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.