Upon leaving Redwood National Park in northern California, we had exactly 11 days to explore Oregon and southern Washington. We prioritized our Oregon stops to include national park sites, an iconic mountain and a quaint beachside town. We saw several recognizable mountains in southwest Washington before we arrived in Seattle on August 6th. After our stop in Seattle, we continued to explore the beautiful state of Washington. Throughout our time in the Pacific Northwest, we both remarked that Oregon and Washington are an outdoor lover’s paradise.

Oregon

Oregon Caves National Monument

What makes this cave amazing is that it’s only one of three marble caves in the United States (the others are Crystal Cave in Sequoia NP and Boyden Cavern in Kings Canyon NP). Most of the notorious caves (Mammoth Cave and Carlsbad Cavern, for instance) are eroded limestone. The Oregon Caves system is at least a million years old! While Oregon Caves wasn’t as large as other caves we visited, the formations made the trip worthwhile.

(Click on any picture below to open the gallery and read the captions)

During this stop, we also learned that National Monuments are the direct result of a presidential decree. On the other hand, National Parks are created through acts of Congress. So … now you know!

Crater Lake National Park

The namesake of this park was described to us as follows: “Imagine a beautiful shade of blue. Crater Lake is even bluer than blue!” I will admit that it was hard to envision until we were there and exclaimed “This lake is bluer than blue!”

Crater Lake was created 7,700 years ago. Back in the olden days, this area was a giant volcano (now refered to as Mount Mazama). Mount Mazama erupted, collapsed and the caldera partially refilled with water from rain and snow. The caldera from Mount Mazama is now Crater Lake. There are no rivers that run in or out of Crater Lake and any evaporation is compensated by the annual precipitation. The depth of the lake is 1,950 feet, which makes it the deepest lake in the United States and the 8th deepest lake in the world!

Visiting Crater Lake has long been on Mark’s ‘bucket list’. We were able to spend three days stopping at all of the scenic viewpoints, watching sunsets over the lake, stargazing, hiking and swimming.

Mt. Hood

From Crater Lake, we drove north to spend a day visiting Mount Hood. This iconic mountain towers over the landscape and is impossible to miss. There is a ski resort on the mountain, and lucky for us, the ski lift was operating during our visit. The ski lift carried us up the side of the mountain to some trailheads. We hiked a few miles up a trail before stopping for lunch. Although we didn’t see any wildlife, the meadows and the mountain views were astounding. I took advantage that the ski lift pass was for the entire day and rode around a couple of extra times! 😂

After our ski lift and hiking extravaganza, we drove a bit further down the road to the Timberline Lodge. The historic hotel was filmed for the opening scenes of the movie ‘The Shining’! The lodge was beautiful and the grounds were really pretty. I am not much of a skier, but I can see myself returning to this lodge and watching other people cruise down the mountain slopes. I would be sitting inside with a hot toddy while reading a novel by the fireplace!

Seaside

Picture the most iconic little beach town. Picture that town complete with an oceanfront boardwalk, colorful storefronts, a movie theatre with a marquee, a carousel and a giant taffy shop. In a nutshell, that is Seaside, Oregon.

We rolled into Seaside after 4PM without any reservations for the night (note: this is rather uncommon for us). After combing through [seemingly] every hotel review in town, we booked two nights at Rivertide Suites. The hotel was a quarter mile from the beach and our room was set up like an apartment! We had … wait for it … a stove with an oven! A dishwasher! And an in-unit washer and dryer! All of that combined with a balcony and an indoor pool made this a stay that we won’t soon forget!

We visited Indian Beach which is the site of several movie scene filmings. Including Twilight, Kindergarten Cop, and The Goonies! We watched people of all ages surf in the Pacific Ocean and we hiked to a lookout for Tillamook Rock Lighthouse. Several harbor seals lounged along the lighthouse’s shore while pelicans soared overhead. If you find yourself on the northern Oregon coast, then this cute town is a ‘must do’.

Washington

Mt. Rainier National Park

After a quick visit to Mt. Saint Helens to learn more about the 1980 eruption, we continued north to spend a few days at Mt. Rainier National Park.

Mt. Rainier National Park is the fifth park established in the NPS system. The park was created in 1899 for protection of: the headwaters of 5 major rivers, the world’s largest volcanic glacier cave system, and monitoring the most hazardous volcano in the Cascade Range. We only explored the southern end of the park and it was so beautiful that we know we need to come back to see the other sides of this giant volcanic mountain.

The Wonderland Trail is an 80 mile loop that encircles the base of the mountain. During our time in Mt. Rainier, we hiked a small section of this trail and saw numerous waterfalls. Additionally, we saw two female black bears and young cubs. We also hiked to Paradise Glacier and saw a man skiing down a permanent snowfield in that area! The waterfalls, wildlife and abundant meadows were simply astonishing in mid-August!

After spending a couple of days in the park, we journeyed north to Seattle for the weekend. Pop Evil is one of our favorite bands to watch. They are originally from Michigan and they were playing a concert at the Crocodile. The Crocodile is a classic venue where the Seattle grunge bands played in the early ’90s (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains just to name a few). The concert hall was small and we arrived early enough to stand squarely in the front row. It was fun to see one of our fav bands on the road in an intimate and historic space.

Olympic National Park

This park really has it all: beaches along the Pacific Ocean, lush rain forests from 140 inches of annual rainfall, and the Olympic Mountains with Mount Olympic taking center stage.

We started our visit in the coastal town of Kalaloch. From here, we could enjoy the beaches and tide pools one day and then drive to the Hoh rainforest the next. The environments were vastly different but within a very close proximity.

We explored Kalaloch beach at low tide and saw, seemingly, thousands of sea creatures on the rocks and in the sand. We saw live sand dollars, several sea stars, and sea anemones of all colors! The Pacific Ocean water was cool and we had such a great time on the wide, beautiful beach.

In the Hoh rainforest (one of the largest temperate rainforests in the US), we hiked the ‘Trail of the Mosses’. There is literally moss dripping from the trees in this damp environment. It rained a bit on our drive into the area, which seemed absolutely fitting. This area felt like being in a fairy tale with trees that were beyond green and the clean, earthy-smelling air. We also saw the world’s largest Sitka Spruce tree!

We spent a few nights in the northern coastal town of Port Angeles. This was the closest point to drive into the gorgeous mountains. Mark and I hiked 5 miles on a foggy day and it was amazing to see the fog roll over the hills and mountains. Coincidentally, we met a couple from San Francisco who found the fog to be WAY less charming that we did! We drove to the mountains on a clearer day and it was breathtaking to see the peaks and glaciers cover the horizon.

From Port Angeles, we road a ferry to Victoria for a day trip. We visited the beautiful Butchart Gardens and wandered around the capital city of British Columbia.

Much thanks and gratitude to Mark’s parents for planning this great week in the midst of our road trip adventure.

North Cascades National Park

We hiked to the peak of Sourdough Mountain, which was an elevation gain of 5000 feet (over 7 miles) to see a panoramic view of the range. The view from the top was nothing short of spectacular and I am so glad that we burned out our legs tackling this hike.

In addition to hiking, this park offers some of the coolest available lodging! Ross Lake Resort is an Instagram-famous floating community on Ross Lake. The resort does not have an on-site restaurant or store. And, the only way to access the resort is via a 2.5 mile hike or a boat ride across the lake (no roads lead into the resort)! The resort has 15 cottages and 65% of the renters are decades-long visitors who have been grandfathered-in and return every year. The remaining 35% of the available spots are allocated via a lottery to over 28,000 annual applicants!

Additionally, the North Cascades Lodge at Stehekin is only accessible via a 50 mile boat ride up Lake Chelan. Once visitors arrive at the lodge, a shuttle is offered to visit a waterfall, orchard or head north to one of several trailheads.

North Cascades National Park offers immense hiking opportunities. Further exploring the trails is a ‘must do’ for our next visit. Additionally, both Ross Lake Resort and the North Cascades Lodge at Stehekin are on my ‘things to do next time’ in this beautiful mountain park.

Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area

Our last stop in Washington was a night at Lake Roosevelt National Recreation area. This massive lake is the result of the Grand Coulee Dam. We stopped to see the historic dam before arriving at our campsite along the lake. It was a sweltering 94 when we pulled into the site and we immediately ran for the lake. The lake became deep very quickly and we spent the afternoon swimming and diving off of a boat dock. I haven’t dived for over 30 years and although the first time was quite nerve-wracking, it may be one of my newly rediscovered favorite things. After conquering my fear, I felt like a kid diving off the dock, resurfacing and gleefully saying “I am going just one more time!” before my legs completely tired out. I always appreciate these simple, unexpected moments and the pure joy that goes along with spontaneity.

A Year On the Road

Next up is a week in northern Idaho and then some time in Montana. We will continue to travel east until the snow flies and then it will be time to head south. I hope you had a wonderful summer, experienced something new and amazing, and enjoyed fun times with friends and family.

– Mark and Debbie