Wine Tasting in the Yakima Valley

Yesterday Fred and I drove through the valley trying different wines. The countryside was so beautiful with all the farms, small towns, and rolling hills filled with fruit trees and grape vines. There must be at least 50 or more wineries here. Many are small and take the time to explain their operation to you. The Steppe Cellars were harvesting and making wine while we were there. We watched them clean the grapes and crush them. We even met the wine master (who is from Germany) when she stepped outside to check the clarity of a new batch of wine. Fred even got to cork a bottle with the manual corker that they have used. Now they have a new automatic corker. Tours and tasting of each one was great. We bought lots of wine so all of you can enjoy some when we get home.

As we got closer to Prosser where the Balloon-Wine Fest was being held, we saw the balloons lifting off. What a beautiful sight with the mountains and sunset in the background!!!

Toppenish, A Town of Murals

We have spent the last few days in Toppenish, WA right in the middle of the Yakima Wine Valley. We are actually staying on the Indian reservation in an RV Park near the casino. It is a very dry area with lots of sun, but with a series of canals and rivers, they have turned the valley into an agricultural meca. We have watched them picking apples (lots of apples!!), carrots, pears, peaches, grapes, etc. This is where many of the Washington cherries come from and tons of wineries. Toppenish doesn't have any wineries, but they do have murals all over town--over 70 of them. Most have to do with the history of the region.

Waterfalls of the Columbia Gorge

We have crossed the Columbia River several times on this trip. Where it forms the border between Washington and Oregon, it forms a deep gorge (4,000 ft) left by an Ice Age melt. The scenic Hwy 30 passes through a series of waterfalls that are year round because they are spring fed. How beautiful they were!!! We kept driving and circled around Mt. Hood on the same day. By the time we got there, it was covered in clouds. By 3:00 PM it started raining and rained until 9:00 AM the next day without stopping. Parts of OR and WA get so much rain. We have been lucky. This was our first experience with it.

Beautiful Coastal Drive

Thought I would share some of the beauty of our drive today.

A Great Restaurant

We found a great place for lunch yesterday. It was full of atmosphere as you can tell from the pictures. We need a place like this in Quinlan. We had the best cheeseburger and fries made the good old way. Fred had a 1949 Ford like this one as his first car when he was in high school. Notice the cool hood ornament and the wide white-wall tires. What fun!!!

Riding the Sandrails

We are in dune country in Oregon. The Oregon Dunes are over 40 miles long and are some of the highest dunes in the world. So in order to see them we rode a dune buggy today. After we got strapped in and got out to the dunes, I WAS PETRIFIED!!! This open car traveled at about 45 MPH up, over and down the side of huge dunes. The driver (I think he was a former race car driver) said that he took it easy, but I didn't believe him. After I saw us sail down the first tall dune, I didn't open my eyes for a while and just when I was getting used to it enough to look, it was time to stop. We stayed out on the dunes for 40 min. The highest dune we climbed was 585 feet tall almost straight up and then straight down. Another time he got the buggy going really fast and we circled a dune clinging to the side with a lake down below. I still can't believe we survived!! And sand is everywhere. It was stuck to my sunscreen and all inside our clothes. We used Q-tips in our ears and noses, but even after a shower, we still feel sandy!!!

Oregon Coast

We have been touring the Scenic Oregon Coast Highway for the last week. When we started out, it was so foggy that we couldn't see very much, but after a couple of days, it cleared up and is sunny and in the 70's now. Beautiful weather and everyone comments on how unusual it is. We started in the north at Cannon Beach where we walked the beach looking for the haystack rocks. We toured the Tillamook Cheese Factory (very interesting to see the machinery cut huge 40 lb blocks of cheese and shrink wrap it). The coastline was beautiful here with rocks on the beaches, but nothing compared to the ruggedness of the central coast.


We have to take the driving slow because of the curves around the cliffs and the grades that we are climbing. It is the most beautiful sight ever!!! Just like all the pictures you see. There are lighthouses on the cliffs, pullovers along the road, and lots of shops in the small towns. (There is no sales tax in Oregon. They pay a state income tax but have no sales tax on anything. People from other states come to buy cars and motorhomes here---saves a lot of money. It is so amazing how cheap it seems when they don't add that sales tax.)


Newport has been my favorite so far. We stayed in an RV park on the marina under the bridge on the bay. Across the water from us was the historic bayfront with restaurants, shops, fish markets, etc just like Seattle and San Francisco but on a smaller scale. They have a huge rock structure in the bay--it is full of sea lions who bark a lot ! We heard them the first night--the next day we went looking for them. Had so much fun watching them. We spent the rest of the morning at Yaquina Head Natural Area. There are tidepools there where sea animals are exposed during low tide. We saw dozens of sea stars (starfish), sea anemones, purple sea urchins, mussels, and crabs. Harbor seals were resting there and their heads were bobbing in the water near the shore. More about the animals in another post. Then back to the bayfront for lunch. We ate clam chowder at Mo's, an Oregon institution since the 40's.


That afternoon we drove to Cape Perpetua--magnificent cliffs, lava flow rocks with sea caves and holes where the force of the waves would shoot up into the air. They call these spouting horns. We call them blow holes.

Another day we drove to Devil's Punchbowl (a huge rock cave where the waves had worn away the center) Cape Fowlweather ( a cliff with a lighthouse named because winds here can reach 100 MPH in the winter), and Rocky Creek scenic area. From the lookout on top of Cape Fowlweather, we spotted huge gray whales in the cove just below us!! We saw the blow first and then they would come out of the water. They were huge just not quite as large as the ones that we had touched in Mexico. So much fun to see all the animal life as we go along. If we had paid for a whale watching tour, we couldn't have seen them any better.

On our last morning here, we went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium right on the bay. They had a touch tank where we could touch the starfish. So many varieties and they all feel different. Some are really soft. They had the usual sea lion, harbor seal , and sea otter exhibits. Also the shark exhibit where you walk through a tunnel and the shark and other fish swim all around you. The birds were great--puffins flying, diving, and grooming themselves. They seemed to be posing for cute pictures and would even look right at you.

Our Smart Tex

Yesterday while we were stopped in a parking lot for a rest and lunch, we let Tex off his leash since there was no one around. He immediately ran into the bushes and Fred kept calling for him to come. What a surprise!!! He came out carrying a dollar in his mouth!! We couldn't stop laughing at him. Fred kept trying to get him to go back for more. In these hard financial times, it is great to have a dog who gathers money. (For us to use at the casinoes--WA and Oregon are full of Indian casinoes. Most of them look new. I joke with Fred that we are taking a tour of all the casinoes in the Northwest. We only play the penny slots, but it is so much fun!)

Olympic Peninsula, WA

For our journey to the Olympic Peninsula in the NW of Washington, we drove just north of Seattle and put the MH on a Washington ferry for a 30 min crossing of the Puget Sound. This saved us 3 hrs. of driving time. We then drove across the Hood Canal Bridge--a floating pontoon bridge made in sections. It is closed when winds reach 40 MPH or more, but it was okay today. Next summer it will be closed for repairs, then people who need to get here, will have to drive further--can you imagine? We checked into our RV park in Sequim just 15 miles from the main visitor center of Olympic NP. Sequim was a unique town of about 5,000 but had lots to offer--good BBQ brisket at Jeremiah's, whole Dungeness crab at 3Crabs, and a yummy breakfast at the Oak Table--the best pancakes ever!

We then headed to the visitor center and to the 17 mile drive up Hurricane Ridge to view some of the glaciers in the park. It has 60 and they look like snow-capped mountains. The ridge we were on was 1 mile high. Since we have 4-wheel drive in the Jeep, Fred always wants to take some dirt back roads--Beautiful scenery, but I just hang on and close my eyes as we speed down or up the cliffs. Nothing like being married to an ex-cop who has been to driving school to learn to chase bad guys.

The next day we drove to the other side of the mountains to the Hoh Rain Forest where we walked the hall of mosses trail. This area receives 12 feet of rain a year. Very green and lush and whole trees are covered with moss. From here, we drove over to the Pacific Ocean at Realto Beach--finally, I hoped to see the ocean. Just about a mile from the coast, it got so foggy that we could not see a few yards away. The beach was littered with huge logs that float down the rivers from the mountains during storms and floods, and then are washed on shore by storm waves. We had to climb over piles of them to get to the beach--huge waves but couldn't see much for the fog. It was an unbelievable sight!!

On our last day in Olympic NP, we went to Sol Duc Hot Springs where I soaked for a couple of hours in the hot pools. (88-105 degrees---I preferred the 100 degrees) It was sooo relaxing--I could have fallen asleep in there. On the way back, we stopped at Salmon Cascades to walk by the rushing water and enjoy the huge boulders that the water was spilling over. Today was Cowboy game day so we hurried back to watch the game--5:00 Washington time. What a victory! How 'bout them Cowboys?

Next we are off the the Oregon Scenic Coast.

Idaho to Washington, Part II

Scablands

Ross Lake in North Cascades NP




After we left Idaho, we drove to Grand Coulee Dam, WA. Grand Coulee Dam is one of the largest concrete structures in the world and was built in the 1930's on the Columbia River. It has a hydroelectric plant and provides irrigation for 500,000 acres of eastern Washington land. The area here is a desert. We couldn't believe it either. It looks like Big Bend. But they irrigate and grow all kinds of fruits and grapes for wine here. We saw miles and miles of apples, pears, plums, etc. I really like the Gala apples that they produce here. The small towns had produce plants where they are packaged for market. At night, we went over to the dam where they show a laser light show off the dam wall. It was very impressive and patriotic.

The next morning, we drove through the scab lands of Washington. This a large valley that was left when glaciers melted and moved through as rushing torrents leaving huge layers of rocks in random deposits and cutting away the land. It is banded on each side by rock cliffs. We loved it as we are really into rocks. We always think this is more beautiful than wooded mountain areas. Then we headed to WA 20, a national scenic road that follows the Skagit River through North Cascades NP. As this is a remote region and the road was not built until the 1970's and is closed in winter, we chose to spend the night in the national park campground. We had other people tell us how they like to dry camp in remote regions, so we thought we would give it a try. I had planned 2 nights here, but I finally decided 1 night would be enough to see what we wanted to see. That was a great decision! The campground was solid, thick woods. We could not fit in the site that they had reserved for us. It was supposed to be 55 ft long and we are 40 ft. Should fit, right? Well, the site was curved in an arc and motorhomes don't curve. So we got in the Jeep to drive around and see if we could fit in any site since all the pull thrus seemed to curve like that. We finally found one if we could just get by the trees. So Fred attempted it, and I got out on the ground with my walkie talkie trying to direct him. He was just about to make it when the ranger drives up to tell him that he might fit better on the other side of the campground. Well, he was almost in this one so he keep on trying to fit between the trees. When we got it all situated and leveled with the jacks, we realized that it was a double site for two campers and we were parked right in the middle of the space and could not possibly fit on only one side, so we decided if they wanted us to pay for both sites, we would. We were exhausted and needed a happy hour.

For those of you who don't camp, dry camping is when there is no water, electric, or sewer hookups for you to plug into. We have some lights that work off of battery. We have water in our tank and holding tanks for the used water. We can run the hot water heater and stove off propane. It was hot, but you can't use air conditioning so we opened the tiny windows in the bedroom--not much breeze from them. No TV so we went to the visitors center to see exhibits, took a walk by the river, sat out until dusk (until the huge mosquitoes came), and then read until about 9:00. It gets dark early in these woods. Then we went to bed--a little hard to fall asleep for me because I can't stand to be hot. Sometime in the night, we woke up because it was freezing and we thought it was raining-- actually it was the rushing river. So we got the windows shut and snuggled down under the blanket for a few more hours. In the morning, Fred just had to crank the generator to make coffee even though he wasn't supposed to use it. We both agreed NO MORE DRY CAMPING FOR US UNLESS IT IS AN EMERGENCY!

The North Cascade NP was absolutely beautiful! The mountains still had some snow on them and the lakes were turquoise. The Skagit River had a swinging bridge across it and some trails in the woods with ferns and mosses covering the trees just like a rain forest.

After our one and only attempt at dry camping, we drove to the Skagit Valley, north of Seattle to stay in LaConner, WA. where we had full hookups and satellite TV. How wonderful! LaConner is a small fishing village on one of the many waterways in WA that lead to the ocean which is still 60-80 miles away. There were mountainous islands everywhere. The San Juan Islands were offshore here and Washington State Ferries have service to all of them. We went to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island for a day trip. The ferry ride took an hour and we had lunch and shopped and tasted wine at the winery before returning to LaConner. ( The guy who owned the winery is from Mississippi--he asked about my accent--everybody always does. That East Texas drawl is hard to get rid of.) Another day we drove the scenic drive onto Whidbey Island where we stopped at Deception Pass--absolutely beautiful-and on to Anacortes where we drove through Washington Park, walked the beach cliffs, and watched a sea lion swimming. Another day trip was up north on scenic Hwy 11 known as Chuckanut Drive, a cliff hanging drive that had beautiful views of the bay and rocks below in the water. We stopped at Taylor Oyster Farm to see how they grow and harvest the Olympic oysters. Then we had lunch at Edison, a small historic bar from the 20's. Believe or not, they had a gourmet chef and the food was delicious. We had some of the local oysters grilled. Then I had fish tacos with some of the best corn salsa, and Fred had a cheeseburger with some of the local beer. He is in to trying beers from the places that we visit. So far in Washington, we have found Indian casinos everywhere. There were two in this area. We are always sure to leave the Indians some of our money.

From Idaho to Washington

I am finally back online again. The wifi reception is not always what the RV parks advertise. We had a great 6 days in Idaho with our friends, Fran and Dan. Fred and Dan had a great time talking about fishing. Since Fran has taken a job, Dan was nice enough to be our tour guide each day. We toured their town Coeur D' Alene and rode a paddlewheeler around the lake. It was beautiful but cold and windy as it got down to 38 the night before. Most of the lake houses are already closed down. Some are only accessible by boat. They are unique lake houses like the one built on a rock. They also have a large resort on the lake downtown--its golf course if located on down the lake so you take a boat to get there. Then you have one hole that is on a small island out in the lake. After you take your first shot, you ride a boat out to the island to finish. I can only imagine what it must cost for that golf package. The real estate here is also very expensive. There is a great amount of wilderness in Idaho. Some of the lake land belongs to the Indian reservation. We did enjoy their casino a couple of times. I won $110 in a penny machine on a 9 cent bet. I was excited as I usually lose my $25 and I am through

Another day we drove up to Sandpoint located on another lake, Lake Pend Oreille, the largest lake in Idaho. That is the home of Coldwater Creek. I wanted to go to the original store. It is now a new store on Main Street. It does not have nearly the stock that our stores in Dallas have. There were lots of tourists shopping there--even ran into a woman from Frisco. I guess all the tourists must keep the stock depleted. As I was coming out of the store, Fred and Dan were looking for me as they said that they had found the perfect place for lunch-- just like two little boys that had found a candy store. I should have known that something was up. The place , The Loading Dock, was down a side street. Just as we go in, Fred tells me that they have REAL Chicago Hotdogs--he has even asked about the peppers and the poppy seed buns. Dan had never had one. For those of you who have never had one, it needs to be a really good quality all meat weiner with poppy-seed bun, sport peppers, relish, mustard, lettuce, and tomatoes with a dill pickle spear. As I am not a real hot dog lover, I ordered a pizza. It was just okay, but the boys just loved their hotdogs. I have a feeling that Fran will be making a trip to Sandpoint with Dan so he can introduce her to Chicago dogs.

Afterwards, we drove out to the Kootenay Wildlife Refuge to see the migrating geese and ducks. They rest here after coming from Canada before they continue on south.

On Fran's day off, we went to Spokane, WA, to shop. This is just across the border and their largest mall. She and I bought jeans, new white blouses for the fall, and some summer tops that we found on sale. That night, as it was our last with them, we went out for a special dinner at Cedars on the Lake. We had a waterfront table and each enjoyed a prime rib dinner.

We will see them again in a few weeks when we meet up for the Prosser Balloon Fest and Wine Festival in Washington.

IDAHO

We finally made it to Idaho on Thursday.. Miles of prairie and grassland until we got to Utah where we saw some mountains and then as we crossed into Idaho--more prairies. We couldn't believe it. It is very dry and agricultural in the south. They even have to irrigate. It is just like South Texas except you can see mountains in the distance. And the wind is unbelievable all across the Great Plains. Tex didn't even want to tarry long at the rest stops. He wanted back in the coach. Stacey, I can understand why you said that you would never move back to West Texas because of the wind.

We spent Thurs. night in Boise and then went to White Bird near Hell's Canyon on Friday. We finally got to the mountains and it is beautiful but still a dry area. We camped down in a canyon between the Salmon and Snake Rivers. On Saturday, we rode over to Hell's Canyon--45 min to go 17 miles. Those were rugged mountains. We rode a jet boat up into the canyon some 60 miles or more. The white water was great coming all the way in the boat over the top and on the sides and we got drenched. Then I went swimming in 65 degree water. You never warm up in that. The canyon is the deepest in North America at 1 1/2 miles deep. The Grand Canyon is only a mile. The family that owned the boat and campground were having a family reunion. They only had 8 paying customers and the family on the trip. They were so friendly and we asked lots of questions about Idaho. We just felt like we were visiting them. We saw black bear, a bald eagle, Rocky Mountain sheep with full curls, and several sturgeon being caught in the river. WHAT A GREAT INTRODUCTION TO THE WILDS OF IDAHO!

On Sunday we drove on to Coeur D' Alene to visit Fran and Dan, our RV friends that we met in Red Bay, AL at the Tiffin factory a couple of years ago. 2100 miles to get here!!! Up here it is

very green, lots of evergreen trees and mountains--so much different from southern ID. The town is set on a lake with mountains all around and it has become quite a touristy place in the summer. Houses worth millions of dollars. Celebrities even have houses here--Patty Duke,JohnElway, Ellen Trivolta(John's sister) so he comes to visit here. We are looking forward to exploring it all.