Leaving Orcas Island and Traveling East to Vermont- September 2018

On September 5^th, we drove around the horseshoe-shaped island to the town of Orcas and boarded the ferry to sail back to Anacortes on the mainland. The smoke was mostly gone so we had a scenic sail back. We unloaded with the rest of the vehicles, made our way through the resort town and headed east into the northern Cascade range to find a spot to boondock for the night. Our plan was to cross the mountains and find the Walmart in Wenatchee on the Columbia River Gorge. By the time we traversed most of the range it was getting dark, so before we got to Wenatchee we found a large pull-off on the side of the road along a river, and we stopped for the night.

On the ferry back to Anacortes

Looking back at Mount Constitution

Camped along US 2 and the Wenatchee River

The next morning we found the Walmart so that we could resupply with cheaper groceries. Island prices are steep. We were so glad we had stopped before arriving there the night before. The smoke hanging along the river was thick and the parking lot had posted signs that said “No Overnight Parking”. We bought our groceries, crossed the river and went west across the arid central part of Washington. We had a three night reservation at Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park near Coulee City. Four years ago, we made a quick stop there and promised ourselves, that we would return some day.


We checked into the campsite, a perfect site with a basalt cliff behind us and no neighbors on either side, and we were finally out of the smoke! The air was warm and dry and the stars plentiful at night. We heard the desert coyotes howl, which we hadn't heard all summer on the coast. We spent the days exploring the unique geology of the Dry Falls and the Channeled Scablands.

Camped at the bottom of the world's biggest waterfall.

Looking across the top of Dry Falls

Coffee Pot Lake in the Channeled Scablands

Sunset at Dry Falls

Dry Falls Lake - the former plunge pool for the falls

Mule Deer

September 9^th found us leaving Dry Falls and driving to Riverside State Park in Spokane to visit Cape D friends Carol and Chris, who were volunteering there. We had two nights along the tranquil Spokane River and enjoyed our visit to The Spokane House, the original fort that became the city of Spokane, where Carol and Chris were hosting. And, we shared good meals! Thanks for the great ribs Chris!


We left early on September 11^th and drove a long day to Glacier National Park to spend two nights with my brother Brian. After Labor Day, the St Marys Campground in the park is first-come first served. We arrived too late and the campground was full. We finally found a campsite in a private park nearby. Brian was working for the summer at a private lodge at St Marys at the east entrance to Glacier, and we were able to connect for his two days off. We spent a cold windy day driving up to Logan Pass and hiking to Hidden Lake. On our last visit four years ago, the lake was fog shrouded, so we were thrilled to finally see the amazing view! We did some more driving around the park and were surprised to see how crowded the park was that late in the season. Fall had definitely arrived and winter was close behind. Brian's lodge was closing in two weeks.

 

Hiking in Logan Pass

St Mary Lake

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Local residents

Hidden Lake

Hidden Lake

The next day took us on a long drive across Montana to the banks of the Yellowstone River north of Yellowstone National Park. Deborah and Mike, our fellow lighthouse hosts at Cape D were volunteering at the nearby Grizzly Experience and spending their free time exploring Yellowstone Park. We spent two nights at their campground and a twelve hour day looking for wildlife inside and outside the park. The locals had let them in on the secret location for finding grizzlies outside the park. We were up and out early on the cold morning while Mike drove us along the valley where we spotted two grizzlies, one far off, and one running in a field close to the road. No time for a photo before he was gone, but a memory of a large-muscled fast moving beautiful wild creature!

The Yellowstone River behind our camp site

 

Elk on the way to Yellowstone

Mule deer buck

Momma and baby bison

The Yellowstone River

Down at the overlook with Deborah and Mike

Mike then drove us through the park and we spent time in the Lamar Valley watching the herds of bison. Elsewhere in the park we spotted a mule deer buck, a large black bear, elk, and various smaller animals and birds. We did the quick hikes to the falls of the Yellowstone River and that was where we found the September crowds. We also made it to the Norris Geyser Basin, so we had a well rounded day in Yellowstone. That night we were honored to be the first dinner guests in their RV and enjoyed the food and wine! Altogether a very busy but wonderful day!

Norris Geyser Basin

Geyser-inspired arm waving by the geologist!

September 15^th found us moving on. We needed to be in Vermont for a family wedding by the end of the month, so it was time to make tracks across the country. We had a few places on our way that we wanted to make quick visits to, so after a quiet night at the Connor Battlefield State Historic Site in Ranchester, Wyoming, we left to travel to Devil's Tower National Monument, featured in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”.

Planning our trip home from Connor Battlefield

When we arrived in late morning we were fortunate to find a campsite. Within an hour or two, it was full. It took us 15 minutes to get through the entry gate to the park. This is a pretty remote area and in what used to be considered off-season! We got settled in and drove to the parking lot at the base of the tower for the hike around the base. It was hot and we shared the trail with a lot of other visitors, but that didn't distract us from the huge basalt monolith we circled. There were climbers scaling it. When we visited sixteen years ago, with our then 17 year-old daughter, there was a movement to keep climbers off the tower since this is a sacred area for the native tribes. I was surprised that after all these years and more awareness of respect for native sites, people were still climbing the rock.

Devils Tower

Genuine Prairie Dog

The next morning, September 17, we left for Jewel Cave National Monument in South Dakota. We signed up for a tour in the afternoon. It was not as spectacular as other caves we've toured, but it was good to get a dose of underground geology. We returned above ground and made the drive over to Wind Cave National Park, hoping to get into their campground late in the day. There were available campsites, but most were so small and steep that it took a while to find something suitable. We settled in for the night with thousands of prairie dogs, and a bison on the other side of the ridge from us, and a friendly, curious rabbit checking out our happy hour.

Mountain goats at the gate

Down in Jewel Cave

Selfie in Jewel Cave

Campground resident showed up for happy hour

The next day's plan was a drive to the town of Wall, South Dakota, east of Rapid City. We needed hook-ups, showers, laundry, and groceries before we started the long trek in earnest to get back east. We checked into a campground in town and did chores. The next morning we woke to cold and rain and decided to go over to the Wall Drug cafe for breakfast. A hot meal was a good idea, and one of the fry cooks recognized my shirt from the Amazon warehouse in Campbellsville, Kentucky. He was going back this Fall. We had already decided not to, after three years at Amazon. After breakfast we looked around at the shops we could walk to without going back out into the rain and then hopped into the truck and started the day's drive on I-90 east.

Breakfast at Wall Drug

Friendly locals!

We didn't get very far before we made an impulsive stop at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, just off the interstate. We declined to tour an old missile silo, which would have required backtracking to another interstate exit, but spent some time watching the movie and touring the exhibits in the center. Well done exhibits, but a little unnerving to recall my early elementary school years near Washington, DC, spent practicing air raid drills by descending into the crawl space under the building.

Heading east we encountered a wall of black clouds and heavy rain. We spent the night in the Cabellas parking lot, in Mitchell, South Dakota, hunkered down with other rigs riding out the storm. The next day we passed flooded fields and closed roads. Luckily we were on more interstate, so we were able to avoid flooding problems. We passed south into Iowa and out of the bad weather. North of Des Moines, Iowa we found a lovely campsite in an Army Corps of Engineers campground on Saylorville Lake. The temperature was 92 degrees when we arrived. More rain came through during the night and when we left in the morning it was 58 degrees. We headed east toward the Mississippi River.

Running from the storm

Saylorville Campsite

We managed to get into the Fairport Recreation Area campground in Muscatine, Iowa, and had a view of the Mississippi. The weather had cleared and was pleasant, so we took a breather and stayed for two nights. We watched the sunset and the barges go by.

Camp on the Mississippi

Sunset on the Mississippi

The night of September 23^rd found us in Spiceland, Indiana at a Flying J truck stop. The next day we kept going east on the interstate into the rain, and into Ohio. We had an appointment for September 25^th back at Jackson Center, Ohio at the Airstream Mothership to handle a few more warranty problems. We needed to get there early enough in the day to secure a campsite at the Terraport. We got there soon enough to find a space and the next morning the tractor came along and took the Airstream into the repair bays. We were hoping to have everything finished in one day as we had in the Spring, but we waited into a second day for the work to be completed. We finally left the Mothership at 11 am and traveled east again chasing another rainstorm.

Another beautiful Flying J sunset!

That night, September 26^th, we got as far as another Flying J in Corfu, New York. The next night found us in Dummerston, Vermont at the Kampfires campground. The weekend was devoted to the wedding of our nephew Jon and his bride Rebecca. It was a joyous occasion with family and new friends. The weather gods cooperated and we enjoyed the New England Fall weather and the leaves that were beginning to turn.

Wedding Flowers

Home Again and Moran State Park- July through Labor Day 2018

We had negotiated a trip back to Maryland to visit family before we started our next volunteer job at Moran State Park on Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands of Washington. We left Cape D and traveled up to Anacortes, north of Seattle, where the ferry would take us over to the islands. We found a storage yard there and left the Airstream while we drove back south of Seattle to Sea-Tac in order to fly out the next morning. It was 53 degrees when we flew out. After an uneventful flight we landed at Reagan International Airport in Washington, DC and stepped into 95-degree humid air! The week with family went too fast and we were back on a flight to Sea-Tac before we knew it. Unfortunately, we got diverted to Boise, Idaho because of a passenger with a medical emergency. The trip got extended, but the diversion took us past many beautiful volcanic peaks on the way back north to Seattle.


The next day we drove to Anacortes, hitched up the trailer and waited in line at the ferry dock to board the ferry to Orcas Island. The San Juan Islands are almost in Canada, just off the Washington mainland. There are dozens of small islands, but four large islands that we were hoping to have time to explore while we volunteered through Labor Day. July 11^th we docked at the town of Orcas on Orcas Island. It was about a half-hour drive around the horseshoe shaped island to get to the park on the far side. We passed farms and drove through the village of Eastsound before we entered Moran State Park.

Our ferry to Orcas

Coming ashore!

Driving through groves of Lodgepole Pine and Douglas Fir

When we were looking for volunteer opportunities we were intrigued by a blog post by wheelingit.us who spent a month in the park hosting on the top of Mt. Constitution, the 2,400' mountain which was the highest point in the San Juans and the best view in the islands. They were the only residents at the top of the winding five-mile road, which was locked at the bottom at night after all the visitors left. They spent their volunteer time working in the nature center at the summit and talking with visitors at the medieval tower built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930's. It sounded like something we would enjoy, so we made contact with the Friends of Moran who operate the small gift shop at the summit.


They seemed interested and after we were contacted by Cape D and accepted, we contacted Moran again and offered our time for July through Labor Day. We asked what our responsibilities would be and learned that the nature center had been torn down and not replaced yet. Instead a new bathroom had been built. She mentioned the gift shop and spending time at the summit, but nothing was really made clear. We were anxious to experience living at the summit, so we agreed to come. We also inquired about our ferry fee being paid, and thought we would be helped with that, as wheelingit.us had been. They were also willing to let us start late after visiting Maryland first.


After some confusion when we entered the park, it was decided that about 7 pm, before the summit was closed for the night, the road would be closed to traffic long enough for us to drive the trailer up the hairpin-turn-filled road to the only campsite on top of the mountain. Everything went smoothly and we backed into the site next to the bathrooms. The hookups were on the wrong side of the site and on the backside of the bathrooms. The three uni-sex bathroom doors faced our trailer entry. Everyone left us to hookup. We quickly discovered that we were the first to use the new site and the electrical outlet was for an appliance, not an RV. So, no electric hookup the first night, but we have a good battery, so we could use our lights.

Our volunteer campsite

The Mount Constitution Tower (AKA Ellsworth Storey's Tower)

THE VIEW

At the top of the tower

Sunset over Vancouver

The next day the outlet was replaced. We met with the head of Friends of Moran and learned that we might fill in at the gift shop occasionally, but she wanted us to spend our days up at the overlook and the tower. And, she was expecting five days a week. That was not what we had expected. Washington State Parks only require 14 hours a week per person per couple for our campsite. We were asked to take Tuesday and Wednesday off since those days were supposedly less busy in the park. We also discovered that unlike Cape D, there was no binder or resource with the information we would need to do our jobs. So, when all we were handed was the brochure given to park visitors, we had to jump on the internet, and begin quizzing staff, volunteers, and visitors for information.

Volunteer Docent shepherding a wedding party photo shoot

The two of us on duty and in uniform

More wedding photos - Lummi Island in the background and Mt. Baker in the distance

And a Proposal!

We had a short steep hike up to the overlook and the observation tower from our campsite which was next to the small parking lot at the top. There was also a small restored Airstream trailer on the old concrete slab from the torn-down nature center, which sold ice cream, sandwiches, and drinks. We quickly learned that the majority of our time was spent answering questions about what people were looking at once they got to the top after driving, hiking, or biking up. Then we spent the rest of our time taking photos of visitors with their phones and cameras, of them posing in front of the view. Greg liked to be up in the tower where the view was more open, answering questions and taking more photos.

The Tower view

When fog comes in, the world disappears.

And then comes back!

The view was incredible! Once again we were someplace to observe the changing clouds, fog, and weather. The summit overlook faced back to the mainland. On a clear day conically shaped snow-capped Mt Baker was directly across the water from us. The rugged Northern Cascade Range spread north and south from it. Vancouver, Canada was in the distance north up the water from us, Bellingham, Washington across the water, and on an exceptionally clear day, Mt. Rainier could be seen 130 miles south down the coast. Below us in the water were the smaller islands that are part of the San Juan Islands. Unfortunately, as the summer wore on the heat and smoke haze obscured the view, and the day came that the smoke from the western fires became so thick that we could not see beyond the stone wall at the edge of the overlook, and we were confined to our air conditioned trailer.

The gift shop at the top of the mountain

Looking East at the forest fire smoke

We loved the view, and really enjoyed talking to the visitors and sharing our knowledge, but the downside was that we had no privacy. Hundreds of people came up the summit every day. The park has 900,000 visitors a year and going up to the summit is the highlight of a visit to the park. The park was experiencing record breaking crowds due to the unusually sunny, warm, and dry summer. We wouldn't be surprised if they topped a million visitors this year.

Our campsite was fascinating to visitors waiting for the restrooms.

Many mornings were foggy

Inside the upper room of the tower

Our daily commute!

The gate was locked at the bottom at dusk, which in that northern part of the world wasn't until 10 pm. The gate was unlocked at 6 am, but hikers came up in the dark to see the sunrise, so we had loud people using the bathrooms outside our bedroom as early as 4:45 am. The time alone for us to enjoy our unique living arrangement was minimal. The bathroom lines were long, so while people waited they stared at our Airstream, took photos of it, walked around it, and even looked in the windows, all while we were inside. There was nowhere else for us to go. The space was small and we parked at a slight angle to try to carve out a small spot for our chairs and a grill on the slope side, but people still walked along that side. We had people trip over our electric cord and unplug it. People poked around our hookups to investigate how they worked. The park manager and the head of Friends of Moran listened to us and apologized, but short of us leaving, there was nothing that could be done.

Madrone trees at Obstruction Pass State Park

Huge Doug Firs along the Mountain Lake trail

Mountain Lake

So, we made the best of a crazy situation and spent our days off exploring the park, Obstruction Pass State Park, also on Orcas Island, and sailing to the other islands. Moran State Park has four lakes, several campgrounds, and lots of hiking trails. We explored the village of Eastsound and found a stellar laundromat and a well supplied Village Market, as well as trying some restaurants. One day we took the ferry to Lopez Island and drove the roads looking at the farms, and hiked to the Shark Reef Preserve. We capped off the day with dinner in the village of Lopez and sampled the famous Lopez Island Creamery ice cream. Another day we took the ferry to San Juan Island the largest island. We had a waterfront lunch at The Madrona Bar and Grill in Roche Harbor. Then we explored the San Juan Island National Historic Park, and spent some time at Lime Kiln State Park one of the best land-based places to see orcas and other whales. They weren't passing by though.

Taking the smaller ferry coming in to Lopez Island

Hiking out to Shark Reef Preserve

Looking for Orcas at Shark Reef

The Five-Star Outhouse of Lopez Island at Agate Beach

Dining outside at Vita's on Lopez

On Lopez, we played cornhole with rabbits instead of bean bags!

Selfie in the Lopez sunshine

On the ferry coming back from Lopez. Passing another Washington State ferry.

Bike touring is really popular

Roche Harbor on San Juan Island

Lunch on the deck

The Roche Harbor Resort

Chatting with reenactors at English Camp National Historical park on San Juan Island

American Camp on San Juan.

The view east from American Camp across Lopez to Mt Constitution on Orcas. Our home!

The beach at Cattle Point on San Juan.

We took a whale watching tour boat to look for orcas, There was still smoke from the fires, but we were able to see two pods of orcas and one pod had a baby. Then we did two separate days of walk-ons for the ferry to San Juan Island. We could park the truck for free at the ferry dock on Orcas Island and then walk on the ferry for free to go to the other islands. The town of Friday Harbor on San Juan Island is at the ferry dock, so we could walk off after a nice ferry ride, explore the town, eat lunch, and then ride back to Orcas and drive back up the mountain!

Lunch at the San Juan Cheese Company

Friday Harbor in the smoke

On The whale watch tour boat

Back at Friday Harbor having drinks while looking over the ferry dock.

Third trip to San Juan was a clear day, no smoke!

Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, float plane

Limekiln Point Light on San Juan

Another float plane near Friday Harbor

Patos Island Light House

Mt Baker from the water.

Whale watching boats waiting for an appearance

Smoke covering the top of Mount Constitution

After a busy Labor Day weekend, our commitment to the park ended. The night before the day we were to leave on the ferry, the road was closed and we drove the trailer down to a spot to park and stay overnight. Our last night at Moran was quiet as we packed the rig and prepared to leave the islands.

Watching the mainland lights come on. Anacortes on the right, where we would travel back in a few days on the ferry. Look close. There's a deer in the photo.

Moon rise from the top of the tower.

The trip down our last night.

Rosario Resort at our farewell diner with the other volunteers

Hiking the Cascade Lake trail

Cascade Lake

Cascade Lake Beach

CCC tower on a foggy day.