Purple ZR-1 Road Trip to Yellowstone and the Pacific Northwest

[QB93Z]

On Monday morning we left the Trident Submarine Base in Bangor, Washington and got on the Pacific Coast Highway:




We drove up the Olympic Peninsula to Olympic National Park and decided to drive up to the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center:




On the way up the mountain we came upon a young deer walking alone on the shoulder:



The deer approached me on the drivers side:




...and came right up to the window:




Since I didn't lower my window, the deer went around the back of the Z:




...then decided we were not going to feed it so it headed down the hill.

to be continued......

[QB93Z]

The Olympic Range Mountains are beautiful. The road to Hurricane ridge was well maintained and had numerous turn outs to allow viewing the spectacular scenes:




There was a wider variety of evergreen trees on the road up to the Visitor Center than we saw in Yellowstone and Hells Canyon. There were also many more large, older pine trees indicating that some of the areas we drove through had not seen forest fires for a long time.




When we reached the Visitor Center, there were wonderful views of the mountain peaks:




From the northern ridge we could see Port Angeles, the Strait of Juan De Fuca, and Vancouver Island (Canada) in the distance:




We came down the mountain and continued west on the PCH. During the day we saw many logging trucks:




As we passed Crescent Lake, we stopped to enjoy the beautiful views:



to be continued.....

[QB93Z]

Our next stop was on the western side of the Olympic NP in the town of Forks, claiming the title of Logging Capital of the World:




After some lunch, we headed out to the beach to see the Pacific Ocean. We drove west to Rialto Beach which is a part of Olympic National Park:




We were absolutely floored by what we found at the beach. The shoreline was covered with thousands of logs of all sizes and with millions of rounded stones:






The logs, which are really fallen trees, have been washed to the beach from the mountain side to the east. Hundreds of years of erosion of the river valley has transported the logs and stumps to the beach. Some of the logs are 4 to 5 feet in diameter. It is an amazing landscape:






to be continued....

[QB93Z]

This is a picture of the river that has been carving the mountain and transporting the logs to the beach:




Lyndi asked me to drive over to put the Z in front of one of the larger logs for a photo. I tried, but the stones turned out to be an unsatisfactory surface. The stones don't grip and I got stuck. We had to get help from a group of Czech hikers to push me back to firm footing:




We left the Olympic NP area and drove south on the PCH to Grays Harbor near Aberdeen, WA. We got a photo of the Lighthouse there. It is the tallest lighthouse in Washington:




Jim

[Paul Workman]

Wow! Such beauty! I see now why friends that moved to that area have tried so over the years to get me to move there. Hmmmm.....

[jcruz]

Great trip! Thanks for having us along

[QB93Z]

On Tuesday morning, we left Aberdeen and drove to Mt St Helens. The roads from I-5 to the Mt St Helen National Volcanic Monument are in excellent condition. There are two Visitor Centers and a Forest Information Center.

Mt St Helens erupted in May, 1980 and caused extensive damage to the surrounding area of the Cascade Mountains. The newly constructed Johnston Ridge Visitor Center provides an excellent vantage point to study the mountain. Here is a view of the mountain today:




The eruption reduced the mountains height by over 1,000 feet. This picture of an information sign shows the contour of the peak before the eruption:



The power of the blast can still be seen on the surrounding mountain slopes:



Several miles away this sign marks the extent of the blast zone:




The valley below the peak was filled with ash, lava, and chunks of the mountain. The power of erosion is very visible:




Lyndi got one more shot of the mountain as we drove away:



to be continued....

[QB93Z]

We left Mt St Helens behind and drove back into Oregon and the Columbia River Gorge. We drove along the historic "old" gorge highway and hiked out to Bridal Veil Falls:




The well-known attractions in the gorge were very crowded. The parking areas were full and overflowing. It was hard to get from one place to another. We did get to see the Multnomah Falls and the Bridge of the Gods at Cascade Locks:





We drove further east and turned south on the Mt Hood Scenic Parkway. Soon we were able to see Mt Hood to the west:



We drove around the south side of the mountain and then up the mountain to the Timberline Lodge. The Lodge was built in the 1930's by the Work Projects Administration to provide jobs for the unemployed during the Great Depression. The lodge is amazing and is very well preserved:




Above the Lodge, there is a nice view of the top of My Hood:




We then drove back down the mountain to our room at a Best Western because we did not have a room at the Lodge.


Jim

[IMZZ]

You should tryout the Toll Gate Inn. It's got a lot of history about the area and good food.

[QB93Z]

On Wednesday morning we awoke to some mountain fog and cool temperatures.




On the way down the mountain we stopped for a photo of Lyndi:




The Pacific Northwest has been very dry this summer. The fire danger is extreme. In fact, while we were in Olympic NP, there was a fire burning in a remote section of the park. The fire didn't affect us except for some smoke haze.




There are many claims that the PNW is the home of Sasquatch (Big Foot). The local communities seem to help that rumor:




For the second time this trip, we were able to mark our passage across the 45th Parallel, halfway from the equator to the North Pole:




We headed south and bid farewell to Mt Hood:



to be continued....