Day 4 (full version)

Day 4 – Friday – June 28, 2013

 

0600 Wake up. Take Rocco for a morning walk on the beach.  While we were gone, the kids started packing up the camp.  I was a little surprised but very impressed with their initiative.

0806 Leave the campground.

0810 I need my sunglasses this morning – yay!  That means it is sunny!

0812 Sign says “Elderly People”

0817 Doing a search for Powell’s Used Book store that I’ve heard is so great.  Oh darn.  It is in Portland, not Seattle, so we missed it.

0824 Starbucks Drive-Thru.  Lots of food choices here that they don’t have at our Starbucks.  There is a scary bug hanging onto the driver’s side mirror and he won’t leave!

0845 Bremerton Shipyard

0847 Navy Federal ATM won’t take my check.  I need to deposit the rent from our tenants so we can pay the rent to our landlord!

0858 Found a branch. Deposit is a success!

0913 Arrive at the ferry terminal.  $16.40 for the van.  There are some cool sculptures outside the Navy Museum next door.

0935 Start your engines!  It’s time to load the ferry.

0938 On board. Ready to cross the Puget Sound.

0947 Rocco is scared!  He liked the ferry just fine until the started up the engines and pulled away from the dock.  Time to go hide in the car where it is safer.

1010 While waiting with Rocco I have written a postcard to Allie and gotten it ready to mail whenever I find a post office (Foreshadowing- not for several days!).  I emailed a couple pictures to Mom and to Dad.  I sent a text to Lana.

1021 Shift change.  Ron is going to sit with Rocco and I get to go sit up above with the kids.

1041 Pulling in to port in Seattle.

1045 Off the ferry.

1054 At Pike Place Market.  Very hot and busy.  The parking was super expensive.  Rocco was feeling overwhelmed by it all as were the rest of us, even more so after spending the last few days camping.  We saw the first Starbucks, also ridiculously busy.  Clicked a few photos as we walked by.  Ron took the kids into the Market while Rocco and I hung out at the park across the street.

1142 Leaving the parking lot.  Gave the rest of our 1.5 hour ticket to someone else to use the rest of.  Whew – it was so busy and stressful there.  Let’s get out of here!

12:33 p.m. Lunch at Five Guys in Arlington, WA.  There are lots of police cars in the parking lot and 7 officers inside having lunch.  Ron took the van across the street to get an oil change.  It was so fast he was back before we finished our lunch.

1:13 p.m. Leaving Five Guys.  Rocco took Felisa’s seat and wouldn’t move.  Finally got him back on his side.

1:16 p.m. Safeway and gas, $3.75/gallon.

1:36 p.m. There’s a carnival in town causing a traffic jam.

2:26 p.m. Darrington, WA.  There is a big lumber mill in town.

2:27 p.m. Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

2:28 p.m. Skagit County

2:32 p.m. Sauk River

2:44 p.m. Skagit River and Rockport, WA

2:46 p.m. Rockport Quarry.  Hmm, I wonder if that’s why they call this town Rockport.

2:48 p.m. Cascadian Farm.  Is it THE Cascadian Farm or just A Cascadian Farm?  It is THE Cascadian Farm (the organic branch of General Mills).  They have a little farm stand set up here with coffee, fruit, and ice cream.  The kids get giant ice cream cones and Rocco gets a potty break.  Iced coffee for mommy.

3:20 p.m. No services for the next 74 miles.  Good thing we stopped for ice cream!

3:27 p.m. Bacon Creek Road

3:37 p.m. North Cascades National Park Visitor Center.  What did we learn?

Felisa – Without predators for population control, mule deer would multiple past the food available which would leave them vulnerable to starvation in winter.

Bella – Moss grows between rocks to avoid the wind.

Ryan – We are currently between just 500-600 feet above sea level (which explains why it’s so hot and not cool like the usual mountain areas.  Also, we can see snow on the mountains ahead which really makes it seem like we are at a higher elevation.)

Sheila – There are lots of glaciers here in this park (I guess that’s the snow we see).  Glaciers are like volcanoes to me – they seem like something that existed a long time ago.  Of course, when I think glacier I always imagine big giant sheets of ice covering large areas like during the ice age, not the bits of ice that really just look like snow that hasn’t quite melted yet which is what these glaciers look like.

4:04 p.m. Skagit General Store.  It’s the Seattle City Light “Company Store” right next to the company town.

4:11 p.m. Firewood on board.  Ready to find our campground.

4:15 p.m. Passing a river gorge with barely any water in it.  Who stole the river?

4:16 p.m. Tunnel

4:17 p.m. Stop at the overlook to see the dam.  The dam view was better from the road but we missed the pullout to take a picture from there.

4:33 p.m. Wow – that’s a big waterfall!  Looking at the map that must be Gorge Creek Falls.

4:34 p.m. Tunnel

4:42 p.m. Colonial Creek campground

4:45 p.m. We have found our spot for the night.  Campground elevation is 1200 feet.  Camp fee is $12.  For dinner we made a dutch oven recipe (Creamy Chicken Rice) on the campfire. This method lacks the controlled heat and temperature of using charcoals but other than some burned rice on the bottom, it turns out fine.  After dinner we went to the program about Lucinda Davis presented by Ranger Katie.  On a side note, it turns out that Ranger Katie once caught giardia from improperly filtered stream water.  That is the first person I have ever heard of that has actually contracted giardia.  I guess it’s not a mythical disease after all.  Don’t drink from the stream – always filter the water!  At the end of the program, Ranger Katie brought out her guitar and sang a song about home.  Rocco didn’t make it through the whole program.  He wouldn’t stay still so I took him out for a walk then left him in the van to wait for us back at camp.

9:25 p.m. Campfire #2 for the night. Then bedtime.  It is staying lighter much later the farther north we go.