Time flies when you’re having fun.  However we’re trying our best to not be on a schedule but time is flying by faster than we can log the miles.

Our final day at Browns Bay, Savannah and I went exploring together on our paddle boards.  We surprised two deer that appeared to be stranded on a small island, that promptly swam ashore.  We observed the seals observing us, and investigated sea kelp. The tide was ebbing and we paddled in the mist and light rain around the peaceful and cold, clear waters. The following afternoon we were able to go fishing with our awesome guide Bruce, with whom we took a fishing charter a few days prior when Savannah caught her 10lb coho.  Bruce owns http://www.whitewolfcharters.com and invited Savannah to go river Salmon fishing with his son. Of course we rallied last minute to take advantage of an awesome opportunity and Savannah brought in two salmons on the fly rod!

We said our final goodbye’s to Brent and Esther and headed south with the idea of staying in Victoria, BC.  On the drive we also inquired on the ferry schedule and campground availability. Everything was booked in the Victoria area and if we didn’t delay, we could catch the ferry out of Victoria that same day.  We were the last ones on the ferry and also occupied the last space to accommodate our RV with a tow behind. With literally 2 minutes to spare, the ship casts her lines and closed the cargo door and locked up we were!  Even though we bypassed this beautiful city, this will certainly be a destination we will return to for a weekend honeymoon trip.  Actually this has become somewhat of an inside joke between Jim and I…. anything “honeymoon” sounds excellent.  Uhm… 2 dogs, 2 cats, and a kid in a 30ft RV does not facilitate the romantic side of the trip!

We ended up spending the night just outside of Port Angeles upon debarking the ferry and clearing customs.   We had originally planned to explore Olympic park via the jeep and base camp in Port Angeles, but later decided to hit the area in the RV, while still towing the jeep such that we would not have to back track. Olympic is a very large area, so we decided to wing it with no agenda and see what we found based on our little State Park map of trails, lakes and waterfalls.

Our first stop was at Crescent lake in Olympic National Park, the  600 foot deep, crystal clear lake carved by glaciers many, many, years ago!  We splashed the paddle boards in from a pull off on the roadside and took one of our first flat water, cruising paddles of the trip.  Savannah and i road tandem and Jim took off like he either wanted a good work out or as far away from us girls as he could get! Savannah and I chose to cross the lake and see what was on the other side.

The lake had incredible visibility with hues of blues and turquoise.  On the other side of the lake, an old railroad track bed had been converted into a trail according to the runners that stopped to give their morning greetings while i asked them about the trail. That would absolutely be the next stop of the day, post paddle.

After loading up the boards and driving along the lake a few miles we saw a boat ramp at the end of the lake, campground signs, and almost certain to find the trail we paddled upon earlier.

Upon entering the campground, our jaws dropped at the sheer beauty of this primitive camping, magic little forest adorned with dark pines, ferns, moss, and boulders.  The combination of the light filtering through the landscape and the turquoise color of the lake through the trees, was utterly breathtaking and gorgeous.

Now one would think being in an RV would not be considered “primitive camping”, but considering we had NO water in the tanks, one bottle each to drink, no fire wood (most parks do not let you take in wood from foreign areas due to the beetle infestation) and of course no power, AND this was the last night the campground was open for the season it was almost like RV roughing it. haha The first thing we did was go on a campground fire pit wood hunt!  We scored some amazing dry cedar and picked up lots of twigs off the ground, along with a huge piece of a cedar block of which we did not burn, but rather put inside of the jeep to mask the funky, wetsuit boot smell…

We then unhooked the jeep and drove about 5 miles to the trail head to then take a spectacular family bike ride along the lake and on railroad converted to paved, pine covered miles of trails. Truly beautiful.  Post biking was followed by a cedar burning campfire, moon rising over the lake, delicious dinner and Savannah entertaining us with her guitar talents.

The following morning i was chomping at the bit to go run the trails along the lake rather than the level above that we road our bikes on the previous afternoon.  Again, we drove to the trail head where i ran and the rest of the family biked.  The trail was a rocky, waterfront trail with hills, bridges, overhangs, and half finished railroad tunnels.  Honestly i think this was the best 6 miles i’ve ever run.  Funny, i could base an entire trip on just the running alone!…

After the run we arrived about 6 hours later to Cascade Locks with the idea of exploring Mt. Hood, the falls, and sneak a Gorge river paddle in.  However, after having a intimate, night-long experience with the Pacific Union train, we decided to spend the next night elsewhere.  It’s one thing to be waken up by a train, but it’s an entirely different story to have heart failure every time the train blasted its horn 20 feet from your pillow!

Over coffee and discussions of our train affair, we sorted out a new plan.  We decided to push through Oregon without “passing Go”, nonstop THIRTEEN HOURS later to Eric and Tehyla’s house in Auburn CA! We figured everything we could do in Oregon we could do in Auburn and Lake Tahoe WITH friends.  Years ago Jim and i spent considerable time on the Oregon Coast and explored the area preparing a ship for the Panama canal, that would transport raw material for Jim’s business.  That is an entire story just in itself…

Long stretches of driving always sound good in theory.  We crossed over several mountains, forests, lakes and rivers. Stopped at a very cool bakery run by a family that owned and operates a farm that provides the food. Absolutely delicious treat!

After passing by Mt. Shasta, I allowed my mind to wonder and fantasize that I was going to climb Mt. Shasta (seems like a realistic goal).  Now on the hunt for the next good mountaineering book by Krakaur to get inspired and begin this journey already, even if just inside my head.  Considering Jim hogged the day’s driving, i had to keep myself occupied, so mountaineering was a great 10 minute thought.:)

We arrived to Auburn just before midnight.. killer driveway crashing at the Warshower residence and looking forward to the week’s adventure with our best friends!