Day 16: Fishhook, WA to South Beach, OR

I woke up excited for Day 16 because Oregon was one of only 4 more states that I need to visit in the U.S. to visit them all! When we first talked about this summer's trip we planned to stay on the eastern side of the state, but little did I know that Kevin had some other things in mind. 

Day 16 on the road would be one of the best road trip days so far! Ever! 

When Kevin saw that we were only about 5-6 hours from the Pacific coast, he made up his mind to get us there. He's never been on the east coast, so getting his feet in the Pacific Ocean was too close to pass up. So--we drove all the way across the state of Oregon in one day! It was a long day, but it isn't one we will soon forget.

We stopped for lunch in Portland, Oregon. While he drove, I looked for some things to do in the city. I was so excited to see that the world's largest bookstore--Powell's--is located in Oregon. It takes up an entire city block! So...that immediately got added to the agenda. 

When we pulled into the city, our first mission was to find a spot to park the truck and trailer. Not an easy feat. As rain moved into the city, we drove around several blocks looking for a spot with no luck. Just as I began to think we would have to just drive through the city and continue on our way, Powell's came into view. Kevin told me to jump out and go inside and that he would handle parking. I wasn't about to miss the opportunity to check out the bookstore, so I jumped out of the truck and wished Kevin luck on his mission. 

While I explored the miles of bookshelves and even checked out the "Rare Book Room," Kevin skillfully found a 2 hour spot to park, moved the dogs into the trailer, and walked to meet me at Powell's. 

I managed to show some restraint--I only bought four books! After checking out at Powell's, we headed to our next Portland destination--Voodoo Donuts. Famous for its wacky and delicious donuts, we found the shop by the sweet smell from a block away and the line of people that wrapped around the building. A twenty minute wait brought us face to face with a wide selection of donuts. I decided on the O Cap'n My Cap'n (covered in Cap'n Crunch cereal) and a Voodoo Doll while Kevin got their signature Cream Donut. We paid in cash (it's a cash only store) and left with their signature pink bakery box filled with our sugary treats. 

Our third and final destination in Portland was lunch. Famous for more than 500 food trucks, we walked to a block with a countless array of food trucks where we did a lap to select our meals before deciding on Chicken Pad Thai (for me) and Gumbo (for Kevin). Once we had our meals in hand, we walked back to the truck and trailer just before our two hour limit expired and enjoyed our lunch inside the trailer. The food was delicious!!!! 

With a fine mist settling in over the city, we got into the truck and continued on our way for our final stop for the night. The Pacific Coast. This meant another three hours on the road, and busy traffic along the way didn't help, but we eventually found our home for the night. The first campground we tried was full (Beverly Beach SP), so we continued south along the coast until we found South Beach SP just south of Newport, OR. 

The guy working at the check-in station set us up with a nice campsite a little distance away from the 225 trailer sites. So--even though the campground was huge, it felt small to us. By this point it was 6:30 PM, so we quickly changed and started walking the wooded nature trail that led from our campsite directly to the beach.

With a fine mist of rain and ocean spray in the air and the roar of the ocean carried on the wind, the walk through the woods was majestic. Eventually we emerged on the dunes and the ocean was fully in view. We raced down to the ocean where Kevin, Scout, and Reno all got to soak their toes in the Pacific for the first time. Even Reno--who HATES the water--couldn't resist.

Once again Scout got to swim--although this time with crashing waves. He loved it! This only makes me look forward to next month's trip to the Outer Banks! 

We spent about an hour at the isolated beach until the sun set and we reluctantly decided to head back to the campground before it got too dark. When we got back, Kevin quickly made some noodles in a bag while it rained, and we enjoyed our meal and donut dessert before crashing for the night.

The sound of the foghorn could be heard in the distance while we slept, and I couldn't help but be reminded of our two years living on the beach in Rhode Island. The Oregon Coast is spectacular. The views, the mist, the waves. The beaches are dog friendly, and the people are so nice. 

My grandparents on my mother's side honeymooned here years ago. I can see why.  What a magical place. I'm so glad Kevin insisted on making it all the way to the coast. That's why we don't plan out each day...you never know what amazing things await! 

Now...perched on the eastern most edge of the United States our journey west is complete for the summer. Now...our only choice is to head east. 

Day 15: Round Lake State Park, ID to Fishhook Park, WA

In the morning of day 15 we packed up camp and hit he road. We discovered that my bike tire had a flat, so we looked for a town with a bike shop and someplace to grab some lunch.

We found a cute town called Coeur D'Alene that met our needs. First we had to stop and get a new lightbulb for our Scamp brake lights. Then, we found a bike shop where we talked with the workers there to choose a place for lunch while they fixed my tire. The culprit? Some thorns in my tire. After a quick fix we headed to one of their lunch recommendations--a brewery called the Daft Badger. We put the pups in the Scamp and walked to the restaurant. The food and beverages were delicious. My Brie, bacon, and apple sandwich with arugula salad hit the spot. It is incredible to have someone else prepare your meal when you are on a road trip!

After finishing our lunch, we got back on the road in search of our next campsite for the night. We crossed into another state--Washington(a new state for Kevin)--and after driving through miles of apple orchards we settled on a Army Corp of Engineers park called Fishhook. 

The park is quite popular so when I walked in to inquire about a site for the night I wasn't sure what kind of site we would end up with, but the campground host hooked us up with an amazing location! Site #16 has no neighbors and is situated directly on the lake. We said we wanted to get more sites located on water this year, and we are definitely meeting that goal. Scout swam for ages in the lake while we cleaned out the Scamp and set up our campsite. 

This site also had power, so we took the opportunity to recharge the trailer's battery. Once Scout dried off and we enjoyed a little down time by the fire we headed to bed. Little did I know that Kevin had some big plans in store for the next day--ones that weren't originally on the "agenda"--so it's good that we got some good rest at Fishhook!!!! 

Day 14: Glacier National Park, MT to Round Lake State Park, MT

After leaving Glacier National Park we continued our journey west. We drove for a few hours and crossed into the Idaho Panhandle. We found Round Lake State Park--a cute state park with its own lake and dock. 

The campsites are nestled in among pine trees, and once we set up camp we took the dogs down to the dock to enjoy the lake. Blue herons looked on as Scout swam and we let Scout wear himself out before returning to our site for dinner and a campfire. 

We typically stay in the more isolated National Forest campgrounds, but we also like to check out the state parks along the way. This one was fantastic! Our 14th day on the road was peaceful and relaxing with just what we needed to recharge after a long day at Glacier the day before! 

Day 13: Hungry Horse Dam, MT to Glacier National Park, MT

On Monday morning, we left the Hungry Horse Dam and headed even further north to Glacier National Park. The last time we were there it was quite eventful. Glacier was the location of the campsite shooting (see our blog from two summers ago for the details) and it rained the entire time we were there so we didn't get to drive the Going to the Sun road.

This time, we were sure to wait for a clear day so that we could be sure to enjoy the drive. We originally planned to camp outside of the park in the national forest, but decided to check out the Fish Creek campground inside the park before making up our minds. We found a great spot--even if it was a bit crowded--nestled under some pine trees and decided to leave the Scamp behind and head for the Going to the Sun road.

Built into the side of the mountains during the 1920s and 30s, the road is considered a feat of engineering because it was designed to blend into the surroundings while also connecting the west side of the park to the east side of the park across dangerous albeit gorgeous terrain. The road had only been cleared of snow and opened to traffic just a few days before we arrived, so we timed our arrival perfectly. 

Kevin drove (thank god) as my stomach lurched the higher we climbed towards the sun. Only an 18 inch wall separated us from tumbling down the mountainside. The views were breathtaking. It was a little crowded for our taste, but we had to see what all the fuss is about!!! It was most definitely worthwhile.

After surviving the Going to the Sun road, I drove us back to our campsite where we unpacked and got set up for the night. 

We decided to let someone else make dinner for us and climbed back into our truck to make the drive to a "town" we fell in love with on our last visit to the park--Polebridge. Located on the west side of the park about 30 miles north of our campsite at Fish Creek, Polebridge is on the National Register of Historic Places and basically consists of two buildings--the Mercantile which features a bakery (get the Huckleberry Bear Claw) and the Northern Lights cafe (only open for about 16 weeks each year).

On our drive up to Polebridge Kevin got pulled over by a Park Ranger. We hadn't yet seen the speed limit sign, but she was sure to inform us it was only 45 and to be careful because two bears were hit and killed on the road last year. Believe it or not we are happy she stopped us (and didn't get a ticket) because as soon as we turned around the next bend we saw a bear crossing the road! It is the first bear we have seen in the wild since our trip to Alaska many years ago. 

We eventually made it to Polebridge where we stocked up on pastries for breakfast and we ate dinner and enjoyed some Montana brewed beverages out on the lawn of the Northern Lights Cafe. The dogs sat by the picnic tables while we chatted with the workers and other diners about our travels.

Once we were stuffed, we headed back "home" where I promptly rode my bike to take a nice hot shower--an unexpected but much appreciated feature of the Fish Creek campground. 

Another campfire and sunset brought another cozy night in the Scamp. This visit to Glacier was a success! We got to drive the Going-to-the-Sun road and no one got shot! 

Days 11&12: Inez Lake, Montana to Handkerchief Lake at the Hungry Horse Dam Reservoir, Montana

After a restful night at Inez Lake, we loaded up once again in search of more adventure. This time we had our eye on the Hungry Horse Dam and Reservoir area. 

After stopping for breakfast (we always have to sample the local cinnamon rolls)...

we drove for a few hours and tried to do a little sightseeing at the town of BigFork, MT but decided to forge ahead when we couldn't find anyplace to park our truck and trailer. The town was cute, but not very trailer friendly. We decided to just get some groceries and find our next home away from home! 

It's a good thing that we decided to forge ahead, because after arriving at the dam and examining it for a bit, we decided to drive to the most remote campground in the area. We found an amazing spot on the banks of Handkerchief Lake--the most amazing lake Kevin thinks he has seen in Montana--and managed to set up camp literally just moments before the skies opened up and poured rain around us for several hours. 

We stayed dry in the Scamp until the rain passed and emerged to explore once the storm passed. Getting down to the lake meant a walk down our own forest trail (which meant quite a bit of yelling "hey bear!" to scare any potential bears away along the way).

Once again, Scout enjoyed swimming and Kevin tried to fish along the shoreline although he was bummed because he opted against bringing his belly boat and waders on this trip which meant he couldn't get to where the fish were. On our next trip, he better come prepared!!!! 

We decided to spend two nights at the lake, and spent our days relaxing in peace and quiet. 

We made sure to listen to the Cavs game on our second night at camp! We had no cell phone service, but the satellite radio in our truck worked, so we had a steak dinner with zucchini and corn on the cob while we listened intensely to the game. Every 10 minutes one of us had to restart the truck to get the radio to turn back on, but hearing the game unfold while sitting on a remote lake in Montana was surreal.  I'm sure we scared all the wildlife away when we both yelled and cheered when they won!!!! We were pacing around the campfire for the last few minutes of the game!!!

Kevin built a new fire ring for our campsite and chopped a ton of firewood during the day, so when he said he wanted to go to bed early I didn't argue! I read a book for a bit under the covers while he and the dogs snored until I dozed off as well.