Sol Duc Valley ; Hurricane Ridge ; Visit to ‘Alaskan’-brand truck camper factory ; Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood
(posted from Redmond (OR) Public Library)
(This post covers 28 – 30 September, 2009)
-----------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 30 September-
We awoke to a very foggy morning. Our campground had great hot showers, though, and Labashi took advantage of it, lingering a long, long time. The shower building had no heat but she took our little propane heater in and that made it nice and toasty.
Today was to be a day of mostly driving as we leave Washington and head into central Oregon. At Portland, we turned East, retracing part of the Barlow Toll Road portion of the Oregon Trail.
The highlight of our day was a trip to Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood. I’m not a big fan of fancy lodges but this one was a gem. It had been built as a WPA project during the Depression—a familiar story. But this one’s different. This project had true artists and craftsmen working on it. It’s built in a Cascadian style and it’s spectacular. What’s great about it is it was left alone. For example, the craftsmen built the chairs in the 30’s and those are still the chairs used throughout the lodge. And they had a master blacksmith whose work is the best I’ve seen anywhere.
And did I mention the snow? We hit snow on the way up and by the time we reached the lodge we had six inches of it on all sides and the lodge was just beautiful.
We did have a problem parking the van, though. The lower parking lot where we day-visitors had to park was covered in six inches of snow. It was a very wet, easily packed snow on a sloping parking lot. As soon as I entered it the steering went away and the van started sliding. I slowly worked my way to a parking spot and found myself sliding toward a pickup and camper unit, completely helpless. The slide stopped in time but I couldn’t steer past it on either side. The snow had packed into little ice wedges under the front tires and caused them to lose traction. I thought we were going to have to wait until the truck owner returned and pulled out of our way but I found I was able to back up. I then very carefully parked downhill from him, hoping the strengthening wind wouldn’t cause the van to start sliding again.
We walked up to the lodge in the blowing snow and found our way inside. We watched a video about the history of the lodge and then wandered about, marveling at the art and craftsmanship evident all around us. I was particularly astonished at the detail in the ironwork.
We checked the restaurant but it was closing for the afternoon and we were directed to the bar. There we had a completely sinful apple-caramel tart and a ‘Hot Buttered Temptation’, made with Jamaican dark rum, dark cocoa, and Timberline’s butter-mix. Both were fabulous.
While enjoying our treats we watched the snow come down pretty hard so we thought we’d better get down the mountain before it gets any later and things ice up. Our trip down the mountain was a breeze but we did pass the cinder truck on its way up so the freeze wasn’t far away.
We drove on down Route 26 in a light rain for a half hour but then saw blue sky ahead. Remarkably, we soon emerged on the rain-shadow side of the mountain. We had just left snow and the emerald green of mossy-strewn giant pines and just a few miles later we were seeing tall dead grasses and then sagebrush desert. What an incredible change. We had learned that it rains up to 200 inches on the rainy side and less than 20 on the dry side but that didn’t prepare us for seeing the stark difference in such a short distance.
We drove on to the town of Redmond where we found a nice, new Wal-mart to welcome us for the night. We rented a movie from the Redbox and settled in.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, 29 September-
Today we drove to the top of Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. The road to the Ridge provided wonderful views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. On the far left we could clearly see the city of Victoria, British Columbia, then the San Juan Islands, then Bellingham, Washington, the famous ferryboat location for ferries up Alaska’s Inside Passage.
Just as we reached Hurricane Ridge we transitioned into the snow-zone. It had snowed up here last night and we had a fairy-land of evergreens, all standing in rank after rank and dusted in brand-new snow. Fortunately, the black asphalt road had held enough heat to melt the snow and we didn’t have to worry about ice on the road.
We checked out the visitor’s center and noticed the cloud level coming down. We were soon in a snow squall but it was a short one, only lasting 20 minutes or so. We drove on past the center to the end of the road, which serves as a trailhead. There we turned back and found a nice overlook for lunch. We loved having lunch in our nice, warm van while watching the interplay of sun, cloud, and snow in the mountain peaks around us.
After lunch we made the decision that we were finished with Olympic National Park. The snow had turned to rain as we descended back to Port Angeles and we took 101 south, bound for Oregon.
But first I had unfinished business in Chehalis. Remember our ill-fated visit to the Alaskan truck-camper dealership in Fort Collins? Well, the campers are built in Chehalis, Washington and that’s right along I-5 on our return route to Oregon.
We spent much of the afternoon following 101 down the eastern side of Olympic National Park toward I-5 and Chehalis. Route 101 follows the Hood Canal for miles and miles so we had scenic road the whole way.
We found the truck-camper factory with only a little trouble but as I saw the building my heart sank. It appeared to be closed and I could see a notice on the door. That notice turned out to be the business hours and they were indeed open. It just isn’t a fancy operation.
Inside I met Brian, who immediately offered me a tour of the shop. Inside the shop, things looked much better. I could see a half-dozen campers in various stages of construction. Brian took me to an 8-1/2 footer and began explaining features. I was in heaven. FINALLY- I get to see the inside of not only one Alaskan camper, but all of the models.
My first reaction was very positive. I LOVE the large, screened side-windows and the various storage locations. But it’s still pretty heavy. The gross weight for a smaller-size unit was 1740 pounds dry and that seems like a lot. I’d definitely need a ¾ ton pickup. Brian also mentioned some model changes which I’d want to be aware of if buying an older unit. Prior to 1998, the cabinets were higher and partially blocked the view out the right-side window. And I believe he said is was 2002 when they widened the camper by four inches.
I was a bit put off by the size of the ‘cassette’ (the lower half) of the porta-potty. I don’t believe it has as much capacity as our current unit and sometimes that doesn’t seem like it lasts very long. Also, the sink simply drains to a fitting on the outside of the camper. You place a 5-gallon water-carrier on the ground outside the unit and connect a hose to the fitting. That seems ok in operation (and I think I’d like it better than having a grey-water tank in the unit) but I don’t think I’d like finding a place to empty it each morning.
As we were closing out our visit and starting to say our goodbyes, I noticed a smaller unit in the corner and asked Brian about it. It turns out to be a unit they’re experimenting with. The idea was to make a smaller camper suitable for the somewhat-light Toyota Tacoma pickup. This ‘mini’ camper top still goes up and down but instead of a cab-over double-bed, it has two bunks, one on each side. And when you sleep on the bunk your feet go into an opening as wide as the bunk and about 18 inches deep. This arrangement immediately appealed to me. The side bunks allow plenty of sitting space with a good view out the extra-large Hahn windows and you could simply roll the bedding up into the foot-space during the daytime. The fridge is between the bunks toward the cab end of the camper and a countertop containing a stove is above. There’s a space under the bunk for the porta-potty and the furnace is also under there. Brian said they’re selling that unit for $13,900 which is about 10K less than the cost of the larger units. All-in-all, if I were doing a truck camper solution I’d go with the mini. This also tells me a bunk-style arrangement in Mocha Joe might also work. I’ll have to do some mock-ups with cardboard or light plywood to try it.
After our visit to the Alaskan shop, we drove to nearby Lewis and Clark State Park for the night. We spent the evening blogging and watched two episodes of ‘Planet Earth’ (‘Deserts’ and ‘Ice Worlds’). Good stuff!
-----------------------------------------------------------
Monday, 28 September-
This morning we left the Hoh Rainforest and nearly ran into an elk as we left the campground and then saw another within a mile. It wasn’t really close but I do love seeing elk browsing in the morning. There’s something peaceful and ‘right’ about seeing elk in the early-morning light.
After leaving the Hoh, we drove north up 101 to the Sol Duc Valley (still part of Olympic National Park). If you look at a map of Olympic National Park, it turns out the Sol Duc is surprisingly close to the Hoh Valley—just separated by a mountain!
We had heard the salmon had been running at the Sol Duc salmon cascades but we found none there. We did learn, however, that the coho salmon in this stream are ‘summer coho’. They swim up the nearly-empty Sol Duc River in July and August and hang around in the pools until late September before beginning to spawn.
In hopes of spotting some salmon we drove to the trailhead at the end of the Sol Duc Valley Road and took a walk to the falls, then started down Lover’s Lane Trail. We saw several very nice waterfalls but no salmon at all.
After returning to the van we moved on to Port Angeles. We’ve been away from civilization for a few days so needed to connect up and then stock up. We spent a few hours in the very nice Port Angeles Library for the former, then hit the local Albertson’s and Safeway to re-stock.
As it neared dark we checked the local Wal-mart to see if we could stay overnight in the parking lot and once we found it was ok, we drove to nearby Traylor’s Restaurant for a filet mignon and salad.
After supper we found our spot in the Wal-mart lot and watched a movie we had picked up from the Redbox DVD-vending machine in the Wal-mart. We watched ‘Sunshine Cleaning’, a quirky but good movie about a single mom who needs to make good money so goes into the crime-scene cleanup business with her sister.
********** END OF POST ********************
(posted from Redmond (OR) Public Library)
(This post covers 28 – 30 September, 2009)
-----------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 30 September-
We awoke to a very foggy morning. Our campground had great hot showers, though, and Labashi took advantage of it, lingering a long, long time. The shower building had no heat but she took our little propane heater in and that made it nice and toasty.
Today was to be a day of mostly driving as we leave Washington and head into central Oregon. At Portland, we turned East, retracing part of the Barlow Toll Road portion of the Oregon Trail.
The highlight of our day was a trip to Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood. I’m not a big fan of fancy lodges but this one was a gem. It had been built as a WPA project during the Depression—a familiar story. But this one’s different. This project had true artists and craftsmen working on it. It’s built in a Cascadian style and it’s spectacular. What’s great about it is it was left alone. For example, the craftsmen built the chairs in the 30’s and those are still the chairs used throughout the lodge. And they had a master blacksmith whose work is the best I’ve seen anywhere.
And did I mention the snow? We hit snow on the way up and by the time we reached the lodge we had six inches of it on all sides and the lodge was just beautiful.
We did have a problem parking the van, though. The lower parking lot where we day-visitors had to park was covered in six inches of snow. It was a very wet, easily packed snow on a sloping parking lot. As soon as I entered it the steering went away and the van started sliding. I slowly worked my way to a parking spot and found myself sliding toward a pickup and camper unit, completely helpless. The slide stopped in time but I couldn’t steer past it on either side. The snow had packed into little ice wedges under the front tires and caused them to lose traction. I thought we were going to have to wait until the truck owner returned and pulled out of our way but I found I was able to back up. I then very carefully parked downhill from him, hoping the strengthening wind wouldn’t cause the van to start sliding again.
We walked up to the lodge in the blowing snow and found our way inside. We watched a video about the history of the lodge and then wandered about, marveling at the art and craftsmanship evident all around us. I was particularly astonished at the detail in the ironwork.
We checked the restaurant but it was closing for the afternoon and we were directed to the bar. There we had a completely sinful apple-caramel tart and a ‘Hot Buttered Temptation’, made with Jamaican dark rum, dark cocoa, and Timberline’s butter-mix. Both were fabulous.
While enjoying our treats we watched the snow come down pretty hard so we thought we’d better get down the mountain before it gets any later and things ice up. Our trip down the mountain was a breeze but we did pass the cinder truck on its way up so the freeze wasn’t far away.
We drove on down Route 26 in a light rain for a half hour but then saw blue sky ahead. Remarkably, we soon emerged on the rain-shadow side of the mountain. We had just left snow and the emerald green of mossy-strewn giant pines and just a few miles later we were seeing tall dead grasses and then sagebrush desert. What an incredible change. We had learned that it rains up to 200 inches on the rainy side and less than 20 on the dry side but that didn’t prepare us for seeing the stark difference in such a short distance.
We drove on to the town of Redmond where we found a nice, new Wal-mart to welcome us for the night. We rented a movie from the Redbox and settled in.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, 29 September-
Today we drove to the top of Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. The road to the Ridge provided wonderful views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. On the far left we could clearly see the city of Victoria, British Columbia, then the San Juan Islands, then Bellingham, Washington, the famous ferryboat location for ferries up Alaska’s Inside Passage.
Just as we reached Hurricane Ridge we transitioned into the snow-zone. It had snowed up here last night and we had a fairy-land of evergreens, all standing in rank after rank and dusted in brand-new snow. Fortunately, the black asphalt road had held enough heat to melt the snow and we didn’t have to worry about ice on the road.
We checked out the visitor’s center and noticed the cloud level coming down. We were soon in a snow squall but it was a short one, only lasting 20 minutes or so. We drove on past the center to the end of the road, which serves as a trailhead. There we turned back and found a nice overlook for lunch. We loved having lunch in our nice, warm van while watching the interplay of sun, cloud, and snow in the mountain peaks around us.
After lunch we made the decision that we were finished with Olympic National Park. The snow had turned to rain as we descended back to Port Angeles and we took 101 south, bound for Oregon.
But first I had unfinished business in Chehalis. Remember our ill-fated visit to the Alaskan truck-camper dealership in Fort Collins? Well, the campers are built in Chehalis, Washington and that’s right along I-5 on our return route to Oregon.
We spent much of the afternoon following 101 down the eastern side of Olympic National Park toward I-5 and Chehalis. Route 101 follows the Hood Canal for miles and miles so we had scenic road the whole way.
We found the truck-camper factory with only a little trouble but as I saw the building my heart sank. It appeared to be closed and I could see a notice on the door. That notice turned out to be the business hours and they were indeed open. It just isn’t a fancy operation.
Inside I met Brian, who immediately offered me a tour of the shop. Inside the shop, things looked much better. I could see a half-dozen campers in various stages of construction. Brian took me to an 8-1/2 footer and began explaining features. I was in heaven. FINALLY- I get to see the inside of not only one Alaskan camper, but all of the models.
My first reaction was very positive. I LOVE the large, screened side-windows and the various storage locations. But it’s still pretty heavy. The gross weight for a smaller-size unit was 1740 pounds dry and that seems like a lot. I’d definitely need a ¾ ton pickup. Brian also mentioned some model changes which I’d want to be aware of if buying an older unit. Prior to 1998, the cabinets were higher and partially blocked the view out the right-side window. And I believe he said is was 2002 when they widened the camper by four inches.
I was a bit put off by the size of the ‘cassette’ (the lower half) of the porta-potty. I don’t believe it has as much capacity as our current unit and sometimes that doesn’t seem like it lasts very long. Also, the sink simply drains to a fitting on the outside of the camper. You place a 5-gallon water-carrier on the ground outside the unit and connect a hose to the fitting. That seems ok in operation (and I think I’d like it better than having a grey-water tank in the unit) but I don’t think I’d like finding a place to empty it each morning.
As we were closing out our visit and starting to say our goodbyes, I noticed a smaller unit in the corner and asked Brian about it. It turns out to be a unit they’re experimenting with. The idea was to make a smaller camper suitable for the somewhat-light Toyota Tacoma pickup. This ‘mini’ camper top still goes up and down but instead of a cab-over double-bed, it has two bunks, one on each side. And when you sleep on the bunk your feet go into an opening as wide as the bunk and about 18 inches deep. This arrangement immediately appealed to me. The side bunks allow plenty of sitting space with a good view out the extra-large Hahn windows and you could simply roll the bedding up into the foot-space during the daytime. The fridge is between the bunks toward the cab end of the camper and a countertop containing a stove is above. There’s a space under the bunk for the porta-potty and the furnace is also under there. Brian said they’re selling that unit for $13,900 which is about 10K less than the cost of the larger units. All-in-all, if I were doing a truck camper solution I’d go with the mini. This also tells me a bunk-style arrangement in Mocha Joe might also work. I’ll have to do some mock-ups with cardboard or light plywood to try it.
After our visit to the Alaskan shop, we drove to nearby Lewis and Clark State Park for the night. We spent the evening blogging and watched two episodes of ‘Planet Earth’ (‘Deserts’ and ‘Ice Worlds’). Good stuff!
-----------------------------------------------------------
Monday, 28 September-
This morning we left the Hoh Rainforest and nearly ran into an elk as we left the campground and then saw another within a mile. It wasn’t really close but I do love seeing elk browsing in the morning. There’s something peaceful and ‘right’ about seeing elk in the early-morning light.
After leaving the Hoh, we drove north up 101 to the Sol Duc Valley (still part of Olympic National Park). If you look at a map of Olympic National Park, it turns out the Sol Duc is surprisingly close to the Hoh Valley—just separated by a mountain!
We had heard the salmon had been running at the Sol Duc salmon cascades but we found none there. We did learn, however, that the coho salmon in this stream are ‘summer coho’. They swim up the nearly-empty Sol Duc River in July and August and hang around in the pools until late September before beginning to spawn.
In hopes of spotting some salmon we drove to the trailhead at the end of the Sol Duc Valley Road and took a walk to the falls, then started down Lover’s Lane Trail. We saw several very nice waterfalls but no salmon at all.
After returning to the van we moved on to Port Angeles. We’ve been away from civilization for a few days so needed to connect up and then stock up. We spent a few hours in the very nice Port Angeles Library for the former, then hit the local Albertson’s and Safeway to re-stock.
As it neared dark we checked the local Wal-mart to see if we could stay overnight in the parking lot and once we found it was ok, we drove to nearby Traylor’s Restaurant for a filet mignon and salad.
After supper we found our spot in the Wal-mart lot and watched a movie we had picked up from the Redbox DVD-vending machine in the Wal-mart. We watched ‘Sunshine Cleaning’, a quirky but good movie about a single mom who needs to make good money so goes into the crime-scene cleanup business with her sister.
********** END OF POST ********************
posted by Bezabor&Labashi | 23:59
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