Rolling Along With The Reynolds

Jim and Cindy's Adventure Blog traveling all over the USA

Tag: Caleb

November 2022

Moochdocking in the beautiful Pine Forest of Mom and Jim’s. Quick trip up to Columbus at Coachcraft for Clark repairs. Spent Thanksgiving with Bigfoot in Ft. White.

GA/FL in Nov picture album

Thanksgiving picture album

December 2022

Wonderful times spent with loving family; Happy Hours with Lee and Denise, Caleb visited and we got to hear more about his exciting new job with Blue Origin, a self-driving electric Tesla ride, Festival of Lights at Spirit of Suwannee, and Christmas festivities.

December pictures

January 2023

Happy New Year! Mom’s Birthday, a visit from Jared, Lydia and Kris, O’Leno State Park, Gilchrist Blue Springs, bike rides on Columbia county dirt roads, Cemetery TLC, a bad bout of Bronchitis for both of us.

January Pictures

 

A Maritime City

        Gig Harbor is a beautifully quaint seafaring town, located on the southwestern side of Puget Sound. History is rich here due to it being a major fishing port. Caleb was able to enjoy the town as well, taking a few days off from work and then spending the weekend with us.
          The drive over from Auburn was surprisingly un-stressful, again I was anticipating white knuckle highway driving. But folks over this way have a very laid back spirit, and drivers are patient and accommodating to RV-ers.  The campground “Gig Harbor RV Resort” was peaceful and beautiful with many trees, and were amazed with the numerous oddly fascinating Monkey Puzzle bushes. 

          Quoting the town’s official website,”

We are a place steeped in history, with the sx̌ʷəbabš, or Swift Water People finding this a safe harbor. Croatian settlers launched our commercial fishing business, which remains to this day. Scandinavian settlers brought businesses to our town, and immigrants from across the nation settled here in Gig Harbor.

We remain a place where our connection to the water provides a living for generations of families.

Today, the water is not just a place of work, it is a place of recreation. Our canoe and kayak racing team are national champions. Locals enjoy a more leisurely pace – whether by paddle, by motor, by sail, or by land — and visitors get a warm welcome at our locally-owned inns, hotels and vacation rentals.

Walk along the waterfront, dine, shop and even enjoy a local beer or cocktail.

Gig Harbor is a place with captivating beauty, everywhere you look, there are scenes of uncommon splendor, watercraft of all shapes and sizes, historic homes and businesses, open views across the harbor, and those amazing moments when Rainier towers in the distance.

Gig Harbor is a place deeply connected. A stroll through town will bring you past historic net sheds, a stunning museum, and the area’s largest collection of independent businesses and restaurants. People gather here for festivals, concerts, gallery strolls, or family nights out. We are a place where our past inspires our future, knowing we can preserve what is great about this place while continuing to make our town, and all that it means to us, even better.

Gig Harbor (picture album 35)

 

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.

Snoqualmie Falls pictures- Album 34

Visit. Explore. Dream.

We have had a tremendously enjoyable time exploring the state of Washington, The past three weeks have been exclusively driving around the entire Olympic Peninsula (including a day trip over to Canada!). Diverse landscapes abound here:  magnificent snow-capped mountains, rugged coastlines, temperate rainforests, charming small towns, and ventures out on the water to whale watch. 

Bonus to have the opportunity to visit with our son Caleb several different locations!

I’ll be posting subsequent logs to share more detail about our adventures on each of these areas soon, to include full picture album links. Stay tuned!

HIGHLIGHTS:

  • City of Auburn (near Tacoma)
    * Mt. Rainier, Wenatchee Forest
    * celebrated July 4th right on Puget Sound at Caleb’s 
  • Snoqualmie Falls (TV show Twin Peaks made this popular)
  • Gig Harbor
  • Sequim (pronounced “Skwim”) – home to numerous Lavender Farms, and the awesome 5-mile long Dungeness Spit
  • Neah Bay and Cape Flattery – the northwestern point of the contiguous US
  • Olympic National Park – we made it to three different entrance gates, each unique in their own right. This park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve.
    * Hurricane Ridge – alpine region and got to spot a bear!
    * Sol Duc Hot Springs
    * Hoh Rainforest and the Quinault Rainforest
    * Beaches! Rialto Beach, Beach 4,3, and 1
  • Port Townsend – took a Whale-watching cruise and were not disappointed with the Orca pods we spotted.
  • Town of Forks – stayed at a campground that featured daily visits from a herd of Roosevelt Elk!
  • Hoquiam/Aberdeen 
    * home of Nivana’s Kurt Cobain, and the sandier beaches of Ocean Shores