GA Gypsies – Fulltiming

Yesterday we drove through the North Cascades National Park, stopping at some overlooks and some lakes. Diablo Lake is breathtaking. There are more glaciers in this park than anywhere else in the US except Alaska. The “glacial flour” or silt makes the water in the rivers and lakes greenish-blue. There was quite a bit of smoke, so it was difficult seeing the mountains in the distance.

Today we drove west to Anacortes. It is an island and is absolutely beautiful. We drove around to Washington Park, which had great overlooks of the water and the town. We also drove to Deception Pass and crossed one of the most photographed bridges in the US. Saw some minkes (whales) in the water. Also saw either a seal or sea lion swimming in the harbor where we walked around, looking at all the boats after eating a delicious dinner at Anthony’s. We leave in the morning for Port Angeles, on the north shore of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We have to go back through Seattle and Tacoma, then north again through Gig Harbor and all the way up to Port Angeles. We could take a ferry, but we would have to pay over $300 because of the length of the truck and camper and we are considered double width, so double price. Tony would rather drive. I’m sleeping through Seattle traffic.

Yesterday, we drove through Tacoma & Seattle (I really needed some Valium – the traffic was crazy and it wasn’t even during rush hour) and on up I-5 until I finally convinced Tony that we could make better time on a parallel, state road – which took us through some beautiful farmland in northeastern Washington. We did stop at a Lifeway south of Seattle – I needed some retail therapy. Made it to the campground, then did a ride around to check out the area. It was so smokey that we could not even see the Cascades as we drove through the valley. Today, it was a little bit better, but still real smokey. We drove to Sedro-Wooley, where the Visitor Center for the North Cascades National Park is located and got some info. from the park rangers. They said most of the smoke was coming from fires in British Columbia. He checked the air quality rating, which was in the red – dangerous for anybody to breathe. Hoping the wind patterns will change and blow it east instead of south. We rode around a bit this afternoon. Tomorrow we plan to ride through the park and Friday we plan to go to Anacortes, which is northwest of us and on the sound. No pictures – couldn’t see anything for the smoke.

Well, tomorrow we leave new friends and a new favorite place. We have so many more adventures planned for the next few weeks. We’re off to a campground in Concrete, Washington, which is close to the North Cascades National Park. Last evening, we drove to Tacoma (only about 30 minutes from here) and saw Franklin Graham on his Decision America tour. He was really good and he told it like it is. He was bold enough to say in a very liberal, very pro lgbt area that God intended marriage to be between a man and a woman. His message was for Christians to become involved in the political decision making in our towns, states, and country. I’ve been collecting t-shirts from all the places we’ve been – this is the best one yet.

Pictures from the tour – a beautiful, cool evening in Tacoma.

Pictures from our ferry ride to south Seattle (didn’t get off) then on to Vashon Island.

Last night, listening to Franklin Graham, I couldn’t help but reflect on the past ten years of my life – how it has changed. Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the day Thomas was injured. I wasn’t walking with the Lord at that time. How it took such a trial for me to turn to Jesus Christ. And how the greatest loss of my life led to the greatest blessing of my life – a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Even with sorrow, I have so much joy now. Thank You, Lord, thank You for never giving up on me.

We are still in Olalla, Washington. We’ve been exploring different areas of the peninsula each day. Yesterday, we took our first ride on a Washington State Ferry and crossed the sound to lower Seattle and then to Vashon Island. How cool! Didn’t see any wildlife on the ride, but the sound is absolutely beautiful. We drove around Vashon Island and stopped in a little restaurant for a snack. Today we drove to Fox Island and rode around. We’ve got just a few more days here before heading to the North Cascades and camping again. It was very smokey yesterday but much breezier and clearer today. Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow – the first since we’ve been here. This evening, we could actually see Mt. Rainier across the sound as we were driving around. I just really love it here. It has cooled back off and back down to “normal” temps. in the 70’s. Not sure what adventures we’ll take tomorrow and Sunday. Monday, we will pack up our things and tidy up the house. Our houseowners will be back Monday evening and we leave Tuesday morning. I will miss this peninsula. Breaking news tonight – a SeaTac employee stole a commuter plane and crashed into the sound south of us, catching the area on fire. Not dull here.

I can hardly believe it is August. This is always a tough month for us, but we have so much to do that I hope we will celebrate Thomas’s life and smile from all the happy memories. If you want to see where we are, go on Google maps and type in Olalla. We are on the Kitsap Peninsula, surrounded by Puget Sound. We have been exploring in all different directions. Wednesday we stopped at the Visitor’s Center in Gig Harbor. We had planned to take the ferry from Bremerton to Seattle. She was very concerned for our safety and almost begged us not to go. Casey, the homeowner, was also concerned about us going. Apparently there is a large homeless population (even some here on the peninsula) who are very bold about demanding money from people. We have encountered several people here on the peninsula. We drive around here – it is mostly rural, with rainforest all around and glimpses of Puget Sound around every bend. There is a county park very close to the house that has a nice walking trail down to the Sound. We started walking it one afternoon with not the right kind of shoes and didn’t go very far. We tried again Thursday afternoon. The trail went down, down, down, down, and down. I know we went at least a mile and we still had not reached the water. My legs were feeling shaky, so we decided to head back up, up, up, up, up. Up was tougher than down. I don’t think I can make it all the way down there. We went to Poulsbo, north of Bremerton, on Friday. What a cute little Scandinavian town. We parked and had the best time walking downtown, visiting the shops. There are several other communities we want to visit and I think we may drive back into Tacoma one day next week. The weather has cooled off nicely to normal conditions – it is down right chilly at night. I love this peninsula. Port Orchard, just north of us, is the home of Debbie Macomber, the novelist. Port Orchard is Cedar Cove – which is a series on the Hallmark channel. Thought that was pretty cool.

That’s me in the blue & white shirt. Next picture is our new doggie friend, Kirra.

We are still here! We are still in Olalla, WA, still housesitting until the 14th. The weather has cooled off nicely and today it is overcast and drizzling. We’ve been just chilling and exploring the area. Love riding around and seeing the Puget Sound. The tides are very extreme – at low tide the area around here is pretty much all mud flats. Yet, at high tide, people can dive off the bridge. I just love the area. More later.

Well, we went exploring yesterday afternoon and ended up in Gig Harbor. Found a great little restaurant on the bay and watched all the activity. Yachts, boats, canoes, SUPs, sailboats – if it can be done on water, it was happening. The area is having a heat wave, but it cooled off into the 70’s last night. Very pleasant watering the garden and flowers. Today, we headed back to Gig Harbor for Costco, but we did some shopping too. Got a pizza at Costco and brought it back home. Chilling for the rest of the evening. Loving it here.

Always save the best for last – dessert – so yummy, we couldn’t resist – chocolate, peanut butter blondie!

Wednesday, we left Randle and headed to Olalla. What a beautiful drive. We arrived in Olalla and made the last turn onto the road that “our” house was on. Just as we turned, there was a sign that said weight limit 5 tons. (We are over 12 tons.) Tony stopped right in the road, blocking two roads. There was a little convenience store on the corner of where we turned, so with me blocking the traffic on the road, he was able to back up and pull into the store. There was a gentleman pumping gas who told us an alternate way to get there and with some maneuevering, we were able to get turned around. Then, we passed Casey & Tina’s house, so we pulled over and Tony walked back up to the house. Casey was there and they drove around looking for a place we could turn around. Finally, we got in their yard and parked. We met the kids and the cats & dog and Tina had supper ready for us. They were still packing to leave for Germany on Thursday. I turned in early. Thursday, they got off to the airport and later in the afternoon, we went exploring the area. We are in Olalla, which doesn’t even show up on maps. We went through Tacoma and crossed the bridge over the Tacoma Narrows that replaced the “Galloping Gertie”. We are on the Kitsap Peninsula and there are several towns on this peninsula. The Puget Sound is absolutely beautiful. We have lots to do while we are here.

First totem pole – saw it in Port Orchard.

Rode back into Mt. Rainier, to the Paradise and Longmire areas. It was beautiful. Have more pictures.

The elk were back in town this afternoon.

There is a tree in the campground with carvings in it.

Until later.

Sunday we drove to Windy Ridge Observation Point in Mt. St. Helen. It is only accessible from the north entrance at Randle. Windy Ridge is where the guy who was monitoring the volcano sent the final message that it was about to blow. The road was very rough and winding. It took us about 2 hours to get there. The destruction and devastation that remains, 38 years later, is just unbelievable. There are still trees down all over the mountains, the river that the mudslide and debris flow came down is like nothing we’ve ever seen. The pictures do not do justice to being there. I did not realize that MSH has erupted several times since 1980 and is still active. We could see smoke plumes coming up out of the crater.

Yesterday, we drove back in to Mt. St. Helen, but we had to go around to the south entrance. It took over 2 hours just to get started at the Visitor’s Center. Another incredible day of seeing the power of nature at work. We met two middle aged gentlemen from Portland who were biking their way down from the top. One had had a flat tire just as they came by the Visitor Center, so they had stopped there for repairs. Had a really nice conversation with them and they gave us some local tips on places to see when we get to Olalla and to Port Angeles.

Leaving MSH, we stopped at a gift shop. This is the area where there are a lot of people who believe in and have seen Sasquatch. This store had numerous casts of footprints and it was the area where the video that has been in documentaries was filmed. The owner of the store has seen Sas twice and he goes out, searching for them. She said he has had rocks thrown at him at night and has a thermal image gun that has shown heat from the rocks. Tony & I came to the conclusion that there may just be Sasquatches in the Cascades. These forest are so thick that my Daddy would have had a hard time getting through them in his younger days. You can’t walk between two trees and then there is the rainforest undergrowth of ferns. There was also an A frame house next to the store that was in the blast zone and it has been preserved to show all the ash & debris inside. The roof is now level with the ground.

Getting a late start today, but headed back into Rainier, to the Longmire and Paradise areas. Then we are off tomorrow to Olalla to housesit for 19 days.