Our schedule was empty for today so we squandered it by doing some laundry at Paradise Campground’s facility and using their frustratingly slow wifi to post pithy entries to this blog. The rest of the day was easy but towards evening we took a drive over to Rochester where there is a race track.
Tonight’s lineup at South Sound Speedway was Super Late Model Stocks, Baby Grands and Legends classes. The stocks look and sound like regular NASCAR stock cars but the Baby Grands appear to be about 1/4 size stock cars with what sounded like chain saw motors. Peggy and I liked the Legends cars. They look like old American coupes with massive fenders and tires or maybe like a contemporary Morgan but they certainly had big, noisy engines and they did scoot. They scoot so well, in fact, that they occasionally scoot right into each other with sheet metal parts suffering most of the damage.
One of the drawbacks we have noted about going to racetracks in rural areas is that they frequently have primitive, ass-numbing seating so we have recently purchased some personal stadium seat improvements. Peggy’s is a fine rig with a folding back and a hook that grips the stadium bench but mine is merely some thin cushions gathered in a cloth case. It does not function as beautifully as Peggy’s and before the races were over, my butt had been temporarily wrecked by the underlying treated lumber 2×10. I’m sure the last bit of the races we missed were thrilling.

Last night’s weather report warned that today could be very hot but it turned out to be merely uncomfortably hot. However, our beloved Charlotte has an ample air conditioning system so we decided to make a short recon of the surrounding area. We have stayed here previously (when it was much cooler), once in 2014 and maybe once in spring 2016. The campground entry booth is located just shy of a splendid view of the Cowlitz River Valley but, due to nasty fires halfway across Washington, the view was not nearly as spiffy today.
We drove down the hill from the obscured view into the town of Silver Creek which is a U.S. Post Office and about a dozen nearby houses, some occupied. After posting a written communication by the old-fashioned method we decided to take the short spin east to the next town of Mossyrock. We have been in Mossyrock previously and at that time we went into a place called the Viking Drive-In where they served us a luscious milk shake. Today we headed for the Viking once we were in town, eagerly salivating about our impending treat. The Viking Drive-In is permanently closed.
Disappointed, we continued east on WA-12 to a few miles past Morton where we turned north on Davis Lake Road to make a loop back into town. It was a very nice drive but we didn’t find a lake. Once back in Morton, we took a back road to our campground. We did note the locations of important stuff like produce stands and the correct routes to nearby Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainier. We will head up to those places once the smoke clears and the visibility improves.

Today was another travel day. We left Dow Creek RV near Hoodsport and continued our drive south on US-101. We were actually pretty happy to leave Dow Creek because it seems the owners are liars or lazy or both. We ended up paying more than originally quoted for a shadeless spot with no wifi nor sewer. Even if I wanted to dump my waste tanks, their dump station was a primitive arrangement in another campground and down a brushy, skinny, serpentine dirt road. When we requested a space different than the one we were assigned, the hostess alleged the spot we could have moved into was reserved and we had to stay put. Nobody ever came to use the alternative space and almost nobody even bothered to drive through our loop during our stay. Many spaces in the park are empty.
In Hoodsport we turned south on 101 and headed further down the Hood Canal. At Potlatch, the Hood Canal turns east and the remainder of 101 into Olympia passes through agricultural area and forest lands. It is a pretty drive but unremarkable, maybe because we could not see more than about 2 miles due to smoke from upwind forest fires. It was hot today – maybe 95 degrees.
In Olympia, we drove past the state capital and were soon shunted onto I-5 southbound. We were very lucky; traffic was great. From Olympia we continued south on I-5 to WA-12 which runs east through tiny communities before passing the post office that is Silver Creek. Just a few narrow road miles later, we pulled into the Paradise Campground Thousand Trails facility. We got a spot with a clear shot for our satellite antenna, a full hookup but not a smidgen of wifi.
We set up in the unseasonable frying temperatures quickly. Right after that we climbed inside our portable home and turned on the air conditioning. It is both smoky and torrid outside. Even at 11:00 PM, it was still over 70 degrees. That is about this month’s advertised average high. Washingtonians seem stunned by the weather.

Today we did a little exploring. It might not have been the best day for sightseeing because the wind is from the east and Washington and British Columbia are currently enduring many fires east of and in the Cascades. The air is like mud.
We started our journey by driving west from our RV park and running along the shore of Lake Cushman. It is a pretty drive but, like almost everywhere we have been near water, the land is mostly privately owned and lake, Sound, Canal or river public access is very rare. We did spot some small waterfalls along the way and they were both gorgeous and cooling. From the two spots we found where Lake Cushman could be seen, it was probably quite beautiful but, due to the thick haze/smog, only partially visible.
We sort of struck out at Lake Cushman so we headed the other way and went to the west shore of the Hood Canal for a little observation. The Hood Canal right now has the most amazing water color – almost gray-green. Out in the Sound and all the other large bodies of water we have observed in the last two months were all deep blue or black on cloudy days. Hood Canal is different.
We initially headed north up 101 to Liliwaup, this time having light traffic and sufficient time to check out the views. It is a very pretty area. In Liliwaup, we turned around and headed back through Hoodsport to Potlatch where we pulled into Potlatch State Park for some light lunch. Here in the park are many places to stop with magnificent views of the big turn in the Hood Canal where it abruptly changes from a north-south fjord into an east-west fjord.
A trip to the diesel station and a grocery store later, we headed back home to Big Creek RV Park. Nobody has ever arrived to claim the shady spot we wanted to move into yesterday. We also went looking for the park dump station, since we have no direct sewer connection due to management snottiness. We finally found it in a separate campground up the highway but it is a primitive arrangement with a terrible dirt access road. Looks like we will be hauling the poop to Silver Creek tomorrow. These folks have a beautiful park but I think they must be doing something wrong. There are many vacant spaces right in the middle of summer despite all the other parks in the area being at near-capacity.
There’s pix if you click here

Today was a travel day. We left the spartan, if not bleak, fairgrounds RV park in Langley and headed north on WA-525 back toward Coupeville. In Coupeville we turned south on WA-20 and zigzagged across some small farms and pastures to the Coupeville-Port Townsend ferry. We pulled up at the pay booth and a dutiful employee popped out to measure the length of our truck and trailer overall.
The last time we traveled on this ferry, the person measuring came up with 50 feet which allowed us to pay the fare for “50 feet or less.” This time, the employee decided his measurement was 50′-2” which obliged us to pay the “60 feet or less” amount plus a fixed charge for “over 7′-6” in height” or $86. After waiting for a ferry departure and the arrival of another one, we were directed on board.
We hopped out of our truck once we were parked and headed up to the 2nd deck where the folks operating the ferries try to squeeze another few bucks out of passengers by serving substandard food. We declined the dining opportunity. Out on the Number 1 end of the ferry we were treated to a gorgeous crossing of Puget Sound complete with sightings of some small dolphins cruising the passage. The trip is only about 6 or 7 miles across the Sound to the terminal in Port Townsend and it is over pretty quickly. Excluding the time required to load on and off the ferry, it costs about $4 a minute.
Once in Port Townsend, we continued on WA-20 south until we got to almost the northernmost end of US-101 and we turned south. We will miss WA-20. We have spent the last month or two being treated to magnificent scenery that borders this road from here on the Olympic Peninsula through the North Cascades into eastern Washington.
101 here is a narrow little road through second-growth timber with periodic views of the gorgeous Hood Canal. Hood Canal is described as the 2nd largest fjord in North America although I am almost completely unable to make a visual distinction between a fjord and any other waterway in the Puget Sound area. There is one glaring difference; the water in the Hood Canal is an amazing turquoise color. Maybe that’s the difference.
We slithered south along the west edge of the Hood Canal through Dosewallips State Park and passing towns with strange names like Hamma Hamma, Ayock and Liliwaup before arriving in a tiny burg called Hoodsport. We turned west on WA-119 and soon pulled into the Dow Creek RV Resort.
This park is quite pretty but mostly vacant, maybe due to management. We were assigned a spot without a sewer connection despite some being available. Our spot was also next to the dumpster and in full sun during the current blazing-hot weather here. We called the desk and asked if we could move across the road into a spot with shade but were informed that that spot was already reserved by someone else. They never arrived or it was not reserved. We had a nice neighbor but about two hours after we arrived, his electrical service took a dump and he had to move to reinstate air conditioning. So far, we are unimpressed with management and maintenance.
See pix. Click here

Today was our last full day on Whidbey Island so we decided to do a little exploring in an attempt to find a place where normal Washingtonians can go to the shore or get a view of anything more than 50 feet from the road. Whidbey Island has nicely built roads but the preponderance of them run through second-growth forests filled with small conifers and big hardwood trees that shade the highway and offer impenetrable brush starting right alongside the ditch.
The day started with Peggy going out for a stroll while I showered. Right before getting into the shower, I looked down on the floor of the trailer and spotted what looked like a small bud of marijuana. I picked it up, set it on my table and headed into the shower. After finishing my contortions in our skinny shower stall, I went back to the main compartment and sat down where I again spotted my bud. I don’t remember the last time I had any buds loose in the trailer and figured the little morsel was a welcome surprise, perhaps rolling out from under one of our easy chairs. I picked it up, admired the rich green color and gave it a little squeeze before sensing that something was awry. Readers of recent blog entries may remember that there are lots of bunnies living in our campground and, after way too much scrutiny, I realized that my bud was actually a broken rabbit pellet. I confess to being a rabbit turd fondler.
After considerable hand washing and table wiping, we climbed into the truck for a spin. The first destination ended up being Peggy’s sister’s house for more saying goodbye despite my belief we were done with that. Soon we were on our way west across Whidbey Island to get on roads that would take us on a loop up to Greenbank on the island’s west coast and back home on the island’s east coast. Our search for public access and/or views to the water was almost a complete failure.
Our first stop was at South Whidbey State Beach. The campground is closed and doesn’t look like it is opening anytime soon. The one trail offering access to the shoreline is also closed. Even the machine that sells you a piece of paper authorizing park use was out of order. The parking lot (and this was the only parking lot we saw today) was empty since all the park’s features were closed. No other public access spots were found on the west shore.
At Greenbank we crossed over the island to the road following the east shore. Almost immediately we found a gravel road between two residences that had one sign that indicated a public access to the shore and another sign mounted directly below the public access sign forbidding any parking. This access slit is not located in a town and there is no place to park anywhere within miles of the access road. We drove the 30 yards to the end of the gravel and found more signs indicating that beachgoers cannot stray from the 15 foot wide path to the water because it is private property. There were no sun worshipers at the cobble-infested skinny patch of mud that was the shoreline.
We finished the loop down to our RV spot, picking up some diesel for tomorrow’s travel off Whidbey Island. Whidbey is a gorgeous place if you own shoreline or hilltop property but the rest of us can just bugger off.
We got some pix of the lack of access you can see if you click here

We started the day mostly malingering around the trailer before settling down into total inactivity. There are big herds of bunnies here so I was quite content spending the day watching them try to steal food from each other and copulating. Bunnies do indeed do it like bunnies. Peggy’s sister arrived around 0900 to transport Peggy into Langley for stuff they do not need. They seemed to have a wonderful time although 3 hours of browsing yielded scant results. I am a poor shopper and believed I would be unwelcome on such a trip.
Eventually some boredom set in and we have a strict unwritten rule against being bored so we invited ourselves over to Peggy’s sister’s and brother-in-law’s place in nearby Freeland. They have a lightning-fast wifi arrangement and I was able to upload all my bloggy stuff and some pictures while comfortably seated at their dining room table. They also had great beer so we ended up spending most of the afternoon hobnobbing. Peggy and Tonie engaged in extensive sister chat, moving from indoors to outdoors and back without interruption.
Tonie and George have recently purchased a great house at the end of a private road and it is a very nice spot. No traffic nor dust nor visible neighbors on 3 sides nor noise make for a very nice lifestyle. George alleges the only drawback to the place seems to be a massive lawn that needs mowing and a few spindly trees will need the ax before mowing can be done properly with a tractor. George is a vigorous worker so I anticipate fewer trees the next time we visit. We returned to our trailer before the in-laws were obliged to serve us another meal.