Seaside, Oregon

We are in Seaside, Oregon for the weekend. Catherine had a conference for her scrapbooking stuff and the rest of us tagged along for a quick getaway. Fortunately, Seaside isn't that long of a drive, but it feels very different from the Tacoma area.

We started this morning logging in to Leah's award ceremony for her Girl Scout Gold Award. She also earned the Trifecta Award (Bronze, Silver, now Gold). To say we are proud of what Leah has accomplished is a serious understatement!

Once that was done, the kids and I drove south 10-15 minutes to Ecola State Park on the coast. This may look familiar to Goonies fans, though we didn't see any signs of One-Eyed Willie.

We explored the park a little bit. The wind was somewhat brisk and it was threatening to rain the whole time.

No sooner had we sat down to lunch in Cannon Beach than the rain started in earnest. Good timing (and good times)!

Cheers,

Marc

Waikiki Beach

I made the drive down to Cape Disappointment State Park yesterday afternoon, since the tides and lighting looked promising across a couple of weather apps.

I hadn't been there before, I was glad I made the effort. I will go again when the waves are bigger, but this was fun.

Cheers,

Marc

Annular Eclipse

We just got back from Crater Lake National Park where we got to see (barely!!!) the annular solar eclipse (the "ring of fire"). Christina came to visit to see the eclipse, and we gambled on Crater Lake. Unfortunately, the weather did not fully cooperate, but the sun did make a few (incredibly) brief appearances.

We got to the rim where we intended to view the eclipse well behind schedule, which was super annoying since the rest of the world did not (it was busy). There was a bit of snow on the rim - at least two people got stuck which required park rangers to pull them out.

We lucked out with an unappreciated spot just off the rim. After a short 30-second walk, we had an incredible view to ourselves. We had about an hour wait in just above-freezing temperatures with a light wind for the eclipse to begin; however, the clouds had other thoughts.

Right before the full angularity, the clouds finally broke. The photo above was shot with my solar filter on the camera - but it was really hard to frame up and get photos. Once I looked up and saw the eclipse with my own eyes, I figured that if the clouds were thick enough to protect my eyes, they were thick enough to protect the camera.

This allowed me to rapid-fire take a ton of photos. The sun played peek-a-boo with the clouds, but when the full angularity came out, you could hear everyone on the rim cheer and clap. It really was quite neat.

Afterwards, we grabbed lunch at a little place outside the park, and then headed to Toketee Falls. It was about a mile round trip, reasonably crowded (since the trail isn't that rough and is short).

On the way back to our cabin, we stopped at National Creek Falls. It was also a half-mile hike (one way), but since it was off the beaten track, we had the place literally to ourselves.

It was just Leah, Christina, and I who hike to this one - we all agreed it was way better. I took a senior photo of Leah here, we had to be quick since the falls were kicking up a good bit of spray.

Cheers,

Marc

Out and About

We had a couple of really nice weekends, after rain during the week - which was a nice way to do it!

Last weekend I took the bike out to the Olympic National Forest to try my luck on the gravel roads.

I got "lost" along the way, but ended up figuring out where I needed to go to get to the High Steel Bridge (standing on it in the photo, below).

So this weekend, I did it even better by heading south to check out the south side of Mt. St. Helens. I did the first section of the Washington Backcountry Discovery Route, which was a blast.

Fall colors were in full effect, and I got to see four volcanoes - Hood, St. Helens, Adams, and Rainier.

The BDR got a bit sketchy in places, but never too far outside of my comfort zone.

The BDR goes right past Takhlakh Lake (above, and from the recent Moto Mountain Man adventure, so I stopped just long enough to snap a photo and then got back on the road.

All total, I spent about 12 hours on the bike - I'm tired!

Cheers,

Marc

Moto Mountain Man 2023, the final part

The morning at Soda Creek was COLD - we had a hard frost. Fortunately, we only had to wait a bit for the sun to come up and really start warming us up. We had a motel room waiting for us, so we weren't in a huge rush . . . but it was in Fields, Oregon - population 12. I didn't miss a decimal point. The town/village is tiny, but it does have a gas station ($8.25 a gallon of gas), a motel, and a restaurant. There is a Backcountry Discovery Route that just opened this year that kept the place somewhat busy. They are famous for their milkshakes (justified - generous serving size and delicious!) and hamburgers. We got there, had a milkshake, unpacked, showered, and then had dinner. I still couldn't finish the fries that came with my burger. Good stuff!

The next morning we rode south into Nevada and then back into Oregon through some incredibly remote stretches of road. In Oregon, we came across a hang gliding launch spot though there were not any hang gliders when we went through. We pushed on and got to the campground in Crater Lake National Park just as it was getting dark. There was no fire ban, which was a first in almost 2 full weeks of travel through Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and Nevada. Jason stayed to enjoy a fire while I boogied up to the rim to take some photos. The stars reflecting in the lake were incredible!

I got my photos and then hurried back down to enjoy the fire. We had two bundles, so there was plenty of time to relax and enjoy the moment. We headed up to the rim to see the sights in daylight and had to detour 30-45 minutes to get gas.

We rode through some gorgeous parts of Oregon on our way to the coast. Unfortunately there were two fires, one in Oregon and one in California, that contributed to the smoke/fog along the coast. It looked like fog but smelled like smoke - weird.

We dipped down into California to check out the redwoods (Jedediah Smith Redwoods State and National Park), but the smoke was somewhat atrocious.

Because the road we were going to take was closed for fire activity, we turned around and rode back up the way we came. We were improvising at this point. There were loads of campgrounds along the river we were riding along, but they were closed due to fires. We eventually stumbled upon a campground that had a site available and inexplicably also had no fire ban (we seriously rode through about 2 hours of apocalyptic smoke). 

That was it. The next morning we rode a fantastic National Forest Road, which we basically had to ourselves, until we were a bit outside of Portland. We jumped on the highway, detoured to go see Mt. St. Helens, and got back home 3-4 pm. Plenty of time for laundry, showers, and a good meal (thanks to Catherine).

That wraps up this year's Mountain Man. Cheers,

Marc

Moto Mountain Man 2023, part 3

Jason and I hit the road the next day and headed for the Olympic Peninsula. We made the ride up to Hurricane Ridge and to the Hoh Rainforest on our way to our campsite on the coast. It was getting late by the time we finally got there (somewhat heavy traffic slowed us down), and it was threatening to rain - which we hadn't seen on the weather apps. So once we hit the coast, we hustled to Kalaloch Beach and our campsite.

It drizzled on us a bit the next morning, but we checked out the Kurt Kobain memorial in Aberdeen (unless you are a HUGE Nirvana fan, don't make the effort - we stopped only because we were passing through and still somewhat regret the lost time...). We had a nice enough brunch in Aberdeen and then continued to the Gifford Pinchot National Forest surrounding Mt. Adams, the other stratovolcano (like Rainier and Mt. St. Helens).

We camped at Lake Takhlakh, which had amazing views of Mt. Adams. I had to get up in the middle of the night since clouds were out at sunset and actually threatening rain. The next morning we crossed the Columbia River and circled Mt. Hood on our way to Bend, Oregon. 

We had a reserved campsite at Soda Creek Campground, adjacent to the Sparks Lake area - both (thankfully) under-appreciated areas. We set up camp and then rode another mile or so from the campground to Sparks Lake. We caught some amazing clouds reflected in the lake and a nice enough sunset.

We hung around long enough to shoot some stars, then headed back to camp and the Soda Creek where I could face south and photograph the Milky Way.

Cheers,

Marc

Moto Mountain Man 2023, part 2

The ride through the rest of Montana and Idaho, as we headed west, was pretty uneventful. We stopped at Riley Creek to camp in Idaho. While there was no fire restriction, the firewood station was empty and the local gas station (and only store) didn't carry any, so we had another dark camp.

We left the next morning, had a nice breakfast in Priest River where Ranger Rick payed for our meal (it was fun chatting with him - had no idea he was going to do that!). We continued on through Washington along a really great (and mostly empty) highway, making our way to Klipchuck Campground in the North Cascades National Park.

The highway was still open, even though there was an active forest fire; we rode through a good bit of smoke, saw the firefighters headed to work, and Jason saw actual flames in the trees. We eventually cleared that and then continued to the western part of the park to Diablo Lake - which (to the right of the photo, below) had another still active forest fire that had closed the highway for a couple of weeks prior. Thankfully, no smoke while we were here and the sunlight lit up the glacially-fed lake beautifully.

We then made our way along a gravel road for a short period of time and then on to Leavenworth, WA. We had a small cabin to sleep in - and a laundromat to do laundry. While we were waiting for the clothes to dry, I spotted a bear working its way along a river.

That night I walked down to the bear-infested river and took some photos of the Milky Way.

We got an early start the next morning, since we had to get to a first come-first served campground (White River) in Mt. Rainier National Park. We rode through the Yakima River canyon, which while pretty, was a river through high desert - sage everywhere, some trees along the river.

We got to the campground and got one of the last two remaining spots (we know, because unlike previous campgrounds, we didn't settle for the first available!). We got our tents set up, had a nice little dinner, and then rode to Sunrise Point to catch the sunset and watch the stars come out. 

Jason had so much fun on the road that we rode it again on our way out the next morning.

We continued through the park and made our way home. Hot showers, good food, and another round of laundry for the win!

Cheers,

Marc

Moto Mountain Man 2023

I have finally gone through all of my photos from this year's trip. I am still processing the whole trip, to say it was fantastic is an understatement. I'll try to contain my enthusiasm!

So this was a 2-week trip. Jason rode from Ohio to meet me in Montana. We rode the PNW for 2 weeks mostly camping along the way, but there were a couple of hotels too. We saw it all:  plains, mountains, forests, high desert, temperate rain forest, coast, and redwoods. We rode in rain and sunshine, fog and mist; new this year was riding through smoke from forest fires and two active burn areas - Jason saw trees on fire in the North Cascades, and we changed our route through California to avoid road closures due to the fires. We were never in danger, but riding through that thick smoke with the sun struggling to eke some light through the haze was apocalyptic, otherworldly.

The trip started simply enough on the Friday of the Labor Day weekend. I got up early since I had two 400+ mile days to get to Montana. I rode through some light mist around Mt. Rainier on my way through Yakima. That cleared up once I hit the high desert as I continued on my way through the beautiful Palouse region of eastern Washington.

Right at the Idaho border (Lewiston, WA and Clarkston, ID from Lewis & Clark fame) there is a road that takes you up above the Snake River called the Old Spiral Highway; it did not disappoint!

I rode back down the highway (because why not?) and continued up the Clearwater River to my first hotel. Next day was the Lolo Pass. The sign says 99 miles of winding road, but that doesn't include the 35 miles of winding road from the hotel to the sign. Again, I got up early and basically had the road which paralleled the river to myself which was a complete joy.

I arrived to Ennis, MT and linked up with Jason. We rode (could have walked) into town to meet Willie at Willie's Distillery. Willie was my roommate from my Ranger Battalion days. We ended up at his place for dinner, it was quite fun to reminisce. We had an early night since Jason and I needed to be on the road in the morning - planning to ride through a corner of Yellowstone (we did, no photos since it was raining the whole time) and make it halfway to Glacier National Park.

We arrived at our campsite and got camp set up. It had rained a good bit of the day, but nothing for several hours before our arrival:  we were dry. We decided to run into town for a late lunch/early dinner. We checked the skies but not the radar, while there were clouds, there was no hint of rain from horizon to horizon. No sooner did we sit down than a local say it was bound to rain in the next couple of minutes (this was just 5-10 minutes after leaving camp). We both thought he was crazy; turns out we were just stupid. Not only did it rain, but it RAINED. We hung out in a door way to avoid the wind and rain, since it didn't look too bad from the restaurant but was indeed, pretty bad. The storm finally blew over and we made our way back to the campsite. The photo, above, doesn't do the carnage justice. Both our hammock stands were blown over and the tarp I had set up for a "garage" for the bike was completely shredded from the wind. While this was primarily an RV camp, the other folks in tents all had their tents blow over and roll through the campground - the storm must have been intense!

We didn't want to sleep in the cold and wet. The campground host found us a hotel 45 minutes away which was dry, somewhat cheap, and basically clean. It did let us dry out our sleep systems, which was helpful.

Next day we rode to Glacier. It rained on and off for most of the day, more off than on, until we got to the east entrance of the park on Going to the Sun road. There the rain picked up again. We made our way to our campsite and managed to get things set up right before the heavy rains, but we ended up sitting under our tarps for 1-1.5 hours waiting things out. Meh - we were dry and slept well.

Since the park was still metering road usage, and I had misread the rules, we had to be west of the ranger check point before they were set up at 6 or 6:30 am. No problem. We got up early, packed up the bikes, and were through with no-one the wiser. We stopped at the Wild Goose Island (the little island, above) overlook. While we waited for the sun to come up, a fox snuck up on me. Jason noticed it and shined his flashlight on it - he was probably 15-20 feet away, which was pretty cool.

Once it was light enough to see and not be too worried about wildlife on the roads, we continued up and over the continental divide. The rain had stopped, but fog and mist still ruled the day. It was hard to concentrate on the road since the views were so spectacular; however, the penalty for a messed up corner was quite severe for a large portion of the trip. We used the turn-outs to maximum advantage!

About 10 miles from the west entrance, the road was completely torn up - gravel with massive potholes and puddles. Jason and I had a great time working our way through the mess. The bikes were filthy, but it was a ton of fun!

We stopped along the way to get a late breakfast/early lunch and then continued on our way to a campsite along a river in Idaho.

That'll do for today - more stories in the days ahead. Cheers,

Marc

Milky Way at Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park

I loaded up the bike for a test run with all my camping gear in preparation for a two week extravaganza (Moto Mountain Man) with my buddy Jason. I left the house about 9:30 am Saturday and had a good deal of traffic to contend with the entire way. Nothing major, just a bunch of slow pokes.

I got to Heart o' the Hills campground on the north-central part of the Olympic Peninsula, found my spot, and set up camp. It was only the second time putting together my hammock stand, and the first time putting up the tarp/garage for the bike. I took my time - it should go up faster as I get more practice.

I rode out to Deer Park, a remote part of the Park I hadn't been to before - I will be back to camp there! It was a 12-15 mile gravel road with steep drop offs, but the campground at the end looked amazing.

I made my way back to my campsite and had dinner, a backpacker (freeze-dried) meal which was actually pretty good. That may have been the hunger talking...

I then rode up to Hurricane Ridge to catch sunset and wait for the Milky Way. There was a massive fire at the visitor center in May of this year, access is tightly controlled; however, since I was camping I had free access to the top.

There was a good deal of smoke from Canada. You can see the banding lower down by the horizon as well as the haze in the middle photo - all smoke from Canada.

I got an early start and rode Hwy 101 all the way back to Olympia. All in all, it was a good learning experience for camping off the bike, and great to get out again. Cheers,

Marc

Perseid Meteor Shower at Mt. Rainier National Park

The weather was looking good for this past weekend to go take some photos of the Milky Way and for Saturday night/Sunday morning's Perseid meteor shower.

The campgrounds were all booked solid with only a few first come-first served sites, so I took a chance after work on Friday. I loaded up the car and got to Sunrise well ahead of sunset. Unfortunately, when I went past the closest campground, it was full. So I went with plan B, which was to take photos and then go home. 

Fortunately, the Milky Way core is visible as soon as it gets fully dark, which was 10:30 or so. After maybe 45 minutes I packed up and headed home.

I knew the campgrounds wouldn't have any free spaces, and the peak for the meteor shower was 3:30 (am), so Saturday/Sunday's trip was another out and back. I made my way to Reflection Lake and basically just sat there while the camera did its thing.

The photos don't do it justice - aside from being there is way better than a photo, this is my first attempt at something like this. Anyways, I had a nice time even if the place was packed (both places were!).

Cheers,

Marc

Sequim - Lavender Festival but not a Lavender Festival

Since we have been to Sequim's Lavender Festival a couple of times, we opted to visit the week after. That way, the lavender fields would still be in bloom but we wouldn't have to deal with the crazy traffic. It turns out that was a fantastic idea!

We started Saturday with a stop at a farm close to our VRBO, and really got everything we wanted (culinary lavender plants to grow at home, soap, etc.). We finished up there, grabbed lunch and then visited two more farms. Since Leah is about to start her senior year, we used the time and locations to get some photos of her.

After we had enough of the lavender, we drove west into the Olympic National Park to check out Devil's Punchbowl. I have used the magic of Photoshop to remove all the people standing on the bridge. You'll need to trust me that it was PACKED!

Cheers,

Marc

Good morning

This sunrise was a short 2-minute walk from where we are staying. Have a great day everyone - it is shaping up to be fantastic here in Sequim.

Cheers,

Marc

Sequim

Well, I finally unprocessed at JBLM and Madigan. There are a couple more hoops to jump through, but I am basically back to work (yay!).

We are taking a little break from home this weekend, we made our way to Sequin. The lavender festival is held here, but it was last week - which means we won't have the crowds to deal with!

We had to fight a bit of traffic along the way, but we made it. Once we arrived at our VRBO, we hiked down to the bluff overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We heard some birds making a ruckus, it turned out a bald eagle parent was taking his/her two youngsters out for a flight - so cool! I got a couple of photos with my phone that didn't turn out too well, and this one with my camera (sans kiddo birds).

Cheers,

Marc

Road Trip, part 15 - the final one!!!!

We made it! 7,400 miles or so in 3 weeks. Time for a tire rotation and oil change . . . after we sign the lease on the new place tomorrow morning!

We left Pendleton, Oregon in the morning and had a lazy lunch in Yakima. We then drove through Mt. Rainier National Park on our way to Joint Base Lewis-McChord.  We took a quick selfie at the Tipsoo Lake overlook, and then hit the road for the final push to JBLM.

I think we are all ready and excited to get this next phase of our Army journey started.

Cheers,

Marc