July 17, DAY 67
I lost track of days for a moment so today is the 17th and we are in Valemont, BC at Irvin’s RV Park. We discover one of the couples from the caravan and ended in the parking spot directly behind them. It was obvious they had awning problems and they had a bad storm with high winds that tore off the awning and bent the arms. They had it all wrapped in duck tape so they could travel. They had no trouble during the entire caravan and then this happens on their way hope. They had been there for a couple days and will move on tomorrow.
July 18, DAY 68
We visited Jasper Park and took Tobey and a picnic lunch. It was a long day but well worth the time. Lots of beautiful things to see. We saw black bear, deer, moose and a gray wolf in the park. Only issue was that I forgot to change batteries in my camera so obviously I ran out of battery power on 3rd picture. I found a tourist stop and purchased a couple one use cameras to capture some of the sights. We returned to the campground to find yet another couple from the caravan had arrived. We had an evening storm that must have been like the one earlier in the week. The wind was really something but I had no fear of loosing my awning.
July 19, DAY 69
Arrived in Cache Creek, BC. The drive had many interesting sights. We drove through mountains with lush vegetation and glaciers on top to the Frazer Canyon with narrow winding roads with step drop-offs that looked like the Bad Lands of South Dakota to arrive at a fertile Frazer Valley and farming communities. There were new fires burning to the east of us but not close enough for concern. Food stock is getting low as we approach time to cross the boarder again but had to do a little shopping so we could eat.
July 20, DAY 70
We made it to Chilliwack, BC which was our last stop before crossing the boarder to the lower 48. Earlier I had discovered my step-down receiver for my tow hitch was bent from all the frost heaves and I was able to locate a replacement while we were here. We went to the Great Blue Heron Preserve but none were there. We seem to be where things should be but never find them for the last couple weeks. It wasn’t a total loss because we did see a turtle and a couple rabbits when we walked around the lake.
July 21-24, DAY 71-74
We drove to Blaine Wa to the home of friends from the caravan and parked in their driveway. They have a very nice house on the bay with Eagles in their trees and Blue Heron flying past. We took a boat ride to their club for lunch and saw harbor seals with their pups. They have a dog that made friends with Tobey and volunteered to keep Tobey while we spent to days in Victoria. We took the passenger ferry and stayed in a nice hotel. We went to the Royal BC Museum, Butchart Gardens, and Butterfly Gardens. It was beautiful but this time my camera ran out of space on the chip for pictures. I had to delete some pictures to make room for more since there was no place to purchase a new chip. After having breakfast with our friends we set off for Mossyrock, Wa.
July 24-27, DAY 74-77
We camped right on the lake at Harmony Lake RV Park. Last night they were having a jazz festival and steak dinner. The steak was excellent and you could cut it with a fork. We picked the spot because it was half way between Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helen. We took Tobey to Mt. Rainier since they said dogs on leases were fine. We drove all the way top the top only to find he couldn’t go on the trails or into the picnic area so we turned around and started back down. We stooped at a pull off and eat in the car. The next day we didn’t take Tobey to Mt. St. Helen and it turns out we could have since there were many with the dogs. We went up the eat side which has been closed for two years because of flooding. It opened one month ago so thing were still getting organized but had a real nice presentation from the ranger about what happened. You could see the blast area and the devastation that is still visible 29 years later.
July 27-29, DAY 77-79
We arrived Pacific City, Or. We parked on the beach near Haystack Rock. The rock is half mile out from the beach in 70 feet of water. It stands 32 stories out of the water and covers 9 acres at the water line. We visited the Oregon Coast Museum and it was very interesting but the traffic on highway 101 is terrible so need to get early start to go anywhere. Tobey got to play in the ocean and had a great time.
July 29-31, DAY 79-81
We drove to Coos Bay and the entire trip was in and out of fog. Couldn’t see much of anything except the road and in spots that was hard. We did stop at Sea Lions Cave and saw the sea lions in their natural habitat. We got lost in North Bend trying to follow directions from camping directory but luckily the GPS new were to take us. I never trust the GPS when it tries to take me down narrow side streets or make illegal left turns? We all got hair cuts today, Thursday, and I think Tobey’s came out the best. It only got to the upper 60s today. It is hard to believe that just 10 miles inland is in the 100s. Next stop is Crescent City, Ca.