she said yes; so we took WA State Route 110 to First Beach. It was a steely gray-sky day with only a few surfers on the small swells and a handful of people walking the shore. After taking quite a few photos, we got back on the highway headed to Forks, WA.

James Island, First Beach, La Push, WA. Photo by Virginia.

Little James Island, First Beach, La Push, WA. Photo by Virginia.

Margaret and I had each arranged to have parcels sent General Delivery to the Forks post office and made it within an hour of the retail area closing. (I was feeling youthfully giddy after visiting La Push, and the feeling continued while in Forks. More about that further on in this post.)

Margaret had been driving for several hours, and we both wanted to find a place to camp. We drove through a free U.S. Forest Service campground on Highway 101, but it appeared full and required a Washington State Discover Pass, which neither of us had at the time. So Margaret took a few minutes Googling nearby campgrounds and found a private campground just a few miles from us. We arrived at Allens Bar Campground (Forks, WA) well after sunset; but after registering and paying the fee, we found a nice spot before it was fully dark. We ended up staying for three nights. The fee was very reasonable at only $5.00 per day, and we had a 3 to 4-bar LTE cell signal, as well. Finally! It was temperate, quiet, and the beautiful Hoh River was only 100 yards or so from our site. While at Allens Bar, we prepared several yummy meals, did a lot of reading, took walks to the river, and enjoyed the heck out of the cool weather. Margaret took advantage of that zippy signal and planned more of our trip. Oh, and one morning I got a brief glimpse of a long-tailed weasel just a few feet from the Roadtrek! It was such an excellent value that we returned after our next camping adventure in Olympic National Park.

Hoh Rain Forest Sign. Photo by Virginia.

The Hoh Campground is located about 18 miles east of U.S. 101 on Upper Hoh Road. The road was a little rough in places, but it was asphalt all the way. What wasn't all the way was our cell phone signal, which we lost about halfway in. This particular campground in the Hoh Rainforest is first come, first served. We found a wonderful drive-through site (#52 in B Loop) and decided on staying for four nights. We were next to the modern restrooms and potable water and close to a dumpster. Carpenters were at work building showers during our stay. So the campground is not only naturally beautiful, but it has plenty of amenities, as well.

Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center Parking Area. Photo by Virginia.

I spent some time looking at the exhibits and purchased a couple of postcards at the visitor center. Since there is no cell phone coverage there, the rangers post the weather forecast for the week on a kiosk outside the visitor center. That week's highs were predicted to be in the 60s, and one to two inches of rain was expected on our third day. (Annual precipitation in the Hoh Rainforest is between 140 and 170 inches!) Well, that forecast turned out to be very accurate.

Peaches looking out the screen door at Hoh Campground. Photo by Virginia.

Hoh Campground. Photo by Margaret.

Hoh Campground. Photo by Margaret.

Hoh Campground. Photo by Margaret.

Hoh River, Hoh Campground. Photo by Margaret.

I believe I mentioned before that Margaret's Roadtrek, which had never leaked before, had developed a leak after she had some work done on it in April. So, on day two we rigged up a cover over the "house" AC vents on the roof. We got other outdoor chores out of the way, and at 2 a.m. on 21 Aug (our four months on-the-road anniversary) it started to rain. I made pancakes for breakfast, and we spent the day inside cozy, dry, and enjoying our respective reads. Yay!

The Roadrek at Hoh Campground. Photo by Margaret.

Peaches out for a walk, Hoh Campground. Photo by Margaret.

We left the lush Hoh Rainforest on the morning of 22 Aug and returned to Forks to mail some things, do laundry, and spend five hours at the Forks Library. It took that entire time to upload some photos and to start one blog post. (I think our weak cell phone signal was faster than their Wi-Fi!) Margaret drove me to a few locations in town so I could take some photos. Okay, so I wanted evidence that I was actually in Forks—the town I first became aware of because of the Twilight books and movies. And, no, they were not how Margaret knew about it!

Forks, WA. Photo by Virginia.

Forks, WA. Photo by Virginia.

Touches of Twilight in Forks, WA. Photo by Virginia.

After doing some grocery shopping at the Thriftway in Forks, we headed back to Allens Bar Campground and parked in the same spot we had previously occupied. We planned on staying for three nights but ended up adding a fourth. With that 3 to 4 bar LTE signal, I was able to publish two blog entries, write another, and publish a huge number of photos to Flickr. w00t! The weather was consistently cool (low 70s, high 60s), the surroundings beautiful (photographic evidence galore!), and that $5 per day price was hard to beat.

The Hoh River at Allens Bar Campground. Photo by Margaret.

The Hoh River at Allens Bar Campground. Photo by Margaret.

Wild blackberries at Allens Bar Campground. Photo by Margaret.

Interesting fungi at Allens Bar Campground. Photo by Margaret.

The Hoh River at Allens Bar Campground. Photo by Margaret.

A tiny frog on river rocks next to the Hoh River at Allens Bar Campground. Photo by Margaret.

The Hoh River at Allens Bar Campground. Photo by Virginia.

When we were getting prepared to leave Allens Bar Campground, Margaret's iPhone shut off and would not turn back on. That was catastrophic! She tried several things, and it just wouldn't turn back on. She ended up mapping our trip on my iPhone, and we left the Forks area that morning with the Oregon Coast as our destination.

Thank you so much for your patience and for continuing to follow our West Coast States Adventure! 

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Whidbey Island & Port Townsend, WA

After leaving our nephew and his family on Lopez Island, we took the ferry back to Anacortes, WA, and filled up the nearly empty propane tank. Margaret and I both wanted to spend some time on Whidbey Island and were pleased when we drove over Deception Pass Bridge at about noon on 05 Aug 2019. We pulled over and walked on and under the bridge, seeing it from nearly every angle. It was a gloriously cool and clear day, which made for lots of photo ops.

Deception Pass Bridge. Photo by Margaret.

Deception Pass Bridge. Photo by Margaret.

East from Deception Pass Bridge (Strawberry Island). Photo by Virginia.

Deception Pass State Park and Fort Ebey State Park Campgrounds were full, but one of the employees suggested Rhododendron County Park. Fortunately, we found a nice campsite there, and Margaret paid for six nights. The campground had vault toilets, fresh water, picnic tables, and fire rings. The daily fee was $15. We also had two bars LTE and were able to keep up with things online! It was located only about 1-1/2 miles from the town of Coupeville, at whose library we spent two very long days utilizing their public Wi-Fi. (Practical Magic, one of my all-time favorite movies, was filmed partly in Coupeville, which I found very cool!) After each day at the library, we did some shopping in Oak Harbor before returning to our campsite. We found someone occupying our campsite after our second day away, but we clearly had our receipt posted showing we had two days left (and I had taken a photo of it before leaving for the day). They had left a few items on the picnic table but acknowledged that it was still our campsite before leaving to find another. They said the ranger had told them if there is nothing left behind at the campsite that it's likely the previous campers had left early. HAH! We are in a van and not a tent. We left the receipt. Margaret and I were both relieved that they didn't get unpleasant about it all, though.

The Roadtrek in our campsite. Photo by Virginia.

After our six nights on Whidbey Island, we took the ferry to Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula. It was a short (about 35 minutes) and a smooth ride. We checked Fort Worden Historical State Park first, and the sign clearly said "Campground Full." Just a few minutes away at the beautiful Fort Townsend Historical State Park, we found several "tent sites" available on the western (forest) side of the campground and chose a really nice private site. The forested tent sites were much nicer than the RV sites. There were no hookups on either side, anyway. One of the advantages of traveling in a smaller RV like the Roadtrek (20 ft.) is that it can be parked in nearly any campsite or parking space.

Fort Townsend State Park sign. Photo by Virginia.

Our usual routine is to locate an available campsite; and while Margaret walks Peaches to pay the fee at the iron ranger or to a live person, I set up the Roadtrek to camp. I had just finished when Margaret called saying the site we had chosen was only available for one night. She was able to find another site where she could pay for the night and reserve the same site for three more nights. This campground ended up being the most complicated and expensive of our trip to date ($123 for four nights!). However, I absolutely loved it! We were parked right next to the restrooms and showers, we had fresh water in our campsite, there was a dumpster nearby, we had a fairly strong cell phone signal, and it was comfortably cool.

Fort Townsend State Park Campground. Photo by Margaret.

The Douglas Fir, Western Hemlock, and Northern White Cedar trees were stunning and aromatic. I sat outside among them during the day and looked at them through the window above my bed at night. I'm not sure of the exact reason that these particular trees fascinated me more than those in the other forests we'd camped in but they definitely did. I celebrated my 60th birthday among them and hope the sense of appreciation and serenity I felt stays with me for a long time.

Our campsite at Fort Townsend State Park Campground. Photo by Virginia.

Port Townsend Bay from the park's shoreline. Photo by Margaret.

Port Townsend Bay from the park's shoreline. Photo by Margaret.

On the morning of the 13th, we drove to the Port Townsend Historic District and parked. We walked east on Water Street to Point Hudson and had a delicious late lunch there at the Shanghai Restaurant. We then walked west on the other side of Water Street, enjoying the cooler temperatures near Port Townsend Bay. Most of the buildings seemed to have been built in the 1880s to '90s. Several of them were being refurbished. The car and foot traffic was plentiful; and other than being a little too warm for us, it was a really lovely day.

Historic Downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Margaret.

Historic Downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Virginia.

Historic Downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Virginia.

Historic Downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Margaret.

Port Townsend Bay in Historic Downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Virginia.

Port Townsend Bay in Historic Downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Margaret.

Historic Downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Margaret.
 

Port Townsend Bay in Historic Downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Margaret.

Port Townsend Bay in Historic Downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Margaret.

Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe totem pole. Photo by Margaret.

Point Hudson in Historic Downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Margaret.

Cupola House on Point Hudson in Historic Downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Virginia.

Historic Downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Virginia.

We left Fort Townsend State Park Campground at 11:00 A.M. on 15 August. We had a lovely camping experience and a day of sightseeing there on the northern Olympic Peninsula. It was cool, gorgeous, and had an interesting history. I'm not sure of the source, but each morning at 8:00 I heard the Star Spangled Banner playing over a loudspeaker from our campsite. It was faint, but I definitely heard it.

Later that day we arrived in a small town I first heard of in a series of books and movies. I certainly never thought I would ever visit there; but I did, and it was rather surreal for me. Stay tuned and thanks for following our adventures!

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Brown Creek Campground & Lopez Island (WA)

Following our stop at Mount Ranier, we headed to the place Margaret next wanted to camp—Olympic National Park. While stopped for gas in Port Orchard (WA), our nephew, Joshua, contacted me, surprised that we were "already" in Washington and not too far away from where he and his family were anchored on their sailboat. After a lot of back-and-forth discussion, we decided to head north to visit them, but only after a couple nights of restful camping at the remote Brown Creek Campground.

Brown Creek Campground sign. Photo by Margaret.

We arrived at the campground at nearly 9:00 p.m. on 29 Jul 2019 but lucked out and found a nice pull-through campsite. Unlike the campground we last stayed at, Brown Creek was quiet and any campfires elsewhere in the campground didn't affect us. There was a hand pump for potable water, but Margaret wasn't able to get it to pump any water. (There is no longer any water, as the well has since failed.) There were vault toilets but no trash service. It had a lovely little creek and a rather stagnant-looking pond, but the trees offered shade, and it was quiet and smoke-free. With Margaret's senior pass discount, it was only $7.00 per night.

Brown Creek. Photo by Margaret.

We stayed there two nights; and on the morning of 31 July, we were on the road (Interstate 5) north to catch the ferry in Anacortes. Margaret does not like driving in big city traffic (Really, who does?), and the interstate traffic was intense through Tacoma and Seattle. Once we were a bit north of there, it was much more pleasant driving conditions. In Anacortes, we gassed up the Roadtrek and made a grocery stop at Safeway. We caught the next to last ferry of the day to Lopez Island, and over the water, we went. (Pretty exciting for these ferry riding novices!) It was a beautiful 45 minutes or so on the ferry. Once we disembarked, it was just about a mile to Odlin County Park (pronounced ODD-linn) where we were extremely fortunate to get a lovely campsite for two nights.

The Salish Sea shoreline at Odlin County Park. Photo by Margaret.

During our two-night stay at Odlin County Park, Margaret took Peaches for a long walk on a trail. We enjoyed watching in wonder as a doe and her two fawns grazed very near to the Roadtrek both days. It also rained during our second night, which is lovely to watch and listen to through the usually-open jalousie windows next to our beds.

Peaches on one of her "adventure walks" with Margaret at Odlin County Park. Photo by Margaret. 

Our nephew told us that people are allowed to park their vehicles for free up to 72 hours on Tower Drive in Lopez Village, so we planned accordingly—two nights at the county park and three nights in the village. There were public restrooms and showers (which we took advantage of immediately!) in the village park. Shortly after our showers, our nephew and his family arrived! We hadn't seen our deceased sister, Jacqueline's, son, Joshua, for nine years; and I had not met his wife, Breanne (although Margaret had years ago), or their four young sons. Fortuitously, Jacqueline's other son, Caleb, was going to be visiting the same weekend. The first visit we spent catching up and getting to know Breanne and our great-nephews—ages 8, 5, 3, and 15 months. The adults sat and talked while the three older boys kept busy running around, and the baby toddled about. After Josh and his family went back to their boat, Margaret treated us to delicious udon noodle bowls at Satsunai Noodle Bar. Yum!

My delicious dinner: veggie udon noodles. Photo by Virginia.

Bright and early the next morning, Caleb arrived on a ferry; and he and Josh took Margaret and me to a laundromat. Showers and clean clothes...what an amazing feeling! Later in the morning, we all went to Shark Reef Sanctuary, including Peaches, for a lovely mile or so walk over exposed tree roots and embedded rocks. The trail ended at some rocky cliffs with a view of San Juan Island and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The "boys" climbed the rocks and trees, while we women merely walked and talked. Just offshore on some rocks were a number of sea lions sunning, which we all enjoyed watching. We concluded our walk at a shaded picnic table to enjoy some refreshing watermelon. We all had a great time together.

Climbing rocks (L to R): Silas, Malachi (MAL-uh-kye), Caleb, Josiah, & Josh. Photo by Virginia.

The Salish Sea and San Juan Island. Photo by Virginia.

Breanne carrying Micah (MYE-cuh). Photo by Virginia.

Later that afternoon, Joshua picked up Margaret and me and took us in his tiny dinghy to his 45' sailboat, where we were treated to a delicious veggie spaghetti dinner. There wasn't enough wind to sail, so he motored us out in a huge loop from Fisherman Bay north to near Friday Harbor on San Juan Island and back to Lopez Island. 

Lopez Island from the sailboat. Photo by Margaret.

Josh's three older boys are seasoned sailors and are very much at home on their home on the water. The five-year-old is especially fearless and had me quite nervous as I watched him maneuver his way around the boat.

Fearless five-year-old, Malachi. Photo by Virginia.

Following behind in the wake of the huge ferry made for a rockin' and rollin' good time!

The ferry, NV Chinook, leaving Friday Harbor. Photo by Margaret.

Our extremely knowledgeable and capable nephew had a goal to live on the water and worked hard to make it happen. His wife, Breanne, is a very supportive and flexible partner and first mate. Watching her with their four extremely active sons, she exhibited nothing but kindness and patience.

Our nephew, Josh, the captain. Photo by Margaret.

We brought our camp chairs along so we could sit on the foredeck. I didn't trust my balance at all and stayed put. The cool weather, pleasant company, and incredible views were all available to me right there and I was supremely happy! When Josiah, our oldest great-nephew (8 years), asked me to read his favorite book to him, my initial feeling was panic, as I hadn't read to a child since I last read to my daughter about 13 years ago. I had to draw on the many years dormant sense of enthusiastic delivery required to hold a young child's interest in a story. I was relieved it went as well as it did. Josiah, (nephew) Caleb, and I all seemed to have a great time, though. Whew! 

(l to R) Margaret, Caleb, Virginia, and Josh. Photo by Breanne.

That evening the sunset and its reflection on the water was a strikingly vivid orange. Its glowing warm hue contributed greatly to my feeling of serenity when partnered with the gentle movement of the boat over the calm waters.  

San Juan Islands sunset. Photo by Virginia.

Although I absolutely love bodies of water of every kind, I do not have "sea legs," as I have many issues with balance. I also feel a strong avoidance of being in water I can't see through and where there are native "inhabitants." So, getting in and out of the tiny dinghy that delivered us to and from the large sailboat sort of freaked me out, especially since it was nearly dark on our return to land. Josh and Margaret were patient with me; and I didn't fall out, which made the entire evening positively memorable. Yay!

The next morning they took us to Watmough Bay on the southeastern end of Lopez Island. It was an easy walk, and the bay was lovely. The older "boys" again went rock climbing, while we women, Peaches, and the two youngest great-nephews, Silas and Micah, stayed on the ground. After tiring of waiting in the sun, Margaret decided to take Peaches on a different trail back to the parking lot. It was much more challenging than the one we came in on, but they made it back okay to Breanne and me returning on the first trail. The brothers and the two older boys arrived shortly after Margaret and Peaches on the second trail, as well.

Part of the family by Watmough Bay. Photo by Virginia.

We had a lovely picnic lunch in Lopez Village Park, after which Caleb left to catch an afternoon ferry back to the mainland. Hopefully, we will see him before another nine years go by.

Aunties, nephews, niece, and great-nephews. Photo by Breanne.

After a bit of a rest, Josh came to take Margaret for her first kayaking experience, which she absolutely loved! Uh oh, where exactly are we going to put a kayak on the Roadtrek? :>)

 Margaret during her first kayaking experience. Photo by Josh.

Fairly early the next morning, Margaret and I drove away from Lopez Village and got in line for the ferry back to Anacortes. Josh, Breanne, and the boys came and hung out with us until it was time to board. Then we were back on the water contemplating our weekend with family on the laid back and charming Lopez Island and thinking about the next leg of our adventure, which turned out to be another island. Cool!

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