COULEE DAM - WASHINGTON

050824 - GRAND COULEE DAM

GRAND COULEE DAM

Arrived at Grand Coulee (one of the 4 cities adjacent to Grand Coulee Dam – the others being Coulee Dam, Electric City and Coulee City) and chose a park that advertised free shuttle to the night time laser light show at the dam. It was a good choice. The park was comfortable, with grass for Peter and a laundry room just 20 feet away.
The owners are a kind, friendly couple who are a joy to talk to and appear hard working.

The laser light show was a real treat. Before it starts, they open the flood gates and use the flowing water as the picture screen.
Some of the display is fascinating, but most of it is dated. It was created in 1986, but the essence, theme and narration is stirring, motivating and inspiring. Much of the background music is commercially recognizable and it finishes with Neil Diamond’s version of “Coming to America”.
The dam construction was started just after the completion of the Hover Dam, and mostly by the same men. However, this project was much larger. It still holds many titles such as the 3rd largest hydro-electric plant in the world and the largest concrete structure in the world. It took 8 years to build at a cost of about 350 million. Today it would be in the billions but would never be approved by any EPA, Conservationist groups, or government agencies.
It is the primary dam for the Columbia River and 7 other smaller dams make up the water conservation and power system.
Lake Roosevelt is the Columbia River behind the dam extending 151 miles to the Canadian Boarder.
The whole structure us about a mile long, so we opted out on the daytime tour.
All in all, a worthwhile and not to miss experience.

Till next time,

WINTHROP, WA

050823 Wintrop, WA

050823 - Winthrop, Washington

I have formed the opinion that anyone who tells you that a particular road is scenic is usually not the one doing the driving. Especially if it’s a woman. If it’s a man, then he said it because his wife or girlfriend told him to say it.

Scenic roads are for the passengers.

With that being said - i have to admit, that when you can drive slow enough without anybody behind you, a scenic road can be enjoyed.

the Northern Cascade Highway (US-20) goes thru some of the most beautiful countryside i have ever seen.
The majority of it is in the Okanogan National park, and the altitudes ran from about sea level to about 6,0000 ft.

As we started out - our GPS told us it would be about 100 miles.

After driving for about 20 minutes, the road sign said Winthrop 125 miles.
After driving about 60 miles, the signs said - Winthrop - 90 miles. At this rate, we are never going to get there.

The trouble is, the road has so many turns, switchbacks and changes of direction, a crow would be exhaust if he couldn't fly.

Usually i don’t get any pix of the scenery - but at one of the rest stops, there were some good photo ops, and i even dared to take a couple of shots thru the windshield , hoping my new steering stabilizer would keep me on the road long enough to frame the shot.

Diablo Lake was particularly breathtaking from the altitude we were at, but I had a “parade” behind me and couldn't manage a pix.

4 hours later (doing about 40 mph most of the time) we arrived at Winthrop (160 miles on the odometer) - we also had a delay along the way for a construction crew that was clearing the roadway from falling rocks.
They had one lane cleared and were leading traffic alternately thru the one open lane as traffic going the other direction waited patiently (i hope). All i can say is that i am glad i wasn’t there when these rocks fell.

Winthrop is a charming western town that has been preserved in its late 1800's appearance for historical and commercial value. it certainly is a popular and crowded town in season.,

Our campsite was about a mile east of town, but true to form for KOA, they provided a free shuttle service into town times a day.
We wandered in and out of shops with everything from cowboy boots, hats, tombstones, cooking equipment and more.
A nice lunch and a great steak dinner at Three Finger Jack’s Saloon finished off the day nicely. Of course a couple of local beers were included.

Till next time,

Granville Island - B.C.

050816 BELLINGHAM

050816 - BELLINGHAM

As much as we hated to leave Port Townsend, we had to move on.

Prior to arriving at Bellingham, we made an intermediate stop at Oak Harbor. The park was full, but they found a spot for us. Fortunately we are small as RVs go, and since we have no slide outs or car in tow, we fit in almost any spot if need be.

The park was well groomed, with grass outside the door for Peter to sunbathe on (would you believe he's still mad at me for forgetting to bring his reflector), and paved interior roads for the Batmobile to ride easily on.; We were happy.

the next morning, i hear the very unique sound of Peter "wooing" which is what he does instead of bark, but it sounded like it is coming from outside.

I awake, go to the patio door and find it open. I called to Peter, and he came running and climbed aboard as if nothing unusual has happened.

Apparently, and i am hoping by accident - he put his paw on the door handle and the door swung open.

I usually lock the door but the "push button look" is stuck and i have not remembered to use the dead bolt often. Now i will start. He's just to damn smart to let that "freeing" experience not be repeated if he can.

I spoke to my neighbors to ask if he had bothered them and they replied that he had just wandered around the neighborhood, found a grassy mound to lay down on and just remanded there for a while.
these people are early risers who have their coffee outside their RV in the Morning.

Since we are going to be the house guests of Joe and Penelope, we chose a park in Lynden. it was close, well groomed and only $150/week. It really was a very pretty park and would have been nice to be able to enjoy it, but maybe some other time.

You really feel like someone special when friends offer you and your dog a room in heir home.

Peter was a complete gentleman most of the time, except when he was a normal dog. Fortunately, there were no major problems.

Penelope immediately fell in love with peter and started treating him like a grandchild. She would fuss over him - making sure he had enough water and food (and sneak feeding him while she cooked)- and even walking him sometimes. In all fairness, I will say that Joe also walked Peter. Joe and Penelope were great hosts. A couple of nights Penelope cooked some terrific dinners and another night We had a great dinner at a seafood restaurant overlooking the bay.
We took a day trip into Canada for some sightseeing.
We went to British Columbia, ... Granville Island - which appears to be a very yuppie area - reminiscent of Marina Del Rey in Los Angeles. The tall, stylish architecture were predominantly condos which must be pretty expensive considering their appearance and the area they are located in.

Prior to arriving at Bellingham, I had noticed that my ankles were getting swollen and discolored – with pitting edema.
When I got to Joe’s, we took my blood pressure and it was high (180/95). Fortunately, Joe had some LASIX and after a long night of frequent urination, my BP dropped to 123/71. I called my internist in Los Angeles to discuss the problem, and afterwards I decided it was the Chinese food I had been eating in Port Townsend – probably MSG. Just in case I now have an Rx of Lasix and Potassium.

So far, no recurrences.

The time went fast, and during my stay I had some work done on the Beast at a local RV shop. I started out wanting a water purification system and a front end steering stabilizer (roughly about $800). I wound up with that and a couple of bell cranks and front end alignment totaling $1850. It’s not that I didn’t need all this stuff, (didn’t budget for it ) and I’m probably better off with it. I hope I hit some good windy days and lots of truck traffic to test out the improvement.

One day we even attended a good old fashion county fair and it was Peter’s first encounter with a llama. He was curious, but respectful, since they were so much bigger than him, but he was more aggressive towards the sheep. I think he wanted a sweater.

Bellingham is really a very socially active area, and two nights we attended 2 free outdoor concerts that were quite entertaining – one was jazz, the other more pop, country and folk.

Once again we have to move on, although Peter seemed upset that the nice lady cook wasn,t coming with us. Our next adventure will take us into the Northern Cascades of Washington.
Till next time,

050804 - PORT TOWNSEND

Port Townsend - August 04, 2005

Leaving Port Angeles, we headed east along Puget Sound. It’s a very scenic route and a very enjoyable drive. We took a short detour to travel along Dungeness Bay for the view. Guess what they are famous for.
Sequim is another quaint and famous area that is the largest producer of lavender in the United States. Its weather and terrain are the closest to that of the area of France where the major world producer of lavender exists.

The remainder of the short drive to our destination was a more of a meandering thru small populated areas along a pretty and cool wooded roadway.

Port Townsend in yet another small seaside town that is a living history of older times. Many of the buildings are original structures with some modern plumbing and safety additions. Joe and I have been here before to sample some local brews (they make a delicious Port Townsend light ale), but we did not venture to the marina where the RV park is located.

We initially intended to stay a couple of nights but didn’t bother making any reservations. When we popped in the office, we were told that there might be an opening for a night but they doubted if anything else was available and chided us for not calling ahead since this is apparently their busy season.

By a great stroke of luck, they had a spot open for 3 nights and we took it. After pulling into our space, it had such a nice view and beautiful surroundings, we went back to the office the next day and tried to extend our stay for a week. We got a promise of 2 more days and had to return later to get another 2 days but had to move to another space. Within 100 feet we were graced with 2 restaurants. The OTTER CROSSING is a quaint and charming café overlooking the Marina that serves great omelets and seafood salads. The owner and staff were very friendly, especially to Peter. The other restaurant was Chinese, named SHANGHIA, which to those of you who do not live in L.A., is my favorite Chinese Restaurant there. What more could we ask for? We spent many meals at both places and really felt spoiled. At our last meal at The Otter Crossing, Peter insisted I leave a tip from him, in the form of a couple of his milkbone treats.
Now if you know Peter, you know what a noble gesture that is for him, to part with food. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that humans do not enjoy milkbones as much as dogs, so I hope the waitress understands the symbolism.

With the Batmobile, we could be in town in 5 minutes and with a full charge we could travel the town without having to run down or be stranded.
We rolled in and out of shops and stores and even found a Radio Shack for some small miscellaneous items on our list.

Its funny how some things that ordinarily would be a negative can be overlooked when the campsite is so enjoyable. The parking is side by side, and the site is gravel, but the view of the Sound is unobstructed, making our front and side windows like expensive picture windows.

Although i always try to get a grassy site for Peter to lie on, he didn’t seem to mind the gravel. He enjoyed the walks we took along the waterfront, as well as the strolls into town.

Sunday night, we were awakened by a moderate rainstorm which lasted a couple of hours but by sunrise it had passed and left a cool, dreary, overcast day, but not enough to dampen our spirits.

Since we are just a stones throw (or a Ferry ride) from Canada, we pick up their radio and TV stations, with their news and weather reports.
At first I was really confused when they announced that the price of petrol was high at a dollar five, but then found out they were talking about liters, not gallons.

Likewise, the weather temperature is in Celsius so a reading of 28 degrees is considered warm and over thirty is a heat wave.

From here, we will have to board a ferry to get across the Sound because it’s a long way back to the interstate otherwise. We cruised the ferry pier one afternoon to check it out and figured we would be safe when we saw an 18 wheel tractor trailer drive off. They charge by the foot ($1) for trucks and RV’s.

The weather has been delightful this week and we will remember this area and RV park for a long time. They also have a lovely B&B here at the Marina called the Commander’s House so you don’t have to have an RV to enjoy the area.

Till next time,