I was able to cross a couple hikes off my bucket list earlier this month. I wanted to go on one last camping trip for the season on my birthday weekend and although it didn't take much arm twisting, my husband agreed to go with me. However, the weather had other ideas, so we just decided to take a long car drive and an overnight stay in a motel would suffice. 

I had an appointment with my cardiologist back in August, which included an EKG and an echo-cardiogram. Everything looked good and he is ecstatic about my heart health. However, when I bragged about climbing the long trail at Crater Lake from the water to the rim, he looked a little grim and warned my not to hike alone or be too far away from help. What is the fun in that? I reassured him, I only take shorter hikes, and usually not more then three miles in a stretch. Sometimes, I feel like I can't win. I love hiking, but also am well aware I have been gaining weight, so I walk more and walk, and now seem to be having some issues with my Achilles tendons. Oh, the joys of almost being 50! 

Nonetheless, there were a couple hikes I wanted to tackle. The first one was along the Washington state side of the Columbia River; Beacon Rock. Beacon Rock is a core of an ancient volcano. The two-mile round trip trail with a gain of 600 feet from the parking lot to the summit is a series of switchback boardwalks drilled into the monolith and provides outstanding panoramic views of the Columbia River Gorge along the trail and at the summit. A Discovery Pass is required for parking in the lot. We usually just buy the year round pass for $30 versus the daily pass of $10 and the pass is good for all Washington state parks. 

Next, we drove for several hours to the small town of Primeville for the night. We stopped at a couple name brand motel chains, thinking because it was October and the middle of the week, we would not have a problem finding a room. Not exactly wrong, but not exactly right either. The first motel we stopped at was booked and the second only had "Smoking" rooms. Yep, we weren't in Washington anymore. I remember when restaurants and hotels became smoke-free in Washington state and I wasn't too sure how I felt about the law (civil liberties and all). Now when I visit other states, I can't believe they don't have "clean-air" act themselves. I just have gotten so used to not having to smell cigarette smoke everywhere. But don't ask me about the other smell from another substance that is lit and smoked. (Remember, we live in Washington state). 

The next morning, we stopped at the Wildland Firefighters Monument.  It's a memorial for fourteen wildland firefighters who lost their lives fighting the Storm King Mountain fire in Colorado back in 1994, nine of them were from Prineville. It's a very beautiful and moving memorial located in Ochoco Creek Park. Then we drove to the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, stopping first at the Painted Hills Unit. For several years, since the first time a friend posted a picture of the Painted Hills, I have wanted to visit. And the imagery and vivid colors of the hills did not disappoint. There are many short hikes around the park that are very easily accessible for all ages. My two favorites were the Painted Hills Overlook and Red Hill (Red Scar Knoll) Trail. I also really liked the boardwalk walk around Painted Cove. The rain predicted for the day held off, but we were covered in heavy cloud cover throughout the day. The pictures we took do not do justice on how brilliant the colors of the hills really are. Nonetheless, so worth the trip to the middle of central Oregon. 

Trust me when I say, the Painted Hills are in the middle of nowhere. (No disrespect to those living in the small communities in the area). However, after hiking around the hills, we then drove several miles to a gas station in the small town of Dayville and purchased some fuel and snacks and then went to the second unit of the John Day Fossil Beds; Sheep Rock. We didn't spend a lot of time in this area, but we did spend about an hour at the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center. It was interesting seeing fossils up close. And there are lots of opportunities for hands-on experiences for the kids and kids at heart. We were afraid we were going to run out of daylight, so we only drove through the Sheep Rock area.  I thought the blue-green colors were a sharp contrast of the reds, yellows, and greens we had seen in the Painted Hills. I also liked the rock formations of Sheep Rock and Cathedral Rock. Unfortunately, we did not have time to hike this area. 

We continued on our drive stopping at the Clarno Unit. This was the second must do hike on my list, as I really wanted to see the Palisades.  The Palisades were formed by a series of volcanic mudflows. There are three very short hikes that start at the trailhead at the parking lot and then connect with each other. Geologic Time Trail (.50 round trip), Clarno Arch Trail (.25 round trip), and Trail of Fossils (.25 loop). I found the trails very informative as there was plenty of information signage along the trail, as well as fossils in the rocks and petrified logs. Then it was time for the long drive home, because the following day we had to attend a high school marching band competition.

Nevertheless, the John Day Fossil Beds are worth the drive. 

For many, summers mean picnics, fireworks, fishing, lazy days lounging in the sun by the water. All well and good, but to me, summer means camping trips. It's ironic, when I was younger and my parents, loaded us up in a older Ford Crew Cab truck, this ugly, beat up yellow pickup truck, which my dad had bought from the railroad company. Gawd, was that thing a beast and only got 9 miles to the gallon whether we had the camper on it or not. Then there was the time we went tent camping right outside Disneyland and the time we drove all the way to Mt. Rushmore in an Oldsmobile sedan pulling a one-wheeled trailer down the interstate, with our Samoyed dog, Czar, riding in the back window. I don't remember where my parents found this oddball trailer, I just remember the thing was super heavy and required both my parents, my two sisters, and I to lift the thing, so my dad could hitch it to these two hooks on the bumper, like a pioneer handcart being pulled by a car on our own trek. My dad had built a box on the trailer frame and filled it with all sorts of sundry camping equipment. These are my most vivid memories of growing up and even though I was often the first to complain about driving across the country (and yes, we did drive all the way across the country, as we drove to Maine one summer), my husband and I always make sure we took at least one trek with the boys every summer when they were growing up. We have taken them to Yosemite National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Olympic National Park, Mt. Rainier National Park, the Canadian Rockies, and numerous state parks around Oregon and Washington. My sincere hope is that we forged forever memories in their young minds of doing things together as a family.  

Now, the boys are all grown, and none of them what to go on trips with boring Mom and Dad. However, this summer, Ed and I went on some camping trips together. It started in June, with a quick weekend trip to Olympic National Park. Still one of my favorite parks as it consists of four separate ecosystems, something for everyone, and affords us the chance to do what we want on any given visit. This time, we camped at Lake Crescent. Love this campground. We had hoped because it was a weekday, we could arrive early enough to get a site closest to the water, but was not the case. However, we did have a nice view of the lake. Fairholme Campground, is still in my top ten favorite campgrounds in Washington state; however, bring lots and lots of  mosquito repellent. They were relentless all night long. 

It was our anniversary weekend, so we spurged and had dinner at the Lake Crescent Lodge Restaurant. The lavender lemonade was amazing, but dinner itself was unmemorable.and really on the pricey-side. But the views from the dining room were spectacular as we watched evening turn to twilight. The following morning, we rented a two-person kayak to explore the lake from the water for a couple of hours. Even though, we spent the first hour just going around in circles as we did not seem to find our rhythm until the second hour, we had fun laughing and basking in the warm sunshine. Boats and paddleboards are available for rental just outside the Fairholme campground and at the Lake Crescent Lodge. We also spent two days hiking; we hiked a small portion of the Spruce Railroad trail and then hiked to Marymere Falls (1.8 roundtrip). Later on, we took a couple of short hikes around Hurricane Ridge. I don't care what season it is; Hurricane Ridge is worth visiting in the fall, winter, spring, and summer. 

In July, we camped just for the evening in another part of the Olympic National Forest; Staircase. We live only an hour from the Staircase entrance, but this was only the second time we had seen this less popular part of the park; however, it was busy the Saturday we visited. Staircase campground is small with only 49 sites and is first come-first serve; however, outside the park is a second campground, Big Creek Campground, operated by the U.S. Forest Service. We hiked the Staircase Rapids Loop hike, a 2.5-mile round trip along the North Fork of the Skokomish River. My favorite parts about this easy hike was crossing the cable suspension bridge and being dwarfed by towering cedar trees. Maybe, I can convince Ed to bring me back in the fall when we would see fall foliage and the river flowing much faster and fuller. 

In August, we make the trek to Crater Lake. I'm a little disappointed in myself for never taking the boys here. Well, actually, Michael we took camping to Crater Lake when he was three, but the other boys have never been. The lake itself was amazing beautiful. Pictures never do it justice on how truly blue the lake is. We took some amazing hikes and drove all the way around the rim. My biggest frustration was I had checked the National Park website before we had left, mostly to keep an eye on a forest fire that was burning in the area, because I wanted to see if smoke was hampering the views of the lake. The website stated that Mazama Campground was 75% reservable with 25% being first come-first serve. We left the day before and "camped" in a rest stop a few miles from the turn-off of the road leading to the park entrance. And the following morning, after breakfast, we left early for the park. After we paid the park entrance fee, we drove to Mazama Campground. One the brochure at the entrance regarding campsites, it too, stated 25% of the campsites were first come-first serve. However, when we arrived at the campground kiosk, we were told that was not the case, and after the first of July all campsites were 100% reservable. One of the pitfalls about camping, I totally dislike making reservations four or six months in advance. I'm more of a whim kind of person, the weather is beautiful, Ed has the weekend off. . . let's go. Luckily, after driving through the campground, we found a site, not marked reserved, and the attendant, let us have the site for the evening. We were hoping to stay two nights, but we decided to stay outside the park the second evening as we were not guaranteed another night, and road construction was awful, especially when we had to wait 30-45 minutes for a pilot car. Nonetheless, we had a fantastic time visiting Crater Lake and took advantage of a couple of short hikes the first day, including a ranger-lead twilight hike up to the Watchman Forest Fire Lookout. A 1.8 in and back hike with a climb of 400 feet. Totally worth the hike, and the views of the lake and the sunset were amazing. Of course, we love forest fire lookouts. The following day, we drove to Cleetwood Cove and took the hike down to the water for a two-hour boat guided tour on the lake. The tour is totally worth the money and the long strenuous and steep hike back up the 1.1 mile (700 feet climb), starting at an elevation of 6850. Took me about two hours to hike back up the trail, took my time and was in no rush, but I did it! Now, I'm really wanting to climb Mt. Elinor (Olympic National Park), although I know it will take months before I am physically fit to hike the 3-mile round trip, 1300 elevation trail, but it's most definitely on my bucket list. 

Blogger's note: Sadly, I am very behind on blog posts, as well as, writing stories as I have capsulitis (frozen shoulder) and find it very painful to sit in front of the computer for more then a few minutes. However, a cortisone shot and physical therapy is slowly giving me back some range of motion. 

*****

There is just something about the mountains; perhaps it's the cool, crisp mountain air or the majestic snowcapped peaks that draws me to them. Every summer we try to take the boys on a weeklong camping trip, this summer was no exception as we went camping at Mt. Rainier National Park. We have visited the park several times, but this was the first time we ever visited the east side of the mountain. Unlike the west side (Nisqually entrance) that is open year round, the east side is open only for a few short weeks in the summer based on weather and road conditions. Therefore, we make the trek in late August between the time both Michael and Steffen had finished working scout and YMCA camps for the summer and right before school was to begin for the new school year. 

We borrowed a tent trailer from a friend, mostly because I did not want to crawl in and out of a tent (sucks getting older). We had a little excitement heading up to the mountain as the trailer's left tire blew. We found some humor in the situation as the exact same thing happened the last time we had borrowed this same trailer (except the other tire). This was beginning to turn into our own family tradition. Ed put on the spare and we were lucky enough to find a tire store just outside of Randall. A new tire on the trailer and we were on the road again. 

We spent several nights camping in Ohanapecosh. This campground almost immediately became my favorite place to camp at in Mt. Rainier National Park. I enjoyed that several hiking trails started right from the parking lot and that the campground was convenient to both Paradise and Sunrise. During the day there were ranger-guided hikes (although my boys thought they were too old to participate) and in the evenings, ranger-led programs at the amphitheater. Ohanapecosh even has a visitor's center; however, it is open very limited hours. The biggest downside is there are no showers at any of the campgrounds in Mt. Rainier, so I wore a sloppy ponytail most of the week, and was so happy when I was finally able to wash my hair. 

We camped along side the Ohanapecosh River and was surrounded by towering Douglas fir tress. I was surprised with a statewide burn ban park rangers were allowing campfires. However, it just does not feel like camping if we can't roast marshmallows. The days we were in the park we spent exploring and hiking. We hiked the trails to Silver Falls, Hot Springs Nature Trail, and the Grove of the Patriarchs. These hikes were fairly easy (however, the Silver Falls hike can be a bit strenuous as several steps are carved from tree roots), but I highly recommended these hikes. I especially liked walking over the suspension bridge over the Ohanapecosh River to an island of strands of old growth trees. We also drove to Box Canyon and Nickel Creek and took a short two-mile hike. This gentle trail offers amazing views of the gorge. 

Another day at Mt. Rainier National Park, we drove up to Sunrise. Sunrise is the highest point that can be reached by vehicle. We explored the visitor's center and even went on a Ranger-lead hike to Emmons Vista Overlooks (overlooking the Emmons glacier). Again, this was the first time we had visited this side of the mountain and the mountain put on a show for us with beautiful subalpine wildflowers and lenticular clouds that appeared to hover just over the peak. Even the weather cooperated with us, as we were surrounded by wildfires throughout the state but the winds held the smoke from settling around the mountain, although a bit hazy at times. We waited until dusk to watch the sun set, and it was beautiful with brilliant reds and oranges, but I really want to come back someday and watch the sunrise. 

The following day, we drove up to Crystal Mountain Resort. Again, the weather was picture perfect as we took a gondola ride to the top of the mountain and was awarded with breathtaking views of Mt. Rainier and the Cascade mountains, although Mt. Adams was covered in a thick haze of smoke. We explored and hiked some trails that in the winter are ski trails. Even though, I do not ski, I hope to visit Crystal Mountain Resort again sometime in the winter. I am sure I will be awe with this winter wonderland.  I also hope to come back when we can afford some time to explore Chinook Pass and Cayuse Pass and camp at the White River Campground. 

The next day, we left Mt. Rainier National Park and headed south towards Mt. St. Helens. Again, we had visited Mt. St. Helens several times over the years, but this was the first time we had even seen the mountain from the east side (the side of the mountain that experienced the most catastrophic damage during the violent eruption of Mt. St. Helens on May 18, 1980). We explored several overlooks that lined the road leading up to Windy Ridge. The road is very windy (silly English language) but worth the views of the crater and dome of the mountain and the rebirth of Spirit Lake. Once we reached the end of the road at Windy Ridge, we took a hike to the observatory, which is a series of steps carved into the hillside that switch back and forth. Took me a while, but even I made it all the way to the top. Finishing our visit to Mt. St. Helens, we then took the boys to Ape Cave, which is a large lava tube located in Gifford Pinchot National Forest. There are two hikes available to explore the lava tube; however, because of the time of day we had arrived the boys had to settle for the shorter hike, although I know they were disappointed as they had hoped to take the longer one. Those who do visit Ape Cave need to make sure they have a coat and two light sources for each hiker as it is very, very dark and cool down there. 

And this is why I continue to love living in Washington state, so much to do and see without having to take all day to get there. 

 There are times I really do wish I was paid to go on vacations. How I love to travel, sightsee, and explore.  This past summer we took a couple family camping trips around Washington state and that got me thinking about favorite campgrounds in the "evergreen" state. Washington state offers a wide variety of camping experiences from sea to mountains and everything in between. Therefore, I made a list of my favorite places to pitch a tent or park a trailer (I would love to hear what readers of this blog favorite campgrounds are). 

10. Fort Flagler State Park 
Location: near Port Townsend, Olympic Peninsula 
SItes: 116 (2 campgrounds) 
Description: Fort Flagler is a former United States Army fort at the northern end of Marrowstone Island. Overlooks the Puget Sound with views of the Cascades and Olympic Mountains. Offers boating, fishing, swimming, hiking and biking trails, military museum, and guided tours. 

9. Potlatch State Park 
Location: Potlatch (12 miles from Shelton) 
Sites: 38
Description: Camp along the saltwater shoreline of the Hood Canal (fjord). Activities including boating, fishing, scuba diving, shellfish harvesting, bike riding, and kayaking. 

8. Sun Lakes- Dry Falls
Location: Coulee City
SItes: 152
Description: 4,027-acre park includes a visitor center, hiking trails, boating, fishing, biking, golf, and more. Close to Grand Coulee Dam which is open for public tours. 

7. Colonial Creek Campground
Location: North Cascades National Park 
Sites: 142
Description: Just a short walk from Diablo Lake, Colonial Creek is the gateway to everything the North Cascades has to offer. Hiking and biking trails, boating, fishing, evening ranger programs, and more, Also an interpretive staff is available to learn about nature, glaciers, and the abundant wildlife. 

6. Salt Beach Recreation Area, Crescent Bay 
Location: Near Port Angeles; Olympic Peninsula 
Sites: 90
Description: Fantastic views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, explore tide pools at low tide, hiking, biking, and swimming, too. 

5. Cougar Rock Campground
Location: Mount Rainier National Park 
SItes: 173
Description: The campground is adjacent to the Nisqually River and just down the road from one of my favorite places in the world. . . Paradise. Activities include hiking, stargazing, sightseeing, and rock climbing. 

4. Fairholme Campground, Crescent Lake 
Location: Olympic National Park 
Sites: 87 
Description: Pristine glacial-carved lake offers boating, kayaking (rental), and fishing. Tons of hiking trails from towering trees, waterfalls, and surrounding mountains. Also close to Sol Duc Hot Springs and Hurricane Ridge. Campground is first come-first served. 

3. Cape Disappointment
Location: Near Long Beach; Washington coast (mouth of the Columbia River) 
Sites: 250 (2 campgrounds) 
Description: Miles of beaches, clamming, boat launch, fishing, and two lighthouses. In addition, there is a Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center to explore. Reservations available and highly suggested for the main campground, while a secondary campground along Lake O'Neil is first come-first serve. Cabins and yurts also available to rent. Cape Disappointment does not disappoint. 

2. Kalaloch 
Location: Olympic National Park (coast) 
Sites: 170 
Description: Open year-round, close to both the Hoh Rain Forest and Forks (for those Twilight fans). On a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean with staircases descending to the beach below. 

1. Ohanapecosh Campground 
Location: Mount Rainier National Park 
Sites: 188 
Description: A river runs through it! Fantastic campground in the middle of an old growth forest. Offers a visitor center (limited operating hours), ranger lead hikes, lots of hiking trails including a fairly easy 3 mile round trip hike to Silver Falls. Also just down the road from the famous Grove the the Patriarchs trail (even I was able to do both hikes on the same day with relative ease), and all Mt. Rainier has to offer. 

Some of my most fondest and vivid memories of my youth are of me going camping with my parents and younger sisters. I remember my first camping trip, I couldn't have been much older than four and my parents had taken me to Sequoia National Park. Faintly, I can see myself running around those giant redwoods and climbing their massive stumps. I decided when I had children, I wanted to take them on camping trips and give them the opportunity to have the same experiences I had, and I hope we have instilled good memories for our boys. 

This year was no exception. I was looking forward to a camping trip, especially since we were unable to get away last summer, except for a quick trip to Leavenworth, Washington over the Labor Day weekend. Unfortunately, we kept hitting road blocks and I fretted if we were even going to be able to make it work. To begin with, the summer was already booked pretty solid with work, scout camps, band camp, and Michael leaving for the MTC. That left us with only a short block of time to squeeze in a trip, throw in a camp staff meeting and a snow make-up day at the end of the school year and we only had an extended weekend to do our excursion. We originally discussed taking a trip to Mt. Rainier, in view of the fact, we had not camped on the mountain for several years. When I went to make reservations, we found out because of sequestration, our favorite campground was closed until later in the month. We then decided we would visit the east side of the mountain instead and was actually looking forward to visiting since we had never seen the east side of Mt. Rainier.  I found a campsite, but while checking road conditions, I discovered the road to Sunrise was not anticipated to be opened until later in the month and the second excursion to Crystal Mountain was out, because the gondola rides were closed the weekend we were supposed to be there. Sigh!

So. . . we did a complete 180 degree turn and headed to the Washington coast instead. We decided to visit Cape Disappointment State Park (formerly known as Fort Canby) because we had never visited the park, although we had visited Fort Stevens on the other side of the Columbia River. Camp Disappointment is where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean and where Lewis and Clark landed and explored when they reached the end of their journey to the Pacific. We drove to the park with hopes of finding a last minute site and we camped in a first-come, first serve campground in the park near Lake O'Neil, a little more primitive (no hook-ups) then other sites available in the park (those near the ocean), but still had water nearby, flush toilets, and showers. I would have liked to have camped at the sites on the Pacific Ocean side of the park, but I understand those fill up weeks and sometimes months in advance and even then it's a .25 mile hike to the beach from the campgrounds. Side note: Watch out for raccoon in this park, they are tenacious, are not afraid of humans, and will steal food and rummage through garbage. Had a bit of an adventure with a raccoon on our first day at the park. I was sitting  in our pickup with the door wide open and a raccoon waddled over to the door and peaked inside. I shooed him away, but my youngest son who was sitting in the truck with me, wanted to know where he went. We found him a few moments later in the back of the truck bed trying to open a storage bin, which I might add, had no food inside. He gave up, climbed out of our truck, and then climbed onto a bumper of another truck. No fear. We kept the doors closed from then on. 

While at the park, we enjoyed several short hikes. We hiked to both Camp Disappointment lighthouse and North Head lighthouse. I love lighthouses as much as I love forest fire lookouts - something about them stirs up the romantic in me. The call of seclusion. The guardians of the waterways. Fantasies of living in one many years ago. We were able to take a tour of North Head and climbed up the 66 steps to the top. Amazing and breath-taking views from up there. We also walked along the North Jetty, Beards Harrow, Waikiki Beach, Benson Beach, and toured the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. Have some family history with the Lewis and Clark Expedition - my great-great-great-great grandfather, Alexander Hamilton Willard was with the corps. 

Our final day at the coast, we drove up to Long Beach and spent the day walking along the boardwalk, driving on the beach, and shopping. I highly recommend Anna Lena's Quilt Shop - going to sound strange but she has amazing fudge! Then on our way home, we stopped at Fort Columbia State Park. This historical park protected the entrance to the Columbia River. It is one of the few intact coastal defense sites left in the United States. After lunch at Pizza Hut in Seaside, Oregon, we headed down the coastal highway towards Portland. Just a few miles from Hillsboro, we blew a tire on the trailer. Had a bit of an adventure as the trailer we had borrowed did not have a spare. Thank goodness, we left on a Saturday and not Sunday, because Les Schwab Tires are closed on Sundays. After purchasing a new tire, we were back on the road again, arriving back home late Saturday evening. On Sunday, Steffen left to work at a boys scout camp for the summer. 

Although, far from being a world-class traveler, I have been fortunate enough to do some traveling, especially on the west coast. (Before anyone asks why I did not include the Grand Canyon. . . all I can say is I have not been there yet--it’s on my Bucket List). Under the cut is a list of my personal favorite vacation spots in the west: