expedition56

Idaho – Sunday, August 18

I got the campsite packed up, and drove through the tiny town of White Bird. It kind of looks like a town that time forgot, but there’s a couple churches and small school that only looked big enough for a couple classrooms. White Bird is on the Salmon River, which the Indians called The River of No Return. It’s one of the top whitewater rafting rivers in the nation, but White Bird doesn’t appear to be a major put-in place, although I imagine some paddlers or rafters stop by.

I continued driving along the Salmon River and the next town I came to was Riggins, which calls itself the Whitewater Capital, and there were lots of rafting companies, but oddly enough I didn’t see anyone going down the river. But there were lots of people out and about in town and at the park by the river. Tula and I got out to walk along the river a bit, and then I walked from one end of town to the other and back again. I covered almost 4 miles in Riggins.

I wasn’t going to make a donation today since I had doubled up earlier in the week – Sundays can be a hard day to find donation opportunities anyway, since so many places are closed.

After Riggins, I set off for McCall where I was going to meet my mom’s friend Mary, who was there visiting one of her daughters. McCall had been in the news recently – Hannah Anderson was taken to the hospital there once she was found in the Idaho mountains by the FBI. Mary gave me good directions to their condo, and after visiting for a little while, she loaded up her grandkids in the car, and I followed them over to Ponderosa State Park, where I was going to camp tonight. We found a good site for me – it’s a beautiful state park full of ponderosa pines, and her grandkids swam at a nice beach on a lake while I did 3 miles of walking on the trails. Then I joined them on the beach and relaxed for a while. The kids finally got cold and were ready to head back, and Mary invited me back to the condo for dinner so I could meet her daughters who’d been out picking huckleberries all day. Kathy and Julie were back when we returned from the state park, and I discovered huckleberries are small blueberry-like berries with a nice tart taste – I thought they were more like blackberries! And they’re small, so picking a large quantity of them is very labor-intensive.

Mary took me for a short walk around McCall, which is a nice lake resort town on Payette Lake. Payette Lake is rumored to have sea monster Sharlie lurking in the depths – she looks kind of like the Loch Ness monster and the monster in Lake Champlain that I read about! There’s a nice beach area and marina right in town, and one of the parks is making a nice hand-tiled wall. I saw something at the town’s intersections that I hadn’t seen before – there’s a rack of bright orange flags for people to carry across the street to make themselves more visible, and then there’s a rack on the other side of the intersection to return the flag. With people coming and going, there’s usually a good supply of flags on each side, and it sounds like it does make it a lot easier to notice pedestrians.

When we got back from that walk, a yummy dinner was ready and we enjoyed fish, salad with homemade dressing, fresh fruit and cobbler for dessert. It was a nice evening and we enjoyed our visit. They had questions about my journey, and I had questions about the parts of Idaho I was headed for. Mary and the grandkids showed me some mosaic projects they have done, and I found out the Western Idaho Fair was going on in Boise – I’m missing the Chelsea Community Fair back home for the first time in about 30 years, and I’m going to try to squish in a visit to this fair!

It was beginning to get dark and I had to get to the campground to get set up for the night. It was great meeting some new friends, and they were wonderful to invite a total stranger (my mom was the only connection!) into their home and include me in a nice evening! They sent me on my way with a bag of huckleberries and some salad for tomorrow. Thanks, Mary, Kathy and Julie! I got set up and then Tula and I took a walk around the campground. When we got back I turned on the lantern and did a little knitting outside. It was a beautiful evening – kind of cool, but the moon was almost full and peeking between the pine trees. That’s my favorite night view – moon and pine trees! And I didn’t really notice the last full moon because I was way up north and it didn’t really get dark enough to see much of the moon! And I missed it, so it was especially nice to see again.

Idaho – Saturday, August 17

The first thing I did this morning was look into donation opportunities in Lewiston, and I eventually read about a school supply drive that was being sponsored through the YWCA. So I called them, but just got a message saying the business office is open on Mondays-Fridays. There was also a phone number for the person running this particular program, so I called that one also, but got the same message. So I didn’t think I’d be able to do anything for the school supply drive.

Tula and I set off to walk around Lewiston a bit. This town is named after Lewis and Clark (Lewis-Clark State College is located here too), and once again, I’m astonished at how much territory Lewis and Clark actually covered time and again. They didn’t have good maps (they were making some of the maps!) or modern transportation or roads, and still traveled all over the place. Amazing! Tula and I walked through town, up a steep hill and into a neighborhood overlooking the river dividing Idaho and Washington. As we returned to the car, I walked right past the YWCA and saw a big sign on the side of the building asking for school supply donations. And then I noticed another sign about painting bowls, and that event was happening this morning, so there were people inside the building. I went in to see about maybe making a donation after all, and ended up meeting the Nellie, the children’s advocate who was running the school supply drive. She wasn’t typically in on Saturdays, but had left some headphones behind yesterday, and came in this morning to get them, then stayed to paint a bowl. So we talked about the school supplies that were needed, and she gave me a list to take to the store, with some of the items highlighted. I went to Walmart and stocked up on calculators, crayons, pencil pouches, notebooks and dividers. The place was packed with families out school shopping, so it took me a while. I took the goodies back to the YWCA, and Nellie was just getting ready to leave. She wondered if I was going to be around next Friday, which was Distribution Day, because it’s quite a sight to see so many kids – hundreds of them – lined up, eagerly awaiting their backpacks and supplies. I’m happy I was able to make this donation after all! Nellie and I both thought it was coincidental that I showed up when she was there, on a day she wouldn’t usually be in – another one of those “meant to be” moments!

When I was done in Lewiston, I was going to start making my way farther south. At the beginning of my Idaho week, I had planned to go to Craters of the Moon National Park, which is east of Boise. And I was also going to try to meet up with a good friend of my mom, who now lives in Boise. But after talking with both her and my dad, I realized I would have to revise my travel plans – there were some major wildfires east of Boise, up near the towns I had planned to see while going to Craters of the Moon, and I was going to have to pay more attention to them. There aren’t that many roads in the area, and we figured they would mostly be used for firefighting vehicles and evacuees – hundreds of households were now under evacuation orders. So I knew I could now take my time on the drive south toward Boise, because I no longer planned to head too far east into that part of Idaho. Not far outside of Lewiston, I came to one of the many Nez Perce National Historic Parks. I saw a visitor center and stopped in, and then Tula and I walked on the few trails that were in the park – they had just cut a new mile long one. It’s hot out, and a mile or 2 at a time is all Tula is up for in the heat. But other than seeming to be a little sensitive to the sun and heat (side effects mentioned on her medication) she seems to be doing very well, and we only have a couple more doses of medication.

Then we began to climb in elevation – up and up 3000 feet. I passed a couple cool old train trestles, and one of the highway signs said this was a very difficult stretch of track to build, and several railroad companies had to work together to make it profitable. Once again, when we were done climbing through the dry landscape, the land blossomed into the rolling wheat fields stretching to the horizon. I have simply never associated wheat with Idaho (where are the potatoes?!?) but when I stopped in the little town of Grangeville, a sign said this part of Idaho is one of the nation’s top-producing wheat areas. And there were a lot of grain elevators too. It just seems strange to me to have to climb up to this elevation for the wheat fields to flourish, but I think it’s something to do with the soil and all. Someone also built a bed-and-breakfast building in the shape of a large dog – complete with giant fire hydrant. I never know what I’m going to see! The chamber of commerce in Grangeville had built a big glass “house” for a replica of a mammoth skeleton – there was a lake about 5 miles away where a surprising number of mammoth bones were discovered in the 1990s when they were dredging it out for better boat access. It still seems to be a bit of a mystery why so many mammoth bones were found in this spot. I drove out there to look at the lake – it was pretty driving on narrow roads through the farm land.

And then, just as suddenly as the land had opened up for all the wheat fields, it began to fold up again, and the road went into a long steep descent – I coasted for miles heading down into a canyon sort of area. It was just beginning to get dark, and I figured I better start looking for a campground. I was in a pretty remote area, and didn’t want to be looking for a place to stop in the dark. I came to the tiny town of White Bird, and found a nice little campground that had some open sites along the river. I was talking with the lady about another one of the Nez Perce national park sites nearby and asked her about the trails I had read about, and she said I didn’t want to head over there now – that was in snake country (all dry and sagebrushy) and with the heat of the day gone, this was the time of day the snakes would be out and moving around. I told her she didn’t need to say another word – I was glad I had asked! The town and campsite were along the Salmon River, so things were green and nice where I was. Some heavy clouds were moving in with the darkness anyway, which made for some pretty pink reflections on the clouds, so I got set up for the night, and just in the nick of time. The clouds burst, and there was thunder and lightning and lots of rain, but Tula was curled up on the air mattress and I was comfy reading in the front passenger seat to be out of the rain. They even unexpectedly had wi-fi at the bottom of this canyon, so I could take care of some emails too. The storm passed and the rest of the night was peaceful.

Idaho – Friday, August 16

Tula and I took a short walk around the campground and then I started packing up. I met a couple who was going to be using the campsite next to mine, and we got to talking a bit, and it turns out they’re headed for Alaska with their young son. We talked about the drive up there, and they’ve got some family there. They were interested in my journey – in fact, the guy had mentioned a 50-state road trip even before I said anything about mine. There are other crazy people who like to be out on the road as much as I do!

Tula and I then headed to the waterfront in downtown Coeur d’Alene. I was lucky to have another gorgeous summer day, and we set off on a shady lakeside path. And then I walked another mile and a half or so on the longest floating boardwalk in the world – it basically goes around a large marina and resort area, and at one point there are a couple sets of stairs and a short little “bridge” up high so that sailboats can get out of the marina, yet people can still enjoy walking on it. Lots of boats were coming and going on this pretty day, including a big all-wooden highly-varnished speedboat. Then I did a little walking in town, and it seemed to mostly be restaurants and gift shops.

Then I was ready to retrace my path a little bit, and head to Hayden, a town just north of Coeur d’Alene. Yesterday when I was driving through, I noticed a lot of detour signs and other information about The Wall That Heals – one of 4 traveling Vietnam Memorial Walls, that can be transported to different cities – which allows veterans and other family members a chance to see “their” wall in case they’re unable to travel to Washington DC. I wanted to go check this out – I thought it was a nice opportunity for veterans who live so far away. They had closed down a couple streets and had a big parking lot available, and it wasn’t quite as crowded as I expected it to be, although it was only early afternoon on a Friday. One of the volunteers expected bigger crowds on Saturday and Sunday. The wall was about a 1/2 scale replica, and even though it wasn’t full size, it still took up quite a bit of space and was very effective. All the names were engraved on it, and there was a booth with volunteers who could help people locate the name they were looking for. The names of the soldiers who gave their lives are not in alphabetical order – they are listed by the date they died, starting in the center of the memorial. The first year that casualties are listed is 1959, and I don’t think I realized the conflict started quite that early. The memorial area was going to be open 24 hours a day through the whole weekend, and they had installed lights along the top of the memorial for evening viewing. Even though the dedication had only taken place a few hours earlier, people had already left mementos alongside the base of the memorial, just like they do in Washington DC. (In Washington, the national park rangers collect the items daily, and catalog them, and I’m not sure where all those things are, but they have included a wedding dress [very sad] and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle in addition to the usual flowers, flags, candles, poems, notes, stuffed animals and other items). There were already flowers and balloons here, as well as some handwritten notes, including one from an anguished medic who hadn’t been able to help everyone on one awful day – he seems to still be haunted by the lives that slipped away before he could do anything. It’s a very emotional place for people, even after nearly 40 years. Women were walking out sobbing, and men were kneeling in front of the names of their lost comrades – it’s a very touching exhibit to see. One of the volunteers told me she was very grateful to have the opportunity to see the wall because she knows she’ll never be able to get to Washington DC – which does seem very far away from Idaho. There were also some exhibits – uniforms and helmets and quite a few letters that had been written from back then. There were several donation boxes around, and it was my donation-of-the-day and I was happy to help a little. The wall was clearly having a big impact on people.

Then I was going to be heading south to Lewiston, but on the way I stopped in Coeur d’Alene again – at Tubbs Hill Park by a different part of the lake where there were several miles of nature trails on the bluffs overlooking the water. It was a nice shady trail with beautiful views of the lake, and Tula and I walked another 2 1/2 miles. There were a couple beach areas, and we walked down to one of them, and Tula got in for another swim. It’s been hot here in Idaho – temperatures in the upper 80s and lower 90s. So far I think it’s the hottest state I’ve been in! And Tula’s been enjoying her quick dips in the water! I try to not let her swim unless I know we still have some walking to do so she can dry off. We finished off our walking for the day here.

Then I was going to head south – I’ve been dawdling a bit in the panhandle because it’s so pretty, but I wanted to see some more of the state. I headed down to Lewiston, and we passed through another area with endless golden wheat fields. Later we stopped in the town of Moscow (pronounced MOSS-co) on the way – a college town that was lively in the evening and we got out and did a little extra walking for the day. Even though it was dark out, the town was lit up, and it was nice to get out and stretch before finishing up the drive for the day.

Idaho – Thursday, August 15

After I packed up our campsite, Tula and I headed back to Sandpoint. There was still some walking I wanted to do there, plus I had already called the Bonner Community Food Center to see what they might need. The guy I talked to said cereal disappears off the shelves almost as fast as it comes in, so he suggested maybe getting some cereal and milk. I found a grocery store and filled up the cart with a variety of cereal, and quart and half-gallon containers of milk. While I was shopping, I ran across another donation opportunity. The grocery store had a table full of new backpacks that were loaded with school supplies, and people could buy them for $20 each, and donate them to the store, which in turn would pass them along to one of the organizations that help make sure students have everything they need. I couldn’t resist! I always liked getting school supplies, and I even peeked in the bags to see what all was in them, and they were well stocked. So after I got the cereal and milk, I went back for 3 backpacks, and they were set aside with some others to eventually go to a student who needs it.

Then I drove to the food pantry, which was outside of town a bit, and carried the bags in. I met a couple people and they showed me around a bit. This food pantry is run a little differently than most of the ones I’ve visited, and it was interesting to hear how they do things. They use a point system based on the size and need of the family, and that family can come in up to 5 times a month to “shop” for the foods that their family likes. All of the food is marked with how many points it’s worth (for example, they already started marking the cereal I had brought in, and a large box of cereal was 5 points) and the families select their food, and then go through a check-out system, where the points are deducted from their account, and the balance is saved for the next visit. By this time, I was talking with Alice, the director, and I asked if that system made the bookkeeping more difficult, and she said it didn’t. Records of food coming in and going out have to be kept anyway, so it’s just a different way of keeping track of things. And the benefit is that the families don’t get pre-packed food that they maybe don’t like. Sometimes there is also some free food that the guests can take without using points – today there was a large bin of sweet corn that people could help themselves to. Alice also showed me the shelving units that are already being stocked for Thanksgiving baskets. She anticipates packing food for about 1000 Thanksgiving meals, and they’re already gathering the canned goods that will be a part of that – and 1000 cans of each item takes up a lot of space! Last year they helped thousands of people, and they passed out 1.6 million pounds of food. Wal-Mart is a huge donor for them, and I think she said they donated about $100,000 worth of goods. I find it really interesting to see and hear how different food pantries are run, and this one did things a little differently, and I liked it!

After I was done at the food pantry, we drove back into town, and I got Tula out for a walk. We passed some mobile food trailers and they were already getting ready for a lunch rush. One of them was an old bus that had been colorfully painted and was called Jupiter Jane’s – they sold a variety of healthy food. We walked around town again, and then I wanted to find the access point to walk across a long pedestrian bridge across part of the big lake. I knew it was going to be a long walk with no shade at all, so I left Tula in the car, and set off for a 5 mile walk across the bridge and back – it was a long bridge! The pedestrian bridge used to be for cars, and when they built a new bridge, they turned the old one into a pedestrian/bike bridge. There’s also a long train bridge across this part of the lake too. It was a pleasant day out for a long walk, and I enjoyed watching a couple trains and some people out in their boats. Then I was ready for some BBQ at one of the lunch trailers, but it was very late and they were out of pulled pork, which is my favorite. I tried the beef brisket instead, and the guy even came out of the trailer to give Tula some meat, and she then wanted to follow him back into the trailer! So much for my loyal dog – she can be had for any goodie!! I took her for another walk along the river, and then finished off my walking for the day with another walk around the pretty beach area that I had walked along last night.

Then I was ready to head south through part of Idaho’s panhandle to Coeur d’Alene. I was aware of the wildfires in Idaho, (and lots of other places in the west) and so far I wasn’t too close to any of them. But I figured I better keep track of them. Coeur d’Alene is a popular lakeside resort city, and I called ahead to get a campsite nearby. The first place I called was full, but the next one had a site for me, and the campground was right across from Coeur d’Alene Lake. So we drove for a while, and found the campground, and got set up for the night. Once again it seemed to get dark early, but I got my comfy lawn chair out, turned on the lantern, put on a sweatshirt, and actually did a little knitting since I couldn’t work on the computer. It was a real peaceful night.

Idaho – Wednesday, August 14

I had stayed in Washington last night because it was dark when I finished my walking, and I wanted to drive into Idaho in the daylight. Plus, it was more reasonable cost-wise! And I had forgotten to buy the Washington postcards for my family – and they’re hard to find in just “regular” stores! But I ran a couple errands, found some postcards, and drove into Idaho a little after noon – State #44!

About 5 miles after I crossed the state line, I came to the town of Post Falls. I figured it was a good place to start my Idaho walking, but first I looked into donation possibilities, and saw that the Post Falls Food Pantry had a backpack program, and with school getting ready to start up, I wanted to make a donation to that program. I called to find out if it would be best if I went shopping for some of the food, or if a financial donation would be better, and they said they could stretch the dollars farther than I could up at a big food bank, so they would certainly appreciate a check! I found the food pantry, and they were open for business, and helping some people get their food. I met Sherry (I think I have that right!) and she showed me around. Everything is wonderfully organized, and they had carts of food ready for people to pick up – in addition to non-perishable food, families also get fresh produce, and baked goods from stores. They’re able to come in once a week. And there is a huge need for the backpacks that are sent home with school kids on the weekends – I’m pretty sure I heard that close to 60% of the children in the area qualify for the extra help, and a lot of volunteers come in to help get the weekly backpack bags ready. It was fun to hear about their programs and see the whole place – it’s bigger than it first looks!

Then it was time to do some walking. I found some trails near a beautiful lake, and lots of people were out swimming and boating. There was an especially pretty little cove, and one of the big pine trees even had a long rope tied to it so the kids could swing out over the water and drop in. It was such a nice summery afternoon – kids on bikes and skateboards, bikes flung down in haste to get to the water, families on the beach and even some dogs in the water. At one point by the lake, Tula decided so quickly to take a dip that I couldn’t even get her leash off! And she jumped in at a steep spot and of course gave no thought as to how she was going to get out again, so that was a bit awkward, but she made it! Altogether on the lake paths and part of the Black Bay trail, I covered a little over 4 miles.

Then I left Post Falls and headed up to Sandpoint, a town located at the north end of a 43 mile long lake. There was a farmer’s market going on in a park in town, and it was fun to wander around that, and through the rest of town. The Coldwater Creek flagship store is in Sandpoint, and I popped in after I put Tula back in the car, but it pretty much looked like any other Coldwater Creek store – except they had a wine bar upstairs. There was a bike trail along one of the rivers in town, so I walked a couple miles along that, and then finished off the walking for the day at the beach area – which was a big peninsula sort of shape with numerous sandy beaches, lifeguard chairs, sailboats coming in, a lake tour boat, and playgrounds. There was a walking path around the whole area, and it was just kind of a perfect summer snapshot!

I had kept my eyes open for campgrounds on my way up here, and had seen a couple, so I backtracked to one of the state rec areas, but its campground was full. This is a very popular place for people to visit in the summer. So I decided to just go to Plan B, which was to stay at a Travel America campground about 6 miles south of town – it wasn’t particularly pretty or interesting, and kind of close by the road, but that’s all I needed and they actually had good wi-fi service. So it turned out to be just fine.

Washington – Tuesday, August 13

I couldn’t find one of my maps this morning, and there happened to be a Triple A office right next door, so I went over there to get my map, and ended up running into someone who had worked with my brother-in-law for years quite a while ago – small world!

Wenatchee is the Apple Capital of the World, and I headed down to the river to walk on the Apple Capital Loop Trail, which runs on both sides of the Columbia River. It was a pretty trail, and we walked about 3 1/2 miles along the river. Then it was time to make my donation for the day. I had read about the Lighthouse Soup Kitchen in Wenatchee, which serves 3 meals a day Monday through Saturday, and brunch on Sunday. No questions are asked, and they welcome everyone, and there’s a donation box for those that can make a small contribution for their meal. I found the soup kitchen, and they were cleaning up after the noon meal. It was pleasant inside with lots of tables and chairs, a big kitchen area, and some people were still lingering after their meal. I talked briefly with one of the volunteers in the kitchen, and she told me there had been about 50 people for lunch, and since they never quite know how many people will show up, it’s a bit of a guessing game as to how much food to prepare! She also mentioned that homeless people can’t get the food stamps they might be entitled to because they don’t have a permanent address – and that’s another reason why they serve meals all week. The Lighthouse also offers religious guidance for those who need and want it. I put my donation in the box, and then headed back to the riverfront to walk a couple more miles on a different part of the trail before heading toward Spokane.

On the way out of town, we passed countless apple orchards, with lots of apples beginning to ripen on the trees. There were stacks and stacks of huge wooden crates out by the trees, ready for the picking season. And then, all of a sudden, I was in dry, sage-brushy hills and mountains, and nothing was growing! I kept going up and up, more than 2500 feet, and at the top of the climb, the land flattened out into rolling, prairie-like wheat fields – golden grain as far as the eye could see. It was such an unexpected surprise at that elevation. The wheat was ripe – and there were a lot of combines out doing the harvest. I drove through a number of tiny little towns, and some of them had abandoned buildings – hinting at former life in the town.

It was evening by the time we came out of the countryside and drove into Spokane. I still had 2 1/2 miles to walk, and I headed for Riverfront Park, which was a huge park by the Spokane River and was also the former site of Expo ’74. A few of the building and sculptures and things remain from the expo. There were lots of walking paths and bridges and the river tumbling through, and the streetlamps came on, and it was a nice spot to finish off the Washington walking.

And then my week in Washington was complete. In addition to some family time, I walked all 56 miles (15 of them with Christy), and made all 7 donations – Milk Money/Food4Tots, Gifts from the Heart Food Pantry, Bread and Roses Woomen’s Shelter, Pacific Northwest USO, Tools for School in Issaquah, Community Cupboard, and the Lighthouse Soup Kitchen.

Washington – Monday, August 12

Christy headed off to work first thing in the morning, and it took me a while to finish up some computer stuff and my laundry and then I packed up. By then a couple of the boys were up, so we chatted for a while – I wasn’t in a rush to leave! When I did finally get going, I headed back to the cute little town of Issaquah where we’d made the school supply donation yesterday because I wanted to do some walking there. Tula and I set off through town, and then found a nice shady bike path and we covered almost 3 miles. From there I headed a little north to pick up a scenic road heading east – through national forests and mountains. We drove for a couple hours and came to the town of Leavenworth, which resembles a Bavarian Village in the Alps, complete with flowers in window boxes. I was going to be making my donation here today at a place called the Community Cupboard, which is part of the Upper Valley MEND (Meeting Each Need with Dignity). I had called to see if there were any items in particular that they needed, and the lady told me they could use cereal, juice, peanut butter and tuna, so I found a grocery store outside of town and shopped for those items. Then I found the food pantry, which was located inside a thrift store, which also helps support the pantry. Even this building was painted with a Bavarian theme. Once I was done with the donation, Tula and I walked all around town, and then found some trails in the woods across the river. Then I walked through town again – it was fun to just enjoy the European atmosphere and listen to the clip-clop of some horse-drawn buggies. There was even some oom-pah music in the park. Altogether we walked a little over 4 miles in Leavenworth.

Then I continued driving east to Cashmere, which seemed more like an old-west town with its covered wooden sidewalks – quite a contrast from the Bavarian town of Leavenwort! Cashmere’s claim to fame is the production of Aplets and Cotlets, candies which I had never heard of before. From what I understand, they’re sort of jelly-like candies – aplets are apple flavored, and cotlets are apricot flavored. Free tours are offered in the factory, but it was too late for that! I finished off my walking for the day in Cashmere, and drove about 10 more miles in the fading light to Wenatchee, where I stopped for the night.

Washington – Sunday, August 11

We had to get moving a bit quicker this morning than yesterday. Christy’s oldest daughter is getting married in September, and she and I were going to go along with Kim to the hair salon this morning where she was going to try out some different hairstyles. But first I wanted to take care of my donation-of-the-day – it was going to go to the Tools for School program that is run by the Issaquah Food Pantry, and they were open from 9 to noon this morning. My sister’s kids went to Issaquah schools, so it seemed like an appropriate donation for today! I had called ahead of time to see if they wanted a financial donation or actual school supplies, and they told me it would really be helpful to get a financial donation because they can go shopping at Office Depot for school supplies and get them at cost, so they would be able to get more school supplies than I could. Christy rode along with me to show me where the food pantry was, and at first we thought the place was closed even though they had assured me they were open on Sundays. But we tried a different door, and met the person who was there. She seemed to be surprised to get a donation on a Sunday morning, and both she and I were surprised when Christy pulled out $56 and matched my donation! She wanted to do that since her kids had attended Issaquah schools (her youngest has one more year left!). The goal of the Tools for School program is to ensure that every student in the school district starts school with all the necessary supplies, and they plan to have 1200 backpacks, filled with supplies, ready to hand out to the elementary, middle and high school students who need them.

Then we drove to a neighboring town to the hair salon. Kim’s maid of honor also joined us there, and after visiting for a while, I headed out to walk a couple miles with Tula – it was going to be a long hair appointment! Christy joined me, and we walked 2 miles through town and some adjoining neighborhoods. When we got back, it looked like they hadn’t made much progress, but they had started all over again. After some more time and some more visiting, Chris and I took Tula on another mile and a half walk, and then the chosen hairstyle was finished – complete with veil! Then we went on a long drive to the other side of Seattle where Kim was going to have a wedding dress fitting – all they needed to do today was figure out what kind of bustle she wanted, and it was fun to get a sneak peek at the wedding dress on the beautiful bride-to-be!

Then we headed back to Bellevue, and Tula and I set off for a 2 1/2 mile walk along the trail that runs right by the back of their house. They live in a hilly area, so we walked up and down, and it was a pretty (and convenient!) place to get some more walking done. I also took care of laundry. By then it was getting close to dinner time, and I was able to help a little. There was going to be a full house – 6 of Christy’s 7 kids, and a fiance and a husband of a couple of them, and a 4 year old grandson were all going to be around for a Sunday evening steak feast. There was an incredible amount and variety of food, and it was such a special time to have together with all of them. The next time I’ll see them all will be at the wedding, and things will be much more chaotic then, so I’m glad I had time to catch up with some of them now (although I felt guilty I didn’t help with clean-up!). The kids began to peel off to their various apartments and homes, and the house got quiet again. Somewhere along the way, Chris had found time to put together a gift bag for me for an early birthday present – some yummy goodies (including a 3# jar of peanut butter!) and a handful of gift cards for some good food as I finish out my journey. I’m spoiled indeed! Then, even though it was a little late, we headed out for one more 2 mile walk to finish off my walking for the day. The big family weekend was a wonderful way to wrap up my stay near Seattle.

Washington – Saturday, August 10

Last night it rained pretty hard, and there was lots of thunder and lightning, which doesn’t happen a lot in Seattle, and I enjoyed listening to a good storm while I was working late on the computer. I’m glad I wasn’t camping! We had a relaxed start to the morning, and Christy made some scrambled eggs with veggies and some toast for breakfast. She had time to do some walking with me today, and we decided to go to Cougar Mountain where there are a lot of trails. We headed over there and had to figure out which trails we wanted to take, and we ended up walking nearly 6 miles round-trip – heading up to She Bear Pass. We managed not to get lost despite several trail intersections, and we were in a very hilly area, but once we made our way to the top it was really pretty walking along the trails, and a beautiful day to be outside. The ferns in the woods are huge – evidence of a lot of rainfall! Tula came with us and did really well – she hasn’t walked 6 miles all at once for quite a while. It was shady for most of the walk, which seems to make a big difference for her – she seems to be sensitive to sun and heat while on her medication. Most people wouldn’t take a 6 mile hike in the mountains in flip-flops, but Christy did! Just like she wore flip-flops for all 56 miles of walking in the Virgin Islands. She figures she needs to join me when I’m in New Mexico so she can do a little walking with me in the southwest – she’s walked with me in the northeast, the southeast, the northwest, so needs to finish off the other corner!

After our hike, we got a quick bite to eat, then Christy and I met up with one of her daughters and we all got a pedicure, which was a nice treat from her 🙂 We headed back to her house for a short while, then she took off with one of her boys to do a little college/apartment shopping, and I drove out to Sea-Tac airport, where I was going to make a donation to the Puget Sound USO. The USO was kind of hard to find – it was in a part of the airport that a lot of people don’t pass by. But there were quite a few people in there, and the volunteer said hundreds and hundreds of military troops and their families pass through each week. There are several big military bases in this area – I discovered that I was near an air force (or navy?) base while camping in Deception Pass State Park – the noise from countless jets taking off between 9-10pm was really loud – I don’t know what they were doing at that time of night, but it was certainly noisy! I suppose it’s a good time of day to work on maneuvers since there aren’t so many “normal” flights at that time of day. The USO was a comfortable looking place, with food and drinks available, and computers, TVs and couches spread out around a couple rooms. It was a good place to make a donation! I headed back to Christy’s house, and they returned shortly after me, with a car load of college apartment food and supplies! One of the boys returns to college on Tuesday, and another one takes off a week later.

Several of her kids were around for dinner, and we had another yummy meal of turkey, mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. I’m so glad to have been able to enjoy some fresh sweet corn – I miss it back home! And later, Christy and I headed out to a couple big neighborhoods to do 3 1/2 more miles of walking – a late night walk by lamplight! I had only walked about 4 miles yesterday since I had to get over to Bainbridge Island to catch the ferry, and I couldn’t afford to fall any more behind. We actually walked 9 1/2 miles altogether today, so now I’m only behind by 2 1/2 miles. We were ready to call it a day when we got back – it had been a full one indeeed!

Washington – Friday, August 9

Since I was hoping to see Mt. Olympus in Olympic National Park, in the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, and was going to make a donation to a place in Olympia, I figured it was an Olympic day!

One of the visitor centers for Olympic National Park wasn’t too far from the town of Port Angeles, and that was my first stop of the day. One of the reasons I didn’t want to venture too far along the perimeter of Olympic National Park last night without a firm destination was that I’d heard there was a small fire in part of the park, which had forced the closure of one of the campgrounds, and another area was temporarily closed due to some construction issues. When I got to the visitor center, the ranger told me it was a very small fire, and nothing really to worry about. He gave me a couple of suggestions for hikes, depending if I was in a mountain mood or a lake mood. Mountains it was! I got Tula out for a walk near the visitor center since she wasn’t allowed on the trails, and then drove the slow 17 miles up the mountain to the next visitor center and the Hurricane Ridge trailhead. I was going to hike the Hurricane Ridge Trail, which climbs through sub-alpine meadows high up into the mountains with clear views of Mt. Olympus and other peaks. No roads go through the national park, and this is a popular hike because it”s only about 3 1/2 miles, and offers a wilderness experience without going deep into backcountry territory. And what a beautiful hike it was! The trail pretty much went uphill most of the way, starting off with a gentle grade, and then getting a bit steeper. There were wildflowers all over the place – reds, yellows, whites and a couple shades of purple. I saw a western blacktail deer (as opposed to the whitetail deer we see in Michigan) and listened to birds and squirrels chattering. The sub-alpine meadows were green with rocks here and there, and there were snow-capped mountains all around, and the whole scene kind of makes one want to burst into the Sound of Music song – “The Hills are Alive!!” It was a clear day, and the mountains were visible in all their snowy, glacial glory. Despite having to take numerous short rest stops on the trek to the top (along with everyone else except one crazy person who was jogging up the trail!), I loved every step of the walk. I’ve been on so many pretty walks, but this one was something different again – which is why I never get bored with all my walking. From the top, the view on one side was all the mountains, and the view on the other side looked down into Puget Sound, with the town of Port Angeles way down below, and Victoria, British Columbia on an island off in the distance. I took some time to soak in the views. Then I headed back down the trail, which of course went more quickly than the uphill climb. I took Tula out for another walk in the visitor center area when I got back, and we saw another blacktail deer, and then we drove the scenic 17 miles back down out of the park. It was beginning to cloud up, and I was really happy I went when I did.

Then I had to kind of change my plans for the day. I had dawdled a bit on the hike, and with the drive up and down part of the mountain, I wasn’t going to have time to squish in a drive around the rest of the national park (which takes up most of the peninsula and it’s slow driving in the mountains), then south to the town of Olympia, and then back north to Bellevue, where my sister Christy lives. The ferry to Seattle across the Puget Sound was a much more logical option, although I wasn’t sure how long I’d have to wait since it was the start of a weekend, and I had a good hour’s drive to even get to the right departure place. Since I didn’t have time to drive all the way down to Olympia, I was going to have to mail in my donation, because I still wanted to make one in the town of Olympia. Today’s donation was going to a women’s shelter called Bread and Roses – a shelter focused on hospitality where the homeless and poor have been welcomed as guests for the past 25 years. The guesthouse provides a home-like environment complete with books and music, and offers breakfast every morning, and always has coffee and fresh fruit available. And the large garden outside is a nice oasis for those who are living through some tough times. Although I would have liked to make the donation in person like I typically do, it just wasn’t practical this time, and I wanted Bread and Roses to get the donation for today. So I’ll have to settle for mailing it in, which doesn’t really affect them one way or another!

I had a bit of a drive to get to the ferry terminal, and I pulled in about 6:25, knowing a ferry was leaving at 6:30. Since it was now Friday evening, I assumed I would have to wait for the 7:10 ferry or even later, and to my astonishment, the ticket lady told me I could still get on the 6:30 one! The van was the last one on, and the crew put the blocks behind the wheels since it was the last in its row. This crossing was also about a half hour, and it was pretty watching the Seattle skyline get closer. I didn’t really like the heavy traffic between Seattle and Bellevue though! I got to my sister’s house, and her hubby Rick had grilled up a delicious dinner – chicken and veggie kebabs, corn on the cob, and zucchini quarters – a far cry from a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! We ate outside and enjoyed a nice evening.