City of Auburn (near Tacoma)
Happy Birthday to our son Caleb! It was perfect timing to be in this area at the time. He lives right on the coast of Puget Sound in Tacoma. Finding a campground close to Caleb was extremely challenging for two reasons; the first was a short notice booking, and the second was to accommodate a large rig. Dash Point State Park is literally 5 minutes from his place, but as with the majority of parks, they can only fit smaller rigs. We got lucky with a 7-day slot at the “Game Farm Wilderness Park“, which is a beautiful municipal park in Auburn nestled alongside the Stuck River. Navigating the busy roads of Seattle had my anxiety up a tad, but the actual route to get us there was a fairly smooth sail.
We enjoyed indulging more than usual on dinners out to celebrate with Caleb. “Hops n Drops” was one such fun restaurant, serving cocktails in frozen ice glasses. Next night we continued the fun at “The Rock“, serving super sized bucket drinks and delicious wood fired pizza. Yummy. Wrapping up this first week included more nom noms and decadent desserts at “The Cheesecake Factory” and “Famous Daves BBQ”.
Pictures in Auburn and BD celebration dinners (album 31)
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Mt. Rainier surrounding area
On Saturday, we were lucky to have our very own local tour guide. Caleb chauffeured us on a day trip out to the mountain forests via the Chinook Pass Scenic Byway. Starting with a swing by “Legendary Doughnuts”, we headed off to Enumclaw ( a cute little town full of colorfully painted and blooming yards), to make our way to the Paradise entrance to Mt. Rainier. Unfortunately, the road was closed so we officially didn’t make it into the National Park. However, Mount Rainier’s 14,410 feet of majesty was in full sunshiny view as we cruised the roads around there. At the pass summit, we stopped off for a fun snow-crunching hike right on top of the frozen Lake Tipsoo (pictured above). There were still snow skiers out here, taking advantage of the late snow melt. Caleb then took us out to his fave Jeep playground area on the Little Natches River in the Wenatchee Forest. Picnicked at Whistlin’ Jacks and had yummy Moose Tracks ice cream.
The weather was perfect, sun out and in the 70’s.
Pictures around Mt. Rainier (album 32)
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Happy 4th of July! Fireworks at Puget Sound
God Bless America! 
We spent a glorious fourth at Caleb’s place right on Puget Sound. His house is straight down a cliff near Dash Point and is an interesting 102-step staircase journey. An idyllic locale for sure, with clear views of the Tacoma port and Mt. Rainier beyond that. One is treated to views of Tacoma proper on the other side of the Sound, with sailboats, motorboats, paddleboarders, and huge barges all sharing this body of water (along with seals and even whales!). It’s a one-of-a-kind place.
Jim and I brought over hotdogs, beer, and a celebratory attitude to cook out on the deck and later watch the fireworks explode along the coastline. Boom, boom, booms!
Fireworks at Puget Sound- Album 33
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Snoqualmie Falls
Quoting Wikipedia, “Snoqualmie Falls is a 268-foot waterfall in the northwest United States, located east of Seattle on the Snoqualmie River between Snoqualmie and Fall City, Washington. It is one of Washington’s most popular scenic attractions and is known internationally for its appearance in the cult television series Twin Peaks”. It’s the second most visited natural landmark in Washington after Mount Rainier. It is more than twice as high as Niagara Falls! Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the falls are a site of natural, historic, and cultural convergence
We crossed over the footbridge to the Upper Falls view, There are several very good views all along the gorge rim, and there is a steep 1/2 mile trail to the base of the falls. The trail is absolutely gorgeous, feeling as if we had entered a hobbit world. Hiking back up the trail was no joke, but we took it nice and slow and savored the scenery. At the top is the Salish Lodge and Spa, looks to be a perfect romantic weekend getaway.