Category Archives: RV Trips

9/27/2019 Blackwell Island Coeur D’Alene, Day 17

Tattoo McGoo

As I walked to the showers, I approached a woman walking her dog. “No moose this morning”, I said. We chatted about the moose eating apples, while her dog strained at the leash. He was a small furry thing who desperately wanted to explore. “Oh he loves toes and shoe laces, but he loves to jump too.” “What’s his name” “Tattoo McGoo”. Her husband injured himself. He’s in rehab locally. She’ll have to drive their rig back to Flagstaff Arizona her self. “He’ll probably have to fly home.” I said under different circumstances, I’d offer to drive her rig with her. “Oh, I can handle it. Where are you from?” “Near San Francisco, California” To which she said, “I don’t like people who don’t like California. I grew up there.” “If you listen exclusively to Fox News, you’d think California is going to hell in a hand basket.” She said, “If you only watch Fox News, you have other problems.” All the while Tattoo McGoo was licking my toes and ankle and now and then jumping on my leg.

She also mentioned that the salmon run in Glacier National Park is amazing, “Not To Be Missed.” She lived in Missoula and would go up to watch the eagles snatch salmon out of McDonald Creek. As with so many things, the salmon run on the creek is long gone. History Wednesday describes what happened to the famed salmon run with its Grizzlies and Eagles.

Whimsically Painted Power Boxes

Coeur D’Alene From Behind, The Mudgy Moose Trail

Weather

There is a winter storm watch for the mountains in Montana. Helena is expecting 8” of snow on the ground. We could easily push through to Missoula or even Helena, though we would be stuck there for two days while the storm passes. We’re comfortable here at CD’A on the lake. We’ll stay here today and perhaps for another three days depending on the weather. It will be magnificent seeing snow in the Rockies. We will wait for the roads to clear before moving on. Next week temperatures are expected to return to normal. In the mean time we have our favorite bakery, lots of books are available at the clubhouse book exchange, we get local TV channels, and DirecTV. I expect Bill Maher’s will have something to say about the impeachment inquiry and Ukraine.

I exchanged “Moment of Truth” and “The Outside Man” for “Roses are Red” and “Red Notice”. Looks like RED is today’s keyword.

The sun shown bright and warm briefly this morning. Patches of blue sky show through low cloud cover. The threat of sprinkles, perhaps rain hangs in the air. The lake is stunning both wrapped in gray clouds and in brilliant sunlight.

Moose

Again mommy & teen ager were foraging at the apple tree. They’re much more relaxed around us than we are around them. From time to time mom would eyeball us then go back to feeding. We didn’t see the moose at all our first day and thought they had left the island. Now we see them a few times each day. We sometimes stand closer than we should.

Our LP tank is down to 1/4. we last filled on 9/13, two weeks ago. With cold weather coming we’ll fill again today. Consuming 3/4 tank in two weeks in the fall is OK with me. The electric heat pump is very effective in cold weather, but it is extremely loud. We prefer to use the LP heater. Most of our consumption is through the heater. We run everything else on electric.

Ellen just gave notice, “I’m ready to go”. We’re restocking supplies and “things”, an extension cord and a hammer for example. Yup, I didn’t bring a hammer. I do have a rubber mallet. Now to stow everything and head downtown.

Find the Moose

Big Hint

Pilgrims Natural Food Market

AroundMe is usually better than an area Google search. Sometimes it leaves off good finds. Today AroundMe introduced us to Pilgrims Market, al alternative to Safeway; more like whole foods or a Co-op. It has higher ratings, it’s obvious why once you step inside. It’s the local hip Coeur D’Alene market. A bonus: there’s an ACE Hardware across the street.

We dropped by Safeway for a few items Pilgrims didn’t carry and grabbed two croissants at Lakeside Bakery. Back at Blackwell RV we topped up our LP and settled in for the afternoon with sandwiches and soup from Pilgrims.

Rains started around 4PM and were heavy at times. Now at 8:30 the rains have stopped. There’s no thunder & lightening tonight. We had some last night with more expected tomorrow.

I have a strip light I’ll install in Ellen’s closet sometime later. I may have some difficulty attaching the 120-12 V adapter. The logical socket I’d tap into is sealed off in a stapled together wooden box. If the box can be removed, the task will be easy.

9/26/2019 Blackwell Island Coeur D’Alene, Day 16

Leave a reply

Expecting rain, we put the cycles on the rack and covered them up. No rain so far at 11:30 pm.

Rock Shadows

Ellen always brings a flashlight with her on our way to the showers. Last night was no exception. Playing the light along the walkway we were startled by a rock shadow that appeared to move as the light played over it. I joked about seeing a raccoon or coyote behind every rock on the path. Ii was in mid sentence when Ellen abruptly inhaled, “Isn’t that moose?” She played the light 100 feet up the path in the trees. She didn’t play the light on the shadow, but near it. I couldn’t see anything. I played my light along the path and sure enough, “It’s a huge moose.” We walked to our left and away from what was a massive animal, a female. She was eating apples from the tree, not interested in the fallen fruit. Ellen was both joyous and fearful. As with any wild animal, a moose is unpredictable. We walked well clear of her.

We didn’t find her on our way back nor around The Beast. We know now that the “moose and babies” really are at the camp.

Thursday Morning

A weak front came through last night with moderate winds. We have scattered light rain this morning. The sun is nowhere to be seen.

Heading back to the showers this morning I saw mommy with one of her teenagers. I went back to tell Ellen, “The Moose is Loose”, grabbed my phone, and took our first moose photo this trip. Later I saw Ellen out looking for the moose as well.

Not Really a Baby

I’d Guess my Plaid Pants Gave me Away!

I love the rake of the young moose’s ears. I stand about head high to the young moose’s head. Mommy is massive and not to be trifled with.

Weather

We are at a crossroads. There is a cold front that arrives Saturday and Sunday. Daytime temperatures may drop to 40 with evening temperatures well below 32. I have no concern about freezing pipes with daytime temps well above freezing. My concern is snow. The cold front brings rain and snow in upper elevations. By Monday or Tuesday, temperatures should rise and this first storm’s snow will melt. What do we do between now, Thursday, and Monday?

I had planned to drive to Banff and Lake Louise, which would be gorgeous blanked in fresh snow. Driving north without snow tires in this storm is folly. That rules out going to Glacier National Park as well. We could wait out the storm and go north Monday or Tuesday. We could skip them and head on to Bozeman and Yellowstone.

In any event we will stay here at CDA for another day.

Mid morning we had a 30 minute downpour then on and off rain. By mid afternoon skies had cleared. We even had warm sun.

Some weather outlets are saying “the sky is falling”; that we should expect up to 3 feet of snow in the mountain passes in Montana. It is possible, though I doubt we’ll see that much snow if we move on to Montana ahead of the cold front. Do we stay or do we go?

The moose were out eating apples again this afternoon. They’re shy around humans, tending to move into the brush when we walk by.

More “Rocks”

One Fellow Hangs with Mom

The Other Not So Much

We took Lyft to Syringa, a local sushi place. It was very good, except the hotate (scallops) had an unusual taste. It could have been excessive water cress or the scallops themselves might have been different.

Home on the Lake

9/25/2019 Blackwell Island Coeur D’Alene, Day 15

Leave a reply

A quick note about photos. I’m using Windows Live Writer to write offline then publish. Microsoft stopped supporting Live Writer years ago. Their support for the photo album server was discontinued. As much as I would like to gather photos into an album in my blog, I can not with the tools I’m currently using. I may upgrade my tool set, though at present that’s not a priority for me.

Ellensburg KOA Revisited in Photos

Dave and Mary asked if we had visited the town of Ellensburg. No, we sped on to CDA. Mary said Ellensburg is an interesting all brick town with one eccentric house that stands out. It’s worth visiting. Perhaps next time. Here are more photos taken at the Ellensburg KOA.

In The News

Big in the news today: Impeachment Inquiry into Trump started in the house, Thomas Cook goes bankrupt stranding 500,000 travelers, poll shows Elizabeth Warren leading the democratic primary contenders in California.

Weather

A low pressure code front is dropping in from Alaska. Today is 10 degrees colder than yesterday, though it is sunny and warming in the sun. Tomorrow’s weather in CDA will be rain and cold, followed by cold/rain Friday and Saturday. Low temperatures will be below freezing Sunday and Monday. Snow is forecast in Glacier National Park, Lake Louise, and Yellowstone NP. By Wednesday next week temps will return to normal with lows of 44 degrees. Low temperatures in Yellowstone remain below 30 degrees for the next ten days though high temps are above freezing each day. The roads should be clear once the cold front moves through. I expect we’ll stay in Coeur D’Alene while the rain & snow moves through.

Blackwell RV Resort Photos

Moose love Apples, but No Moose So Far

Atypical for us, we seldom connect to sewer

Our Preferred Site

Cycling

It’s a cool 50 degrees at 9:30 this morning. We’ll wait for the temp to rise a bit, then break camp (oxymoron when RV’ing). To get to CDA and the bike trails, we have to go across a two lane bridge off the island. We’ve walked this bridge once last year and won’t do that again! No way we’d cycle over it. So we’ll take the short drive to the north campus parking lot. We’ll enjoy todays sunshine while we can.

CDA

Sherman Ave, the “main street” of Coeur D’Alene has tap rooms, lounges, restaurants, pubs, a bakery or two, tourist shops, and a few art shops. We have not found a great restaurant in CDA largely because we’ve looked on Sherman Ave.

We enjoyed the Art Spirit Gallery of Fine Art last year. I was most impressed by the hand made wooden kayaks. Clearly these can be floated and equally clearly anyone would be insane to use the kayak and not simply mount it as art. These were beautiful. We’ll explore CDA’s art shops and look for a really good dining experience on a rainy day.

Blackwell Island

We walked to the Cedar Restaurant past boat storage, two marinas, and boat works. I stopped to admire a tall masted sloop. It was a large sailboat without a single winch showing. It has a massive main boom that houses the mainsail. The paint job is phenomenal. It looked to be a very fast boat.

The Cedar restaurant was open and had the menu posted outside. It is expensive at $42 for a filet. Dinner could run well over $140. Still, we’ll go back this evening.

Walking back to The Beast, I flagged down a tractor driver. “Do you know anything about the boat at the end of the pier over there?” “Which One?” “The tall masted blue hulled sailboat.” “Oh you mean SIZZLER. Sure it’s a carbon fiber hull.” “I don’t see a single winch on deck” “Oh all the lines run through the mast and below decks.” “It looks like it could be single handed.” “Yes, probably.” “It looks custom built.” “Yes, it is custom. It’s carbon fiber over a wood frame. We built it here at the boat works. We’re really good at what we do.” Sizzler is an amazing vessel. She’s light and carries a huge amount of canvass aloft. She must be very fast on the water.

Coyote Statues to Control Pests

I think the Pests are Wise to the Ploy

A Custom Starcraft, This Boat is All Motor

Sizzler

We ate at the Bakery, Cedars will wait ‘till Tomorrow

Back “home” it’s leftover pizza for lunch followed by a bike ride.

The Centennial Trail CDA

We drove right to the north parking lot. Even with taking off the rain covers, the bikes came down from the rack easily. Ellen’s cycle is relatively light and not a problem weight wise. It took a bit longer sorting through our shoes and clothing and getting ready. My newish water bottle cages hold our large water mugs just fine! Off we went on the Centennial Trail that runs along the lake. We stopped a few times to absorb the incredible views over the lake. It was comfortably warm in the sun in spite of a brisk wind. We zipped through town thinking we’d stop at “our” bakery, but breezed right past. The Centennial Trail transitions to back streets then turns onto E. Coeur D’Alene Lake Drive, a busy local highway. Luckily the bike lane is very wide. With a bit of uncertainty, Ellen took that in stride after a promise of “If it gets really bad, we can turn back.” Rather than getting bad, the trail reverted to a paved bicycle route along the lake. We covered 7 miles with an occasional stop to look and chat (like show and tell on cycles). Around mile 6 we hit our first hill (not one of Ellen’s preferable flat hills). With her electric boost, she soundly beat me up the hill. Good for her and a boost to her confidence. At one point I asked, “How fast do you think you can go on the flats if you try?” Answer? 18 mph though I don’t know what boost level she was running.

A road sign warned of twisties ahead. We opted to turn back. It was getting late. Coasting back down that hill I hit 28 mph which didn’t feel particularly fast. Ellen understandably took that grade much more slowly.

We found our bakery on the near side of town. Bakery By The Lake at Parkside is wonderful. I very highly recommend their croissants. They are flaky, crispy, and crunchy. Even the almond ones filled with almond paste are too. Their cappuccino was perfect. I felt like a tap dancer walking on the cement floor. Tap, tap, tap went my steel clip-in cleats. Like my bike, they’re old school and stick out well past the shoe. We ate in and brought croissants with us for breakfast tomorrow.

Funny how going to an unknown place always takes longer than returning (at least it feels that way). Our return trip went by in a flash. Cog patiently awaited our return in Li’l Beast’s cab.

Ellen’s been Tooling around the RV camp on her trike. She’s having fun. She’s grown more confident of late which is a huge change. She’s never felt stable on a bicycle; her fear of falling or crashing got in the way of “cycling as fun”. She’s having fun.

Kyte Boarding on a Hydrofoil, Extreme Speed

Going Uphill Ellen waited for Me!

And I didn’t Stop!

Stopped across from Lakeside Bakery

Moose atop the Bakery

Corrected Ellen’s Cappuccino Order

9/23/2019 Deception Pass State Park to Ellensburg Wa, Day 13

Leave a reply

Cranberry Lake Campground Wa

So often RV campgrounds look level, but are not. Not only does an RV refrigerator require level within 3 degrees, but we humans do not sleep well in a slanted bed. When we do we wake up all pressed up against one side or sliding off the bed. We found a perfectly level site at Cranberry lake. We slept very well and awoke well past our regular 7:10 am wake time. It was almost 9:10 when we rolled out of bed. Site #87 is highly recommended. It’s close to the shower/toilet hut too. There’s a single men’s shower and one for the women.

Jerry is travelling today, getting back this evening. The weather is forcing us east. It could be too late in the year to go north to Banff and Lake Louise. It may even be too late to visit Glacier National Park. We plan to stop at Coeur D’Alene for a few days before driving into Montana. Today we’ll stop in Coupeville to visit the Cove Café and Michelle if she’s working today.

We should have left home a week or two earlier! I thought this same thing last year. Ellen had scheduled a women’s get together in early September. That kept us home until the 10th. “Next year will be different”. I kiddingly suggested we go to Hilton Head and visit Jessie. If the weather goes cold, we could just to that.

It’s Autumn, Pumpkin Season

Military Jets often flew Over Cranberry Lake

Warm and Dry inside the Cove Café

Coupeville from the Pier

The Cove Café

The drive from Cranberry lake to Coupeville is on Rt 20, an occasionally winding road that’s in very good repair. There was little traffic along the way. The speed limit varies between 40 through twisties and 65 when the road straightens out.

Our usual parking lot has been paved and has marked parking places and restrooms. Some change has come to Coupeville. Perhaps it’s off season or maybe rain on a Monday kept people in, in any case the main street was practically empty. I think we saw two people walking as we headed onto the pier. The Cove Café sits at the end of the pier. A town ordinance does not allow commercial signs on the wharf. You wouldn’t know the Cove Café was there unless you stumbled upon it or knew ahead of time.

Michelle was not working today. We had lunch: ellen chose the “not your usual BLT” and I chose fish and chips. Both were very good. I was a bit surprised that the chips were a filet and not thick strips. Two groups were eating as well. Jerry or Michelle put lights in the windows. The lights are visible from the road. That’s a good start toward getting foot traffic to the café.

Ellen texted Michelle to say we were in town. About 20 miles out of town Ellen noticed that the text had not sent.

Liquid Sunshine, Enough Already!

Spokane or Coeur D’Alene

Today’s goal was practically unreachable. Sure I could drive into the night, but that’s not the way we like to travel. Ellen found a KOA by a river not far off 90E that looked to have a few hundred sites. We stopped at the Ellensburg KOA, found a site, and are settled now. Where we stop tomorrow depends on the weather in part. There are some great bicycle trails east of Spokane we could ride as well as some great cycling around Coeur D’Alene.

We have a comfortable flat site, #10, along the river. We have water, electric, and local stations on cable/antenna. Ellen cooked a chicken pot pie with some frozen peas and a kale salad. The pot pie was ok. Ellen remembered stopping at a place in West Yellowstone that specialized in chicken pot pies. Now THAT pie was great. This one was just ok, made better with peas.

Evening Entertainment

Last night we had no sat-tv. Our local HD antenna brought in 12 channels, one of which was an old movie channel. We saw an interesting probably 50’s movie about a husband gas lighting his wife on a cruise ship before attempting to throw her overboard. It was interesting. Then on came “Tokyo Joe” a Bogart film. I’d never seen it and it was good. Google Bogart films and there’s a very long list. We all know Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon, but Tokyo Joe or the others? Not so much.

Entertainment tonight is pretty similar. No directv, local on air hd channels. Jeopardy, The Voice, now now a new attorney show. I’ll return to reading “Moment of Truth” a bit later, but I think I know how the plot will go. It’s never good to know the ending half way through the book. With luck, I’ll be mistaken.

My itinerary has a number of days in Idaho, then a trip north to Lake Louise. If the lake gets snow in this rain, we’ll reconsider. I hope Glacier National Park stays open in the near term.

9/22/2019 Anacortes & Deception Pass State Park, Day 12

Leave a reply

A Few Photos Taken from the Jolly Trolly Yesterday

Lime Kilns at Roche Harbor

The Bus Driver’s Frenchies

People Keep Hangers for their Commuter Planes

Arriving English Camp

We passed an Alpaca farm before passing a local eccentric’s art. He keeps a fire burning in the strawberry in the winter so bikers and hikers can get out of the rain and warm themselves. One time a fellow mooned the Jolly trolley. He wasn’t there today.

Another Eccentric built this Eight Story House

Ellen’s Burrata Lunch

Not the First Tesla X Campers We’ve Seen!

Lakedale Resort at the Lakes

The Lakedale Lodge

A View from the Lodge over the Deck

Local Art for Sale, A Towhee

We were up late for us, 8:28 AM. Coffee and cereal for breakfast followed by shaving and re-organizing Li’l Beast. A quick check of the ferry schedule and, “We could make the 11:00 ferry to Anacortes if we hurry.” We chose to save Orcas Island for another trip, Whale watching and the weather conspired against us. “I’d rather be sad that we didn’t go than sad that we did, got bashed around in the rain, and saw nothing.” We packed it in and drove off for Friday Harbor, but not before dropping the DVDs and a chocolate or two off for Tracy.

Friday Harbor

Friday Harbor Ferry

GPS took time coming on line. I drove toward Friday Harbor hoping that the ferry access would be easy. GPS started working as passed a ferry sign pointing to the right. Two fellows were guiding traffic though the ferry was just starting to load. “Go around the block to parking lot B and take row 8.” I forgot the row 8 part but did find the parking lot. When we arrived row 5 was driving away to board the ferry. Then row 6 and row 7. Ok, I approached the fellow directing traffic who said, “You’re in the wrong line. Go back to row 8 and wait. You are on standby. We’ll get you on the 1:30.

Ok. Back around the parking lot to row 8. I was behind one car. Two or three others lined up behind me. We waited for a while. I got out to chat with the fellow directing traffic.

“So I’ll be on the 1:30 ferry?” “Maybe, you don’t have reservations, right?” “We were told we wouldn’t need a reservation.” “On inter-island ferries, no reservation is necessary. Going to Anacortes on a Sunday you need a reservation.” Ok, we’ve got a 2:30 minute delay and more time wandering Friday Harbor. “We’ll be moving you down to the lower staging area soon.” Cool.

We were directed down to row 8 in the lower parking lot and motioned to continue on. We were boarding the ferry! Li’l Beast was the next to last vehicle on the ferry. There was a single car that staged behind us. It parked 1 inch behind our bicycle rack. One Inch!

Off the Ferry, Anacortex

Cog back in Washington

The Oyster Run, Anacortes 2019

We were lost in phase 10 and “we’ are arriving Anacortes.” Back in Li’l Beast the center row was flagged off the boat first! I thought last on, last off. This was a very neat trick. There was no customs check as San Juan Island is part of Washington state. And coolest of all? Washington ferries in the San Juans carge for east-to-west traffic, but not for west-to-east! No ticket and no payment was required.

The thermistor I ordered last week should be waiting for us at RiteAid, Anacortes. With that as a waypoint, we rode off. Ride aid was a block down the road after our first right turn into Anacortes past a Safeway at the corner. The gals at RiteAid were very happy to help, but had never issued an Amazon pickup before. It took a while to figure that the barcode the system wanted was the one sent in my email. Moments later I left with the thermistor in hand. Our ‘fridge has been quiet since the loud fan incident. I’ll replace the old thermistor if the fridge goes noisy again.

Back at Safeway for milk and fizzy water, we found parking was a mess. An entire section was gated off and full of motorcycles. We noticed cycles everywhere going up and down the street,, parked along the street, everywhere. We parked in Anthony’s Seafood across the street. I figured they wouldn’t mind as there were lots of space. In “Yeah it’s not as rowdy as last year. I guess the rain has a dampening effect on the festival.” “What festival is this?” “Oh it’s the Oyster Run. It’s an annual motorcycle get together themed on oysters, music, and a good time.”

We drove around a bit to reconnoiter, found the main street was closed off except for motorcycles, and found no parking for blocks. We parked back at Anthony’s and walked. I counted 100 cycles parked on the main street in a city block. There were easily a thousand bikes here. Motorcycle clubs from around the US were represented, guys and dolls with their colors strutted the streets. I never had a sense of danger. For the most part these were “old farts” enjoying a day out with their wives on their hogs. With this many people in one place “anything could happen”. There was a strong police presence. Groups of six walked the sidewalks with no swagger or attitude. Everyone was chill. A gal walked by with a tray of fried oysters. I bought two. They were very good and equally overpriced.

There were at least 100 bikes parked on each block, easily over 1,000 total

Crossing Deception Pass Bridge

Our New Home, for a Day

Cranberry Lake Campground

Where should we go for the evening. Closest was Bowman Bay – Deception Pass State Park Campground with full hookups! That’s unusual for a state park in our experience. I drove down a steep narrow winding road to a sign at the bottom that read “Campground Full”. The campground hosts occupied the adjacent campsite, but were not home. Crap. Then we noticed a sign that said reservations can be made at the main park entrance 3 miles south. Ok, we were off. About 3 miles later we found a turnoff for Cranberry Lake- Deception Pass State Campground. This must be the place. We turned in remembering the time we visited this campground with Jerry & Michelle.

We drove past a “campground full” sign and up to the entrance. Trudy welcomed us. “You’re full?” “No, I should probably take the sign in. We have lots of sites open. Drive around and find a few you like. Some sites are reserved, if you pick a few you should pick at least one that’s open. The campgrounds in the 100’s to 200’s are near the water and have no hookups, the others have water and electric.” we found number 87 in the “near the water” sites that has water and electric! It’s a double site, but with the other half empty it’s perfect. It is level front to back and side to side. We have no satellite reception through the trees, but our High Def antenna brings in 14 channels. We can select from QVC shopping and reruns of old TV series.

Ellen cooked a stir fry with Chinese noodles, delicious and followed by some of our cheese cake. Then we walked toward deception pass at sunset. The skies have cleared overhead with dark clouds to the south and west. A few fishermen had nothing to show for their effort. The tide was high and going slack. The best time to fish deception pass is during an ebb tide which impedes the salmon’s run through the pass. They congregate in whirlpools waiting for the tide to turn then make their run through the pass. Like the fishermen out this evening, I fish when I can in good conditions or bad.

As we headed back, a kayaker and paddle boarder passed the point together. They seemed to be together; she would wait for him to catch up. They made for a great photo with the sunset beaming on them.

Back home, we’ve settled in. There’s a 50’s movie playing on the TV. I’m typing away, and Ellen is 50/50 between the movie and her smart phone. The movie seems to be about a woman who is either losing her mind or who is sane and everyone else thinks she is crazy. 50’s female drama is so very over the top.

9/21/2019 Lakedale Resort, Friday Harbor San Juan Island, Day 11

Leave a reply

Lakedale Resort

Lakedale has changed owners a number of times since it started in 1969. The three lakes surrounding the campgrounds are man made. The lodge is well designed and inviting. This is undoubtedly the best campground on the island. Though the general store is small, it is well stocked. Tom likes to talk about the San Juan Islands. He’s a wealth of information and will few visitors off season, he’s also a bit bored.

In the lodge we met Tracy, and thanked her for her helpful phone call the other day. “Oh that wasn’t me. That was probably Sherry.” While we were talking, a bus decorated as a trolley pulled in and around the lodge. “What was that?” “Oh, that’s the Jolly Trolley. It goes around the island. For a fee you can hop off and on at various stops.” It’s $10 per person. Why not leave the driving to someone else? “Does the bus take credit cards?” “No.” I only had $14.00 in cash. Tracy offered to lend us $20, “You can pay me back tomorrow. Here’s a card for a taxi. You may need it if you miss the last bus.” With a photo of the bus itinerary in hand, we set off to walk the campground.

Lakedale Resort is a very small campground. It has a few log cabins that sleep 8 with one that sleeps 12, a number of yurts, a remodeled airstream, and lots of tent sights in addition to the 5 RV sites. In season I’m sure this place is packed with families rowing and fishing the lake.

One of the Three Man-made Lakes

There’s a wedding this weekend. The owners of the sculpture garden’s daughter is getting married. On our walk we met a couple who will attend that wedding. He is originally from Croatia. She is originally from New York. They live in Toronto and love the outdoors, which is why they’re staying at Lakedale. “Wherever we go in the world, we look for hiking trails. There are some fantastic places to hike that nobody knows about. Crete for example has the deepest gorge and a great hike. Then he mentioned Madeira. “Madeira has some wonderful hiking. It’s fabulous.” He also mentioned the coast of southern Portugal as a must visit. Next they’re going hiking in Spain.

we’re taking a tour of Morocco next spring. I’ve added a week’s stay in Funchal, Madeira. We’ll be staying at a hotel overlooking the port city, but we will also do walks and hikes into the rugged hills (mountains) of Madeira.

Wherever we go in the U.S. we meet international travellers, like ourselves. Travel opens the heart and mind to the similarities we humans share across cultures. While different, we all want similar things for our families and friends. Legal immigration in the U.S. is broken. I’ll leave it at that.

Friday Harbor

We took the Jolly Trolley around the island to Friday Harbor. We passed the sculpture garden, Roche Harbor,English Camp, Lime Kiln Park, and the Lavender Farm along the way. Roche Harbor is beautiful and worth a visit. I had planed to take a whale watching tour or a kayak adventure from Roche harbor, but I’m half way through a cold. Even in great weather, going on the water with a cold is not a good idea. English Camp has a huge plaque about a war between the English and Americans that almost erupted over a pig. I’m curious, but with no internet cannot provide more details. There’s an American Camp elsewhere on the island that has a similar plaque. Lime Kiln is “THE PLACE” to see orca from the shore. We considered dry camping near the park, but opted for Lakedale. The Jolly Bus driver said, “When we come around the next turn, if you can see a number of whale watching boats, you’ll see whales.” Great, but as expected there were no boats and no whales. The consensus is that the whales are further up islands. We San Juan Island tomorrow. We can go to Orcas Island for whale watching or to Anacortes and continue on to Idaho. With no whale sightings and rain predicted, we’ll probably head to Anacortes.

Friday harbor is quaint. Like Sidney, it has one main street that runs to the sea and a wharf. Friday Harbor has a large marina to the left and a number of coffee shops, restaurants, and novelty shops. We ate at the Downrigger, right on the water. Though there were people in shorts and Ts out on the deck, we opted to eat inside. It was much warmer with the same view through wall to wall windows looking out over the bay. We had a pastrami sandwich and burrata dish. The seafood didn’t appeal for some reason. Our waiter said there are ATMs nearby and a Wells Fargo a few blocks up.

Two outfitters in Friday Harbor provide whale watching tours and kayak tours. They were not busy. We stopped into a bakery and took two pieces of cheese cake with us. I took some cash from Wells Fargo to repay Tracy, and we headed to the last Jolly Trolley departing Friday Harbor today.

Tracy was closing the lodge when we walked in. We repaid her $20 with thanks all around. “I trust you guys” she said letting us take two DVDs without deposit. We’ll give her one of our caramel chocolates tomorrow as we leave.

“Back home”, we had a bit of cheese cake and coffee It took a bit for me to get the DVD working. We have one less power plug for our devices. I’ve also got a 3-input HDIM switch that “usually” works and the audio/video cable to the 2nd TV is disconnected. It’s something I’ll deal with later. I’ve said that every year. When we get home it’s out of mind and does not get fixed. Anyway, The Northwest Passage is a long historical piece that covers the history of adventurers first attempts to find the passage to what climate change has done to the north west. It’s fascinating. “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” was a surprise. It’s a good movie, but the ending is tragic not very uplifting. It’s not a great bedtime film.

Rain is predicted for tomorrow.

9/20/2019 Victoria & San Juan Island, Day 10

Leave a reply

Fan-ta-sea-isle.com

A pile of driftwood along the walkway was once a work of art welcoming visitors to Victoria. It is “On The Rise Again”. Check out: fan-ta-sea-isle

Climate Change Day 9/20/19

Yesterday three feet of rain fell near Houston Texas. The Trump administration has ignored an internal report blaming changes in the weather and crop yield in central America for an increase in migration to the U.S. “Climate Change, is a Hoax”, the Donald.

low broken clouds dot the sky this morning. Today could go either way, overcast with scattered rain or partially sunny and warm. Either way, we’re due out of Salish Haven by 11 and not due at the Sidney ferry until 4:30. We may park by Beacon Hill Park on the south coast or check the north side of victoria.

Jerry has asked that we drop by Whidbey Island for a day or two. We could easily do this over the Deception Pass Bridge from Anacortes to Whidbey. The down side? That would push our trip to Banff, Glacier National Park, and Yellowstone out a few days, closer to winter weather. We could winterize if necessary.

I’m no closer to knowing how successful whale watching is here. The water taxi driver happily said it’s great now. A fellow camper at Salish said otherwise. We hoped to ask people arriving back from a trip and did not run into groups departing a tour. I’ll focus more on asking around today ahead of our San Juan and Orcas Island leg.

Blue Skies & Warmer

It’s a beautiful day. The sun is shining on Victoria Harbor.

“Late Checkout”, Tom entered that in our site record. We have another hour to lounge around before leaving at noon. The harbor is busy this morning; lots of float planes landing and taking off. The yellow oval water taxies are seemingly everywhere.

I took another shower here. Why not? The only down side: there is insufficient water pressure to drive the fancy shower head. It is manageable. “Could you take this garbage for me/”. On the way I passed a group, 40 strong, gathering behind the “clubhouse”. I had noticed that many of the motorhomes the arrived yesterday were rented from a “something.com.de”. This was an RV tour group. I didn’t have a chance to ask where in Germany they’re from. Moving quickly they headed toward the water taxi stand.

A Sidney Mural

Sidney to Friday Harbor Ferry

I booked both a ferry spot for the 5:55 sailing and an RV site at Lakedale Resort at the lakes.on San Juan Island. Working backwards we should be in line at the ferry at 4:25. Sidney is a short drive from Victoria though we should stop for a few things. We’d also like to walk Sidney some; we’ve never visited.. 4:25 less two hours for a visit, drive time, a stop for supplies, and time to navigate the ferry, left us with maybe an hour “extra”. We left for Sidney at noon.

Traffic near Victoria has been light every day, but not today. Even a checkout gal at Save-On mentioned the traffic. Once we were on 17 north, the traffic thinned and we made good time. At Sidney we followed signs for the ferry. GPS gal, set to go to downtown Sidney, has something to say about that & she was silenced. The first time I drive right past the ferry entrance and on to downtown Sidney. I pass a sign about single file for the ferry; that was it. Sidney is a town of 10,000 with a main street (Waterfront I think) that runs to a small park with a shell for performances, and a wharf. There is no place to park an RV without going a number of blocks off the main street. I stopped and Ellen looked at me like I had grown two heads. Let’s either park closer or find the ferry. “OK”

Back to the sign about “single file” and more slowly this time. That road runs toward the water, then turns 90 degrees left. There’s a wide lane on the right for vehicles that runs up to the 90 degree turn and ends. I parked t the end of that lane and saw a closed gate to the right. There were signs about the ferry and ferry schedules posted. “We’re here, I think”. If we had found the ferry, we were first in line. Ellen wasn’t convinced. I asked a gardener across the street, “Is this the entrance to the San Juan ferry? “ “Yes.” and his buddy said with a grin, “Don’t believe him, he’ll get you towed?” We left Li’l Beast sitting all alone in the ferry line. As in Victoria, Sidney has a seaside walk that took us to the wharf downtown. The restaurant on the wharf looked inviting. It sits beside a retail/wholesale fish market. At least the seafood will be fresh.

Walking toward the restaurant, my phone rang. Typically I ignore calls I don’t recognize. This time I picked up. It was a gal from Lakedale Resort who noticed we’d be checking in after hours. She gave me information about Lakedale, how to work the shower, where my welcome package would be, and to go right of the lodge to avoid the low overhand. Cool.

We sat on the enclosed balcony and ordered halibut fish and chips. Two for me, one and chowder for Ellen. The halibut was excellent; the breading was far too thick and sat like a lump in our stomachs an hour later. Not the best dining experience. We walked Sidney, found Roger’s Chocolates, and left with some chocolate covered cashew nuts, a sampler of chocolate caramels, and a bar of something Ellen grabbed.

Back at Li’l Beast, a line of 20 cars and motorhomes had formed behind us. A fellow opened the gate a few minutes later. “Here, fill this out and give it to the attendant when asked. Oh, don’t try to make the turn into the ferry from here. Go left and around the block and come strait in that way””.”But I think I can make the turn.” To which he said,, “I don’t want you damaging our fence. Go around the block” “OK” I’m sure he has had experience with “know betters” who tried and failed to make the turn.

Cog, our Mascot, Watches the Ferry

Getting on the ferry is a multi part experience complete with a concession stand. First the gateman gave us a card to fill out. Then we drove around the block and through the sharp right turn. Then the gateman checked us off his list of reservations and motioned us forward to the ticketing booth. At the booth, we presented our form with our names and we were given our boarding ticket and returned our form stamped with “3”. Drive to line 3 when you get there. Then we queued for our passport check before boarding. The van conversion ahead of us had Hawaiian license plates. It’s not every day you see a car from Hawaii. We sat here for maybe 30 minutes (marveling at the Hawaiian couple) until the border police arrived. “Where are you from” “How long were you in Canada” “Why did you visit” “Where are you going”. and that was it. We queue up in line 3 behind a Subaru. Here we waited for the ferry to arrive and disgorge it load. People milled about, Ellen too. I nearly dozed off. Ellen returned with a cup of vanilla caramel ice cream for each of us.

Spieden Island

The Sidney-Friday Harbor-Anacortes ferry is huge. The group going to Friday Harbor loaded first. Li’l Beast stood at the ferry’s prow, just behind one other car. We chose port side seating and played a number of hands of Phase-10. We seem to split wins and losses evenly. Once underway, the ferry moved quickly. The San Juan Islands are beautiful to behold. There are many islands, most covered in tall pine. People with binoulars scanned the water for whale and the islands for wildlife. We forgot to grab our binoculars. Going through the strait along Spieden Island, the ferry slowed. Spieden Island is full of deer. Someone at a table behind us said they were “Japanese Deer” a smaller variety. “weren’t they brought in by helicopter?” “No, you’re thinking of the Olympic Peninsula”.

Enroute

Arriving

Friday Harbor & Lakedale Resort

We approached Friday Harbor as the sun set. Friday harbor is smaller than Sidney, and quaint. That’s the impression we had as we drove through. Customs such as it was was a breeze. “Do you have anything to declare?” “No” “OK, enjoy your visit”. GPS Gal took us right to Lakedale Resort. Check the one star reviews for this resort and you’ll find one wherein some fellow drove up a very narrow road, couldn’t turn around and had to go to the end to turn around, damaged the side of his motorhome, and groused at the resort for not compensating him for his loss. Contrast this with the resort’s call with information about our stay. I suspected that we’d have not problem settling into our site.

We backed into very level site “J” in the trees with ease. The road to the site was wide and easy to follow. No Problem. We’re close to the showers and have water and electric. There’s no sewer and that’s fine. The only downside (as Ellen reminds me from time to time: no WiFi) There actually is wifi. It’s at the general store and doesn’t reach “way out here”.

We settled in for the night on a brand new Island, new to us.

9/19/2019, Victoria BC, Day 9

Leave a reply

A Salish Sunrise

Victoria BC

Today is a sunny day. We were up as usual around 7:10. “Hey Siri, Play NPR”.

Sidney to Friday Harbor ferry and campsite reservations were the first order of business after morning coffee and some lounging about. Both came easily: we’ll take the 5:55 ferry to San Juan Island. There was one RV site at Lakedale Resort open, we took it. We could have stayed at the state park on Smallpox Bay (right?), but chose to go with electric hookup not dry camping. We’ll drive to the bay unless other plans intervene (kayaking and whale watching).

2nd Thing We Saw, 1st Was the Tesla 3 Behind

Shades of Buchart Gardens

Ovation of the Seas, 4180 Passengers

Li’l Beast @ Salish Seaside from the Walkway

Along the Walkway

Lots of Activity in the Harbor Today

The Johnson St. Drawbridge

Johnson St. Victoria BC

Tongue-in-cheek Pizza Parlor Humor

The West Bay Walkway starts close by Salish RV Haven. It runs along the outer and inner harbors to the Johnson St. Bridge. The walk to Victoria feels effortless with the views of the harbors from the trail. Benches dot the path, though we didn’t feel the need to stop. The new luxury marina is finished. Boom and Batten, the marina’s “high end” restaurant, is open and inviting. We stopped for a look-see, and headed on to Victoria. A building facing the Johnson St Bridge has a mural announcing Willie’s Bakery. We went looking and failed to find a bakery in the building. “That’s a Google search!”

I wanted a hamburger at “the Local”. With Ellen’s blessing we stopped for lunch, waiting our turn to be seated. Ellen had two prawn tacos that were too spicy for her. I offered half of my burger for a taco and (sadly) she accepted. The taco was good, but the blue cheese and bacon burger was far better.

Searching for Willie’s Bakery, Google brought up “permanently closed” in red letters. Ellen asked, “which street is the Crust Bakery on?” Google again: Fort St up ahead a few blocks then left. We passed the Dutch Bakery and noticed a bus stop or waiting area on the street and a woman passing out pastry samples. It looked to be from the Dutch Bakery. Undaunted, we walked the twenty feet to The Crust. The was one couple ahead of us and another followed behind us. The Crust is always busy. As we left a woman from the bus stop waiting area made a bee line for the Crust.

Our Favorite Bakery in VIctoria

Again Their Almond Croissants Were Sold Out

We continued our walk around the inner harbor past The Empress. the Parliament Building, and the Black Ball Ferry building toward Fisherman’s Wharf. There were two motorhomes queued for the ferry. Checkout from Salish is at noon. With our ferry departure at 5:50, we’ll be parking somewhere in Victoria. Parking along the wharf is for 2 hours only. That won’t work. As we walked we scoped out parking, but found nothing. Parking at Fisherman’s Wharf is for cars only, “no RV’s”.

Foot traffic around Fisherman’s Wharf was unusually brisk. We figured most were cruise ship passengers. We asked at the water taxi stand and sure enough, the woman who sold our tickets said “it’s been non-stop since early this morning. Ovation of the Sea with 4180 passengers is in town.” With most traffic headed into Victoria, we had a taxi called for us to take us back to the West End, the other direction. “You will turn left sometime soon, right?” I asked our driver. “Yes, but I have to wait for that plane to land.” We had to stop at a buoy while a float plane came in for a landing.

One of a Number of Interesting Totem Polls

A light drizzle started as we disembarked and walked the few hundred yards “home”. There’s been a light rain falling since. Confortable weather to curl up with a book.

Tomorrow we’ll catch that 5:55 PM ferry to San Juan Island and a new adventure. The island is small enough to bicycle around. We could also do kayaking and/or whale watching from Roche Harbor weather permitting.

Houseboats at Fisherman’s Village Victoria BC

Replacing My Old Home Depot Travel Mug.

The Beast remained home today. We put mileage on our shoes. As you can see from the photos, today was overcast and cool; a vast change from yesterday. Victoria is visually stunning. The shopping we do is usually targeted. We seldom just browse shops to see what’s there. Shopping is not a leisure activity. The one exception is visiting art galleries. If the artist’s work appeals to us we’ll make many loops through even a small shop. Great art evokes an emotional response in us.

Victoria is a thriving city/town. I expect San Juan Island will be primitive. The difference should be interesting. Orca Island may be still more primitive. Fun.

9/18/2019, Butterfly Gardens, Victoria BC, Day 8 part 2

Leave a reply

Victoria Butterfly Garden

Do not be fooled by one star reviews of the gardens. We had a spectacular time here. The insect world has so much variety, it is hard not to be impressed. I particularly enjoyed the tortoise who knows how to escape his pen. His keepers have no idea how he gets out, but there he was walking the walk. “If they all learn how to escape, we’ll have to fix that. As it is if he’s happy getting loose, we’ll let him. We just cannot have all the tortoises loose.” There are only six of them.

The butterfly garden is close to Buchart Gardens. I plugged the address into our trusty GPS. Please enter a valid address! It could not find 1461 Benvenuto Ave! Smart Phones to the rescue. I got turned around and U-turned a few times getting there. We arrived at 3:35. The gardens closes at 4. We thought we’d have to come back the next day. “No, we stop letting people in at 4 but we stay open until 5.” Cool.

To the right of reception is the insectarium, a series of glass enclosures with very interesting “bugs” inside. The first larger one houses leaf cutter ants. “We feed them leaves two or three times a day. We have to change the leaf type every few days or they’ll stop feeding. In the wild they change the leaves they eat every few days. That way they don’t decimate one plant variety. The plants can recover in between.” The other enclosures hold stick bugs and beetles.

The butterfly garden is through a double door past the insectarium. Each variety of butterfly has favorite plants that the garden has in abundance. Inside are numerous butterflies, tortoises, parrots, a few lizards (hard to find), and a pair of mechanical flamingos. I photographed and videoed the flamingos before realizing that aside from a side to side motion with their beaks in the water, they did not move. I deleted my photos and videos. Who wants to see a mechanical bird anyway.

On the way out I mentioned the mechanical flamingos. “Oh you mean Mango and Houdini. They were born in 1976. Flamingos live for 50 or 60 years. These two are old guys.” I had gone back a few times to see if they were live birds. One of those times Houdini ruffled his tail feathers. Then I knew they were real, and took a video and some photos. They moved so little and in such a regular pattern that they look mechanical!

9/18/2019, Bushart & Butterfly Gardens, Salish Seaside, Victoria BC, Day 8

Leave a reply

Photos, lots of photos below.

Salish Seaside RV Haven

With just two shower stalls and more than 14 RV sites, it can be a wait for a shower in the morning. There was one woman waiting for a free shower when I arrived. “Clearly you are first in line.”, I said. She almost rolled her eyes, “clearly” unspoken but intended.

“Are you from the US?”, breaks the ice every time. “No, I’m originally from Belgium and moved to Germany.” She spoke French, Dutch, German, and clearly English. We talked about US language classes, travel in Europe and here in the US. She is traveling with her daughter, her husband, and their six week old baby.

I don’t know what it is about women from Belgium, but this is the second time “wow”.

The weather was overcast this morning. New was the clear blue breaking through here and there. It promised to be a better day today.

Bushart Gardens

I purchased tickets to Bushart and Butterfly Gardens on line. It saves a bit to do so. Imagine not being able to access the ticket at the gardens.

The drive to the gardens was on a rolling, bumpy two lane road with construction and flag women now and then. It’s refreshing to see women working on road crews. I’ve seen it in the U.S., but not very often. We waved every time.

Bushart Garden’s parking lot is huge. It was mostly empty at 11:50. We parked beside three other RVs in an area that could park 40 or 50 RVs and Busses. “The gardens must be huge.”

We skipped the gift shop and the local artist gallery, and walked past the coffee shop. We stopped at the restaurant, noticed capellini con vongole and took one of the last 2:45 reservations. Into the gardens we strolled. I enjoyed the sunken gardens most. Walking a path I a heady floral scent hit me in a wave. A woman’s perfume? Could this be a plant? The scent faded, then grew. I wonder how I looked sniffing the various plants along that path. Pretty funny I’d guess. I found the source. A tall stalk with a spray of white flowers that I’d never seen before. I asked a horticulturist what the plans was. She said the name has changed, but the common name is bugs bane. There are two photos in the array below.

The Japanese garden was very well done. The Italian garden seems small. We were “gardened out” by then.

Bugs Bane has a Wonderful Scent

The capellini was good though the vongole were disappointing. The clams were not as fresh as I’d like. I do not recommend the restaurant’s vongole. However, their tomato soup is wonderful.

Tattoo McGoo

Whimsically Painted Power Boxes

Coeur D’Alene From Behind, The Mudgy Moose Trail

Weather

Moose

Find the Moose

Big Hint

Pilgrims Natural Food Market

Share this:

Rock Shadows

Thursday Morning

Not Really a Baby

I’d Guess my Plaid Pants Gave me Away!

Weather

More “Rocks”

One Fellow Hangs with Mom

The Other Not So Much

Home on the Lake

Share this:

Ellensburg KOA Revisited in Photos

In The News

Weather

Blackwell RV Resort Photos

Moose love Apples, but No Moose So Far

Atypical for us, we seldom connect to sewer

Our Preferred Site

Cycling

CDA

Blackwell Island

Coyote Statues to Control Pests

I think the Pests are Wise to the Ploy

A Custom Starcraft, This Boat is All Motor

Sizzler

We ate at the Bakery, Cedars will wait ‘till Tomorrow

The Centennial Trail CDA

Kyte Boarding on a Hydrofoil, Extreme Speed

Going Uphill Ellen waited for Me!

And I didn’t Stop!

Stopped across from Lakeside Bakery

Moose atop the Bakery

Corrected Ellen’s Cappuccino Order

Share this:

Cranberry Lake Campground Wa

It’s Autumn, Pumpkin Season

Military Jets often flew Over Cranberry Lake

Warm and Dry inside the Cove Café

Coupeville from the Pier

The Cove Café

Liquid Sunshine, Enough Already!

Spokane or Coeur D’Alene

Evening Entertainment

Share this:

A Few Photos Taken from the Jolly Trolly Yesterday

Lime Kilns at Roche Harbor

The Bus Driver’s Frenchies

People Keep Hangers for their Commuter Planes

Arriving English Camp

Another Eccentric built this Eight Story House

Ellen’s Burrata Lunch

Not the First Tesla X Campers We’ve Seen!

Lakedale Resort at the Lakes

The Lakedale Lodge

A View from the Lodge over the Deck

Local Art for Sale, A Towhee

Friday Harbor

Friday Harbor Ferry

Off the Ferry, Anacortex

Cog back in Washington

The Oyster Run, Anacortes 2019

There were at least 100 bikes parked on each block, easily over 1,000 total

Crossing Deception Pass Bridge

Our New Home, for a Day

Cranberry Lake Campground

Share this:

Lakedale Resort

One of the Three Man-made Lakes

Friday Harbor

Share this:

Fan-ta-sea-isle.com

Climate Change Day 9/20/19