The Pacific NorthWest Road Trip – July 2021 – The Adventures of Bill & Nancy

11 July 2021 – Tuesday morning we saddle up a Delta 737 and fly to Seattle to start our adventure in the NorthWest. We will rent a car in Seattle and eventually bring it back when we finish. Here’s a couple maps to show where we will be going. Other than Seattle we have no reservations anywhere so I’m not sure where the stops are … depends on what kind of day we are having.

That’s the plan. See you Tuesday evening in Seattle. Don’t forget your bathers … it’s hot out there!

13 July 2021 – OK!!! We made it to Seattle. After a nice evening in Tampa we caught an early flight out of Tampa and had an uneventful five hour flight to Seattle. Couple memories:

We got our car and drove to Downtown Seattle where we are staying in the shadow of the Space needle. We parked the car and decided to do some tourist stuff. Here’s our time at the Space Needle built in 1961 for the Seattle World’s Fair:

The Top of The Space Needle – It’s 552 feet tall

That was it for the day we arrived. As I mentioned in the caption we walked to our restaurant for dinner. I have found Seattle a bit disappointing in that it seems to be in decline. I have been to Seattle a number of times over the years. Starting in 1971 on the way to Viet Nam and a number of times over the years since. It used to be a very clean, vibrant city with a lot of hard working people who were friendly and were very proud of their city. I have not found much of that today. It reminded me of some third world country where they had some really interesting things they wanted tourists to see but didn’t take care of anything else. There are many, many attractions that are closed, including major ones like the Science Museum, and restaurants, and services. There is litter everywhere long the sidewalks and road sides. Sadly, it not just that the city doesn’t pick stuff up, the people who live here, and the tourists, just throw stuff because there are no garbage cans and they don’t want to carry it around. The roads, streets and walkways are in disrepair with little evidence of any attempts to fix them. Lastly, the architecture is very uninspiring. Nothing imaginative or creative … just big buildings with drab colors. Downtown has a few interesting buildings. Reminded me of Tashkent, Uzbekistan. They do have modern art pieces set up all over which makes you wonder about their priorities. Anyhow. Underwhelmed but I did like the Space Needle.

14 July 2021 – We got up at 1 AM to call our Grandson who was Five years old today. He was just finishing his family birthday party after dinner and was opening his presents. He lives in Australia so he had a 17 hour head start on us. We went back to bed and slept in till seven. Got up, had coffee, a mediocre breakfast provided by the hotel and decided to get going. First on our agenda was the Chihuly Glass Museum. As you will see and in the event you don’t know who he is, he is a famous Glass artist who has Glass on exhibit all over the world. We were introduced to his work By Brenda and Dave Gardner of Atlanta so I took a lot of pictures in the museum for Brenda (and all of you too of course) to enjoy. Here they are. there are several pictures with explanations on them:

That took up a good part of the morning and the other biggy we wanted to do was go down to the Harbor and see the Pike Street Market. To get there we took the Monorail that was also built for the Seattle World’s Fair and is still running. They were doing some major renovations to it but it did get us to where we were going.

That was our day in Seattle. The things we saw were impressive. Nothing very new but well done. I don’t see Seattle progressing very much. Rich people put up big things to get their names on the wall but I can’t see where anyone is caring for Seattle. If you do come here, make sure you know what you want to see. See you tomorrow in Spokane.

15 July 2021 – As promised, here we are in Spokane. A very different texture, vibe, and culture. Spokane lives out in the prairies of Eastern Washington and is snuggled up against the Western slope of the Rocky Mountains. It is an old city but appears to be well kept. Again, many closed businesses and activities but many people out and about. We are staying in the University section of Spokane right next to the Spokane River. You can almost throw a rock from here into Idaho. Because we are in the university area there are many young people which gives the area a lot of energy … always fun to be around. We did walk downtown after dinner to stretch our car cramped legs and while it is old, it is very well kept, clean, and there are people out and about. Not nearly so many tourists, families on vacation, tour buses, etc but people are out and about.

Before I get into our trip over here, here are couple alibi pictures from yesterday that I thought important to add to the Seattle setting.

The First Is A view Of The Space Needle Where You Can See The Restaurant on Top … You Need To Be Quite a Ways Away From the Needle To See The Top

Okay … The trip Here. We left the hotel after a little breakfast and getting the car out of parking. Driving out of town was not too bad, mostly because everyone was coming into town. Anyhow, the first twenty miles or so were city driving, then a couple of the suburbs. The suburbs appear to have the money. Fancy decorations along the road, sculptures, decorative walls so they don’t have to listen to the traffic … and no trash.

Then we finally got to US 2 which is the Hiway we elected to cross Washington on. If you read my blog on our trip last Summer; we followed US2 from Duluth, Minnesota to Glacier National Park. I-90 runs from Spokane to Seattle but we decided to take a more scenic route. Twenty years ago I traveled from McCord AFB in Seattle to Fairchild AFB in Spokane to talk to some of the Air Traffic Controllers I was responsible for. I spent the afternoon and evening with them and drove back the next day. Anyhow, I found the geography of Washington to be extremely diverse and very interesting and I have been telling Nancy I wanted her to see it. Today she did.

As soon as we were clear of the Seattle Metropolitan area we were in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. Not as big or rugged as the rockies but very nice to look at. Here are some pictures of the Cascades.

We drove out of the Cascades and came to a town named Leavenworth. This is an authentic Bavarian Town that really goes out of its way to be Bavarian. They were having a festival there so we stopped and walked around.

Yup .. There’s A Bavarian Dude Now! “Guten Tag Herr Rumpel”

We did pause to have a couple Lattes and some German bakery. Quite good! From there, Washington turned agricultural. First Fruit Farms, Then Huge Wheat Fields, then Smaller Farms and then back into the tress. The land became much drier and rocky. From Leavenworth to Spokane, about two hundred miles, is like driving in New Mexico or Western Texas.

Ok .. That was today. Tomorrow is going to be a long day. We are leaving Spokane and driving over to Couer d’Alene, Idaho, then South to Boise via the National Forests. No Wheat fields tomorrow … many trees though!

By the way … did you notice what I brought back into my photo’s that I didn’t have the first couple days? Any guesses? Tell you tomorrow. Good Night.

16 June 2021 – (This is actually the 17th but the hotel’s Internet blew up last night so I didn’t get to post yesterday. So I will pretend it’s yesterday until I get caught up today. Then it will be today!!) Made it to Boise, Idaho. Long day but many interesting things to see along the way. As I did earlier, I have a couple alibi’s from the 16th and our stay in Spokane.

A Tower in A Park We Walked by After Dinner. Don’t Know What it, or The Wire Thing Behind it Is … Looked Interesting Though!

So This Morning we got up and got on our way. We had a long way, on curvy roads and a lot of little towns to get past. We were going to do more in Couer d’Alaine but it turns out it is just another goochy city on a big lake that rich people park their boats at. The lake is beautiful but lined side to side with marinas. Then there were many more farms than I expected. Big farms, lots of wheat fields, and many cattle. We did get up onto the high Plains which is very different than the plains of Kansas.

Morning On The Road, Spokane, WA towards Couer d”Alaine Idaho

We suddenly came to a big decline and it wound down into a large city. Two Actually. Lewiston and Clarkston co-located on the confluence of the Salmon River and the Snake River. Both towns were named after Lewis and Clark … you can guess which is which. The Salmon River flowed into the area and we followed it upstream for most of the rest of the day.

View of Clarkston and Lewiston On The Snake River

We came to a turnoff to Devils Canyon on The Snake River. It was eight miles over a pass on a dirt road .. so we gave it a go (I’m driving a rental)

We didn’t make it to the Snake or Devils Canyon. The road became much rougher and finally a sign that only ATVs were allowed. So we went back. The rest of the way to McCall was routine. More farms, Cattle, horses. At McCall we took US 55 straight South to Boise .. More lakes, tourists, and traffic. Boise must have been in a level five evacuation …everyone and his cousin were heading to the mountains with their boats and campers .. then we remembered it was Friday night … WEEKEND!!

And we made it to Boise. It was well after six when we arrived. Checked into our hotel, went and had dinner, did some planning for tomorrow, and went to bed. Long Day.

17 July 2021 – A much shorter day with a big high. We had an easy start and headed East to Mountain Home, then South to Elko, Nevada. A very picturesque drive, including through a Native American Reservation. We we swarmed by grasshoppers at one point, and drove by a lake at 6,200 feet elevation. Most of the day was spent above 5000 feet. Very High Plains.

Here we are in Elko, Nevada. I did find a carwash and got the grasshoppers off. Spending the night here and hading South to Eureka, then West to Sparks where we will prepare to see Reno.

Oh!!! One last thing … my question that I asked you about what was not in the first couple days and has been in since?? My windshield … and so much of it. We have a little Honda Civic rental and the windshield is steeply sloped causing all sorts of reflections … as you have seen. No apologies though .. That’s the way it is when you travel … Hmmm.

18 July 2021 – Team Bill & Nancy are now in Sparks, Nevada, just a stones throw from Reno. As a matter of fact, we get here earlier than we had expected so we spent the afternoon exploring Reno. However, as before, I have an Alibi from our stay in Elco, NV, then some thoughts, then Reno, NV.

We Had Dinner At A Nice Italian Restaurant in Elco. Across the Street we Saw This muriel. It is quite Good and Conveys A Peaceful, Western Feeling … Don’t You Think?

We left Elco, NV after a brief breakfast. The road South was all High Mountain Plains, a few fields, some farms, and some mountains. It was mostly at or above five thousand feet. Nothing new so no pictures. W drove south about a hundred miles and got to Eureka, NV. Eureka claims to be the friendliest town and the most lonesome road in America. I’m not sure about the friendliest town but here was the sign for the highway.

We followed HWY 50 Due West for about two hundred miles to get to Sparks where we are staying tonight. While the terrain yielded nothing new or interesting, we did encounter some interesting sites (some of which were terrain)

There is a very big wild fire burning in california and the smoke is obscuring everything around here. Very bad for photos.

After we checked in to our hotel we went to reno. We went downtown, to the River Walk, and a couple other places.

We found Reno to be rather underwhelming. Not much to see, not much to do (unless you wanted to gamble and all the Casinos are filled with smoke). It is interesting, we met interesting people, and had a nice time. The smoke was getting thicker.

Don’t know what impact the fires will have on our itinerary tomorrow. We plan to drive around Lake Tahoe and see what is there.

An interesting factoid about Highway 50 is that it follows the original route of the Pony Express. We didn’t see any riders but some of their dust was still hanging in the air.

19 July 2021 – We have made it to West Reno … That’s about 12 miles West of where we stayed last night but at least its farther West. However, we did drive about 200 miles today. We left Sparks, went west on I80, took I580 South to Carson City, got back on US50 West which took along lake Tahoe all the way to the Souther tip of the lake to a small town called South Tahoe. Somewhere along the way we had drifted into California so we took California Hiway 89 North all the way back to near Reno, following the West side of Lake Tahoe. We again caught I580 which took us to where we currently are. Basically we drove around Lake Tahoe. All that confusing enough? Bottom line is that Lake Tahoe is a beautiful Lake and the villages, settlements, developments, and commercial enterprises around it are well maintained, well presented, and it all made for a great day. We did come to one realization though … actually it is a big DUH! Traveling in the Summertime in high tourist interest areas is crazy. Most of America is on vacation, many of them have not been out for two years because of the COVID, many of them have pockets full of money because they haven’y been able to go anywhere and the government sends them money every so often, so they are all out, with all their kids, and dogs, enjoying the good life. It is such a big Duh for us because we have hardly ever traveled in the US during the Summer. We did go to our home in Colorado in the Summer but stayed away from tourist areas. Now, we suddenly realize, Summer vacation is back in full swing for most of America. Some people still wear masks, some stores ask you to wear a mask if you are not vaccinated, and some places over which the government has control, requires masks all the time (thanks Fuachi!) even though the CDC does not require masks.

Enough soap box stuff. We had a wonderful day, saw a lot of interesting things and are ready to press on to the West tomorrow. We did have our doubts as when we got up this morning there was a lot of smoke from the Tamarac Fires south of Lake Tahoe and some of the other fires burning out here in the West. It was so thick you could not see the foothills. We nearly cancelled the trip but decided to go and see what we could. We went over a Pass just outside of Carson City and when we came out of it, the weather was clear. Apparently all the smoke stayed on the east side of the range we passed. Carson City is about one third of the way down the East side of Lake Tahoe. So here we go:

Smoke Driving South From Reno to Carson City

We were then on US50 (I tell you these names for the people who follow the routes on their maps) We get out first look at Lake Tahoe, stop at a scenic points, and go through some villages. Lake Tahoe is a high mountain lake and sets at about 6000 feet. The highest we made it today was going over Mt Ross Pass at 8400 feet.

We stopped for lunch at this Deli/Store/Bathroom kind of place and used all that it offered. We split a delicious Italian Sandwich, a bag of chips and we both had our very own goochi California soft drinks. It was a nice break to be out of the car for a while and relax and watch all the people.

After our pleasant lunch we diverted away from the lake because the traffic was getting so heavy it was basically stand still. We decided to follow the Truckee River as it left Lake Tahoe. There were a couple of rafting companies that put people on rafts in Lake Tahoe and picked them up five or ten miles down stream. It looked like bumper rafts. There were so many of them and they were all having a good time.

As we drove on we came upon Squaw Valley! Squaw Valley was the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics. They are the first Olympic Games That Nancy and I remember thanks to “Wide World Of Sports”. We both had a chuckle when we saw the sign and the name. Naturally we drove in just to have a look. Here’s a picture I got from the internet from the 1960 Olympics:

Look At The Snow and Snow Sculpture! February 1960

Here are some pictures we took today:

Same Place, Same Sign, No Snow – July 2021

Well, that was exciting .. for us anyhow. The rest of the drive home was good. We drove all the way out to Truckee, then back in to the lake. We followed the lake until we got close to Reno. Highest we got was going over Mt Rose:

Ok .. That’s it for Reno and Lake Tahoe. Highly recommend visiting but maybe in September or so … After Summer Holidays and Before the Snow. Of course, you can always come here snow skiing but the locals tell us the place is packed with people all Winter long. Take your pick.

Tomorrow we head west towards the Pacific Ocean. We plan to see the Lassen Volcanic National Park and spend the evening at Redding. See you there.

20 July 2021 – We made it to Redding, California famous for … not sure. We chose Redding because it was as far as we thought we would want to travel and we were about right. Had a nice day driving across California and driving through all the National Forests. Beautiful country. I’m not a big fan of California but I must recognize it is well maintained, and clean highways. The parks are well kept, and everything seems to be working. We were nearly diverted off of our planned route by a huge forest fire called the Dixie Fire. Fortunately we turned North just before we got to it and missed any problems with it. Several major roads were closed and there was smoke everywhere. Not a lot of pictures from along the way. Mostly mountains, streams, trees, etc which you have seen a lot of already. A few interesting shots and then we got to Lassen National Park. Took some pictures there. SO here we go:

Welcome To California … Just A Few Miles West of Reno

We found out way into Lassen National Park curious regarding what we would see. Turns out it is a Volcanic area with hot springs, boiling mud, and volcanic craters.

21 July 2021 – We got a very early start today because parts of US 101 along the Pacific coast were closed while the hiway department cleared rockslides. Timing was important as we had to be near the closed section when it opened from noon to three for traffic to pass North.

We traveled through yet another mountain chain, again nice lakes, many trees, beautiful scenery. The area was not real high, 500 feet to 4000 feet but went up and down several times so it took us nearly three hours to go 150 miles. The area is very dry. Here are some shots from that part:

Eventually we got to Hiway 101 in Arcata and turned North. This was our first sight of the Pacific Ocean on this trip. From here we saw Redwoods, Elk, and grand views of the Pacific. We are now in Brookings, Oregon for the night.

To Close Out The day here are a few shots from behind out hotel. Incredible shore line.

See you all tomorrow as we head North through Oregon.

22 July, 2021 – Here we are in Newport, Oregon. Something I have not mentioned much about lately is the weather. Other than some occasional smoke from forest fires, morning haze, and low clouds, it has been pretty clear. The temps have ranged from the 90’s in Seattle and Spokane. tp the 70’s and 80’s in Reno, to the 110’s in Reddington, to the low 60’s and 50’s along the coast of Oregon. Good thing we packed a lot of clothes!! We had a great day today. Traveled about 200 miles North along US 101 right on the Pacific Coast. So many beautiful trees, beaches, hills and valleys. Very scenic with little towns along the way all claiming to have the best Clam Chowder. Not many captions on the picture tonight. They are mostly along the coast at various viewpoints or pull offs that we went into or that I shot as we passed by. Have a look:

These Tsunami Warning Signs Were In Every Low Area With A Corresponding Sign Saying You Are Leaving It Once You Go Up

That’s it for today. Many trees, many rocks, much ocean … great stuff to see. Tomorrow is the remainder of Oregon and some of Washington.

We just found out our trip was being abbreviated as we need to divert to Denver to conduct some business there. Consequently, tomorrow will be a full day then Saturday will be a short one getting us to Seattle Airport.

Looking forward to seeing the rest of Oregon and some of the Washington Coast with you tomorrow.

23 July 2021 – Our Last stop on our vacation/tour of the Northwest is in Montesano, Washington. Montesano is a small, unassuming town, nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Greater State of Washington. Lumber, and fishing (including mussels) seems to be the big trades here. The people are aloof but cordial, the town old, but taken care of. Mostly hard working blue collar people here. We are staying in a local hotel that is clean and neat, offers a full breakfast, and is concerned about their guests.

The trip here from where we stayed in Oregon last night was pleasant with no big surprises. We had a beautiful, sunshine day with the temps starting at 55 and going all the way up to 75. Mostly dramatic coastline, many trees, and we even got into some dairy farming country. I didn’t take any pictures of cows, crops, pr farms. I did take shots along the way of the areas we found interesting. Again, captions are not necessary as they are general scenery pictures. Just flip through them and enjoy. I do comment on things that are unique.

A Lighthouse Near where We Spent the Night

A couple comments about my photos. I again apologize for all the reflections. The car we have has a very low and sloped windshield which reflects everywhere. Plus you sit much lower than the RV so you can’t shoot over the railings. Mia Copa!!

There were many turnoffs and vista points but we did not take them all. After a while, every landscape, regardless of how brash taking it is in real, looks the same in a photograph. Lastly here are a few pictures from Montesano as Nancy an I took a walk after dinner.

That concludes our 2,600 mile trip around the NorthWestern part of America. Beautiful country, well deserving of many visitors.

There were many, many people out during our travels. As I mentioned, hotels were all pretty well booked up, campgrounds had No Vacancy signs out, and there were many RVs camped in parking lots “Boondoggling”. America is out regardless of what the politicians have to say. Many wear masks, many don’t. Most people feel like it’s their choice and no one judges them for it. Way it should be.

Thanks for coming along. Tomorrow we get to Seattle, leave Sunday morning, fly to Denver, have dinner with some friends from Heritage Pines who are in Denver babysitting their Grandchildren (actually the grandchildren are watching them), going to Colorado Springs and having dinner with a colleague from my AF days, then on to Fairplay and home..

Author: Bill

Bill Rumpel served America as an Air Traffic Controller, a Commander of forces, and as an advisor to our country's senior leadership in peacetime and combat in the US Air Force for nearly, forty years of his adult life. Raised on a Wisconsin dairy farm and living most of his early years working hard or enjoying the outdoors, he has devoted his retirement years to telling stories based on true events with an intriguing mix of fiction and adventure. His books are published in 14 countries and in 9 different languages. View all posts by Bill

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The Pacific NorthWest Road Trip – July 2021

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