Play Day, Hike Elk trails, visit Forks – July 30

I woke up early and took myself for a little explore around the campground. As I left Taiko in the camper was I blessed to find many birds, a weasel, a rabbit, not to mention more than three varieties of slug. It was lovely, and drippy, and wet. (Did I mention this is a rainforest? LOL.) Definitely time to pull out the raingear – jackets and pants. I did find the river – the Clearwater. There’s a lovely set of shallows right by our campsite. And the riffle in the deeper water that sang us to sleep.

Finally the boys wake up. We get breakfast made, consumed, and cleaned – then into rain gear to go explore the area. There are elk and/or people trails all through the forest here – so we have lots to explore. It wasn’t raining – the showers of the previous day has cleared off. It’s overcast – but not wet. The raingear is needed because even though there’s no rain – the plants are still quite wet.

There’s an ancient Maple tree by us that is just covered in moss. Issac was captivated by it. Look! I can see a Monkey! Look! There’s another. Monkeys? There are no monkeys in the Olympics. No, not real monkeys – they’re in the moss. Nature’s version of Hidden Pictures had us all looking for monkeys.

Issac led the way on our bushwhack. We headed down to the river and played in the water. There’s a strange sort of rock there. It looks like a regular black rock, but when you step on it the rock crumbles into small cubic chunks, then sand. The boys have named it “Puzzle Rock”, but we’d sure like to find out what it is.

After the river we headed inland. The forest floor is covered in Oxalis – it looks like a giant clover, and the ever present ferns of seemingly infinite variety. Mosses drip from the branches of the trees. The black, black soil makes everything seem greener than it really is. Lush. Hold that sh for a while… Lush-sh-sh. Yeahhh. That’s it.

We headed into Forks to find a late lunch, grocery, 1# propane bottles, and a Wi-Fi hot spot.

Break Camp and Find Copper Mine Bottom – July 29

We got everything packed up and we’re off for the Olympics. This is the only stop where I don’t know where we are staying. I’d like to try something primitive – back in the middle of nowhere. It’s going to make “sight seeing” a pain – but I think we’re ready for the adventure. Looking at the maps – I think we’ll make our way to Upper Clearwater Campground in state lands to the west of Olympic National Park. I think I’ll stop at the Quinault Ranger Station for some advice.

On our way out I tried to get Wi-Fi at the nearby rest area – but I couldn’t get a signal. So, we continued on. I tried again at a Starbucks – but they wanted $8 for a day pass. Ug. I’m not interested in that. So, onward we went. (I did eventually find access in Forks – but you already know that.) We missed the Quinault Ranger Station by about 25 minutes. They closed at 4:30. So, we pressed on – it was getting late, and it was raining on and off – so there wasn’t time to dawdle. I decided to head for the Upper Clearwater campground. So, we drove, and drove, and I started to get really concerned that the turning for the campground wasn’t marked off the road. We finally found one little sign (Campground 1.3 miles) – it wasn’t Upper Clearwater, but it was something. So we took it. What we found was Coppermine Bottom Campground – no electric, no water, pit toilets, no people, perfect

You know you’re in the rainforest when the signs start growing plants….
I was delighted to find only two other sites occupied. Not many were large enough to accommodate even a pop-up, but we found a very nice one under a grove of old growth trees. Backing in was impossible due to the way the drive angled off the road. So, I went in the wrong way, and backed in quite easily. It was cold, dripping, and getting dark. So, we got everything up in a hurry, and settled on soup for dinner. We could hear a river nearby, but otherwise all was silence.

Mt St Helens – July 28

I was up well before the boys, so I took Taiko for a walk around the campground. There were only three or four other campsites up and moving around that I could see. The campground is pretty full. It’s nice. I’d recommend it for anyone looking to camp in the area. I found the place where you can get firewood. $5 for a bundle. The boys have been crying out for a campfire and marshmallows. The day simply will NOT be complete without one.

Well, we finally got up and moving. We left Taiko in the popup and walked over to the Visitor Center across the street. Since it’s state run, my federal annual pass didn’t help and we had to pay admission. I think it was $5 for the three of us – Oh! Break the bank time.

The visitors center is very well done. It has a lot of information no only about why St Helens blew, but about her historical significance to the local Native Americans. They also had loads of information and maps about the area. We decided to head up to the Johnson Ridge Observatory – it’s the closest you can drive to the mountain. And yeah, since it’s federal – I can use my annual pass. Grin.

It was an interesting drive. I was living in Seattle in 1980, when the mountain blew – so I remember it well. But, this is the first time I’ve been to the actual site. Entire forests were replanted. We found out a Johnson Ridge that the USFS replaced over 20,000 acres of forest, and another over 150,000 acres were replanted privately. Weyerhaeuser put signs up next to the road indicating when the forest was replanted, and what species of tree was planted. It was weird. We’d drive around a mountain bend and see tract upon tract of forest. But it was different from the usual forest. Usually there’s variety in height, age, shapes, species – there’s just variation. It was like looking at a lawn. All the trees were exactly the same height and shape. Creepy. Really.

The shatter zone near the mountain has been left alone to return naturally. Twenty-eight years later, and plants are slowly returning. After all – the seed has to be carried in – mother plants were all destroyed. A few very young trees survived the explosion – protected by snowpack. But they haven’t had an easy time of it – elk, and beaver have taken their toll. Mt St Helens isn’t going to have an evergreen forest. Red Alder is the first tree to return successfully. It grows a lot faster than evergreens. I remember reading that somewhere – “young” forests are deciduous, while “old” forests are evergreen.

But the power of the explosion really hit home during the drive up. At one point we drove down by the river – and you could see foot upon foot of ash and mud making up huge banks. Buried five and six feet under the ash and mud, sticking out over the river where the ash and mud had been undercut by the river were the ends of trees. Piles of them. Old giants, four feet in diameter – thrown down like a game of pick-up-sticks for the gods.

Taiko wasn’t allowed out of the parking lot at Johnson Ridge Observatory – so we made him comfortable, and played shadow tag up to the entrance where a ranger talk had just started. Yeup. Completed the Junior Ranger program here too. We’re getting to be real experts at it.

This stop seems to have made a big impression on Issac. He continues to talk about it a days later. “You know, like at Johnson Ridge.” Is a common comment. I think it made an impression on all of us.

Back home at the wagons, the boys finally got their campfire. Jakob made the fire while I tended to dinner. We had campfire packets – which the boys found quite tasty. We also had a new neighbor. A guitar playing neighbor. Taiko is much more comfortable with this one – he’s alert, but isn’t growling.

Goodbye Woods, Hello Seaquest State Park – July 27

It took four adults working fairly diligently to get us on the road. I was figuring lunch time, and sure enough at about 1pm – we finally got it all put back together and were on our way. Our family friend, Sue Paules was us at The Woods for the weekend and was a huge help getting us resorted out and back on the road. Mom has been collecting quarters – and sold me $20 for future laundry runs. Dad and Issac took our bottles (and one of theirs) down the hill to refill them. Thanks Dad!

We pulled into Seaquest State Park at about 5:30. Our spot is quite handy to the path under the highway to the Mt St Helens Visitor Center run by the state. It was easy to back into, and Jakob is getting much better at directing me. We were fairly close to our neighbor on the door side – sites 70 and 71 would make a nice combination for a small group needing two sites. 71 can only accommodate a tent though – it’s not long enough for a camper. In any case, our neighbor hadn’t arrived yet. And there’s a tap with a drain for dumping grey water just across the street. Handy. We spent the rest of the evening getting the popup, up, and getting settled. The boys were definitely crawling out of their skins – so we headed over to the playground to burn off some more energy. Our neighbor had arrived by the time we got back. Poor guy, stuck next to us. He just wanted a quiet place to read, and go through the pictures he’d taken that day. I had to remind Issac to be neighborly twice – that child is LOUD. Taiko didn’t trust him at all. He didn’t bark at our neighbor, but he was very alert and growled quietly. I think maybe I should have had him come over and introduce himself to the dog. That might have solved it. However, he only stayed one night – so in the end it didn’t matter.

We broke out the mosquito coils. The mosquitoes aren’t bad, but certainly are a nuisance. They worked quite nicely. We ate all our meals outdoors. I switched the outside stove to one of the little 1# propane bottles. It clips along quite nicely now. Don’t remember if I mentioned the trouble with the outdoor stove I’d been having. It was taking an hour to boil a liter of water – really. Very anemic. Turns out we messed up our high pressure line to the stove when we modified the propane for two bottles with an automatic cutover regulator. Anyway, Dad suggested just hooking it up to one of those little bottles – and I’m good to go. I hate using them though since they can’t be refilled or recycled. Ug. But, I’m back in business – so I’ll us them, and fix it sometime after we get home.
I’m having trouble getting the boys to bed at a decent time – it means they’re getting up late, and we’re getting off to rather late starts. Hummmm.

Travel to the Woods - 16 July

We managed to pull out of Collier State Park at about 10 am. Later than I would have liked, but the boys and I are still getting into the swing of things.

In Bend seredipity struck. We stopped for gas and grub, and sharing a parking lot was a U-Wash Dog place. Taiko was dirty when we left Sacramento. And after mosquito repelent, dust, and dirt from the campground - well, untouchable is a fitting description. So, while the boys munched on Burger King - I washed dog. Very nice.

George, who has been following us diligently on SPOT thought our lengthy stop in Bend remarkable, until he logged into the bank to update our checkbook and saw the charge at the U-Wash. That gave him a good giggle. He's loving SPOT. I'm not so certain about him commenting - "I see you parked at the south end of the parking lot at that rest area." Hummmmm. Still, it gives him a great deal of peace of mind, and I can always turn it off. HA!

The pull from Bend to Yakima kept me awake. Winds were heavy, and even though I had the sway bar cranked up - the camper would still bounce around. I can only imagine what pulling a high profile trailer through that crosswind would have been like. Yikes!

We hit Cle Elum at about 6pm. The van, bless it, managed to pull the camper up the ridge to The Woods. It wasn't fast, but we got here. Mom and Dad were waiting with dinner. And the boys and I got set up in about half the time it took us at Collier State Park. We're getting better!

Collier State Park (OR)

First off, here are a couple of pictures taken at the house right before we jumped in the van and left.

We made Collier State Park for the first night. Mom and Dad had driven by it many times and suggested that it might be a good stopping off point for our first night. No reservations are taken - it's first come, first served. We pulled in about about 8pm, and, since it was so late, decided on a pull through spot. I asked for something quiet, and the camp host said "It's quiet as the grave after 10pm." (10? try more like 9! and he was right - it's a very quiet campground.) So, we settled into B15 on his recommendation.

We really liked the campground, full hook ups, 30 minutes from Crater Lake, relatively unknown, clean hot showers, laundry room, for only $17/night. Plus, you can take a short walk to their logging museum. AND, it's dog friendly. What's to hate?

Well, dog friendly might be in question. The massive amounts of chipmunks had Taiko so wound up he refused to eat. And, once they figured out how long his lead was they stayed just out of reach.

Anyway, we got camp set up, and dinner on the table by 9:30pm. Not too bad for our first night.

Everyone was very friendly. I'd really recommend this campground as a jumping off place for trips to Crater Lake. And, if you fish - it's right next to a fishing river.

Sadly, I was so busy keeping the camp running, I neglected to take any pictures. Sigh.