"It is in the wild places, where the edge of the earth meets the corners of the sky, the human spirit is fed." Art Wolf


Friday, July 17, 2015

And then there is Washington State to exlore.

Continuing on north we are currently exploring the State of Washington.

Seeing many "rental" RVs, especially with foreign speaking drivers, makes me think....just how often do you hear someone say, "Hey, lets fly into Cincinnati, rent an RV for a bunch of money and travel around Ohio enjoying the scenery?"  

Lavender Farm visit.  Best ten dollar hat ever.  Mitch had warned me that the pink one from Mexico was looking pretty ugly.  I suppose I could try to wash it.



Welcome to Washington State Parks. Beautiful trees, quiet and no hook ups.



On our way to visit Mount St. Helens.


Back in 1980 my mother was 65 and living in Portland, OR. On the day that St. Helen erupted, among other things, huge amounts of ash was spread across the sky some of it falling on Portland. My mother had her first heart episode that day as she stood at a bus stop, the street lights on at mid day. Luckily for her, other waiting passengers standing with her knew CPR and she made a recovery, that time and lasted another five years.

Yes, I turned 65 this spring.  I am hoping that "nurture" can over come "nature" and genetics.   I have her freckles but not her life long smoking habit.   I also have the "dog walking" health care plan.


Harry, I can understand. He lived here.  But reading the stories of campers that were rescued and survived (or some of those that didn't) makes you wonder who sets off camping when the geologist had been telling folks for the last month that an eruption was eminent and the bulging mass in the center of the mountain kept expanding under pressure.






How to tell if you are in a National Park?  The critters run right up to you hunting for crumbs.  They read the fine print about no Stuart dogs allowed.


Looking through the collection of old newspapers from that time brought most of the details back.  I remember the pictures of the blown down trees from the blast.  I had forgotten how much the water and flooding came from the instant snow melt not to mention the ash and lava.



Mt Rainier in the distance.


Kite flying anyone.  Grayland Beach State Park.


Or just more of that "dog walking" health plan.


And then friends will gather together.


And if you drive out the public access road that the cars use to get to the beach, Garmin keeps trying to redirect you back to land.





Lucy is on her way with her Dad, to fly her kite.  I know her name is Lucy because her Dad had to keep redirecting her to the beach.  She tried several times to turn around and make her way back to that gray haired lady sitting on the bench with the friendly dogs.




In the evening


And in the morning


Someone hasn't lost her stick carrying skills.   At least so far she hasn't been interested in picking up any of the dead crabs on the beach.


South Beach National Park campground.  No reservations accepted but if you are a gambler and drive in about 1 pm on a Friday afternoon there might still be one or two sites left.  Many choose to park long way but with my front window, back in works best for the view.


Oh, and the view out the front window is all for the price of $7.50 per night.







We will be parked here for two nights and exploring the area by car tomorrow.   Today we listen to the sound of the surf and read. (Or crop pictures and make up a blog post)  Amazing where you can find 4G signals out along the wilderness. 

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