Odometer: approx. 56,550

Time: 08:30

We drive out of town westwards and eventually get to HWY 101 north. We once more drive through countryside Washington, with lots of small villages and grassland in between. A lot of trucks loaded with timber are coming down from the north. We go almost all the way to the pacific. In Aberdeen, which actually is at a bay of the ocean, the HWY takes a turn north towards the Olympic National Park. There we see where the timber comes from: hugh forests, they have divided the forests into section and then they harvest one whole section and afterwards plant new trees (which will probably be ready for harvesting in about 20 to 30 years from now).

At Quinault we turn right; the road leads along Quinault Lake, where we stop for a walk to the worlds largest Sitka Spruce Tree (Fichte). The tree is the world’s largest Spruce with a circumference of 58 feet and 11 inches, a diameter of 18 feet and 9 inches, it is 191 feet tall and about 1000 years old! Along this road we also take walks to the Quinault Lake, the river and through thick rain forest. We see a lot of logs lying on the ground and they are all huge. Today I feel really tiny at times next to these enormous trees.

Back on HWY 101 we finally get to the Pacific Ocean again. It is wonderful to see the ocean and breath the salty air after so long. We have seen so many beautiful and impressive sights, but the ocean still has something magic.

In the afternoon we take another detour off HWY 101 and drive to the Hoh Rain Forest. It’s about 18 miles from the HWY (one way). We see some more crystal clear rivers and ponds and dark very dense forest. We take our time to really feel and enjoy the settings of this very beautiful place!

We arrive in Port Angeles after 7:00 pm and quickly find a motel to stay. Before unpacking we walk along the ocean to the port to find something for dinner. Port Angeles is one of very few cities that we have seen on our trip that has some character and invites to stay - very nice and not too crowded.

Overnight Stay: Riviera Inn, Port Angeles, WA

Dinner: Thai at the port

Odometer: 56,398

Time: 09:30

After some phone calls to Switzerland we leave the hotel late. We head south east towards Mount Rainier. It is visible from far already and the road leading there is seamed with forests to both sides. We enter the National Park at the White River Entrance and from there follow the road up the hill to Sunrise Point. There is still a lot of snow everywhere and the road has only just been opened this weekend. Spring has hardly arrived here yet. We stop at several view points along the way and take short walks away from traffic.

At Sunrise Point we park the car and take a longer walk along a trail. It is wonderfully peaceful and quiet up here. The flowers are just coming out of the ground and water can be heard everywhere. We have a fantastic view of Mount Rainier and its glaciers.

Mount Rainier is the most heavily glaciated peak in the lower 48 states. The summit is topped by two volcanic craters, each over 1,000 feet (300 m) in diameter with the larger east crater overlapping the west crater. Geothermal heat from the volcano keeps areas of both crater rims free of snow and ice, and has formed the world’s largest volcanic glacier cave network within the ice-filled craters. A small crater lake about 130 by 30 feet (40 m × 9.1 m) in size and 16 feet (5 m) deep, the highest in North America with a surface elevation of 14,203 feet (4,329 m), occupies the lowest portion of the west crater below more than 100 feet (30 m) of ice and is accessible only via the caves.

Mount Rainier has a topographic prominence of 13,210 feet (4,030 m), greater than that of K2 (13,189 feet (4,020 m)). On clear days it dominates the southeastern horizon in most of the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area to such an extent that residents sometimes refer to it simply as “the Mountain”. On days of exceptional clarity, it can also be seen from as far away as Portland, Oregon, and Victoria, British Columbia.

It actually reminds us of the alps, but its a lot bigger and wider here and not as crowded - awful and amazing!

It is completely different than Mount St. Helens. It is much greener, with lots of trees, meadows and glaciers, where as Mt. St. Helens is very bare and grayish.

On the way down and out of the park we stop at Ohanapecosh River (unfortunately the road through the Park to Paradise is still closed). This river is crystal clear shimmering green, turquoise and blue with some white water rafts. A real mountain river probably home of lots of trout and other fish!

Late afternoon we drive north again. Along the road we see an Elk lady as big as a small horse! We decide to stay in Olympia (the Capitol of Washington).

Overnight Stay: Quality Inn, Olympia, WA

Dinner: Casa Mia (not to be recommended, though)

Odometer: 56,040

Time: 08:30

After a real Sunday breakfast with lots of Belgium waffles, we leave Portland area towards north.

As the weather is overcast we skip the trip to the waterfall and the gorge along the Columbia River and head directly towards Mount St. Helens up in Washington. We see the mountain soon after we leave the HWY, but it is hidden by a big cloud. As we drive Scenic Route 504 closer towards the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument the clouds dissolve more and more and eventually we see Mount St. Helens without any clouds standing in front of us. It’s very impressive, since the eruption in May 1980 the area has gone through a remarkable recovery. Since 1984 Mount St. Helens is a National Monument and remains untouched by humans; i.e. no reforesting, no hunting and only limited access for the public. Realizing and seeing what has happened here not even 30 years ago is amazing. We speak with an elderly (70 year old) volunteer who explains us that they do a lot of geological and seismic research on the mountain. Apparently all the mountains in the north west of the US are connected through one big magma pool some 20 miles under the surface of the earth. Scientists are most worried about Mt. Rainier, since it is very close to Seattle and could erupt as well at any point in time. Mt. St. Helens is still active, not on the outside but within, it has a lava dome in the crater which has been growing over the last years and in 2004 it was rumbling again.

The part that has been reforested in the years before 1984 is very green again and we see again some beautiful swallowtails and other butterflies, deers, a lot of blooming flowers and some little fish, salamander and tadpoles. The lakes are very clear and clean and it is very quiet and peaceful. 

In the afternoon we drive through countryside villages and small cities to Auburn, just south of Seattle.

Overnight Stay: Travelodge, Auburn, WA

Dinner: The Mexican

Odometer: 55,675

Time: 07:00

We are starting off on HWY 84 towards North Powder. There we take Scenic Byway 73 to Elkhorn Summit, a ski- and winter vacation resort up on over 7,000 feet. It is still cold (about 54 Fahrenheit) and the lakes still have a thin layer of ice in shady corners. We see some deer, very few though, a fox and lots of squirrels. Scenic Byway 52 gets us down through the forest to a very small village called Ukiah. We wonder how people make a living here and how they can live in such a remote place. Scenic Byways 53 and 74 get us to the Columbia River after about 200 miles.

We are surprised how dry the area is. Since we came down from the mountains the landscape became more and more dry and even here at the river the grass is yellow and there are hardly any trees.

At Biggs we take the bridge over to the Washington side of the river. This road is not a HWY and allows us to stop where we feel like, so we don’t have to rely on the given rest areas. We are passing at least 3 dams and a whole bunch of wind mills. The closer we get to Portland the greener it gets the more trees there are. The whole drive along the Columbia River is about 170 miles - a beautiful and very scenic route!

Overnight Stay: Travelodge, Troutdale, OR

Dinner: Eatery, next door to the motel

Odometer: 55,350

Time: 09:00

As yesterday we did not get to the Birds of Prey Park, we head there first thing in the morning. At the Visitor Center they have some cages where they have “birds in need of help”. One is a falcon that they had to raise by hand as it fell out of the nest several times and the second one we see is a Bald Eagle that had a collision with a trailer and can only fly about 50 feet at the time. The guy there hands us a map and directions to the Snake River where the actual bird of prey preserve is. Once there, we hear the birds and see some flying from far but are not lucky enough to see them or their nests in the cliffs.

We drive back and take HWY 84 north towards Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. The first part of the road leads again through Idaho farming land.  On the way we see dozens of swallowtails, they are everywhere - amazing, we have never seen so many. Then we get to the Snake River, we pass two dams and drive along the river back into Hells Canyon until the road ends after about 25 miles. From there only boats get further into the canyon. The mountains to the left and right are quite green (compared to what we are used to from the canyons in Utah and Arizona), the temperature is very nice and the sun is shining - a beautiful experience and a magnificent view! Back at Homestead, where the actual canyon starts, we turn right and take the road to Baker City. It’s an about 70 mile drive through Oregon country side: a curvy road through green hills and meadows, the sunroof open and some great tunes from Billy Ocean, Beatles, Elvis, Michael Jackson (whom we specifically honor after his death yesterday) and many more - wonderful!

In Baker City we quickly find a functional room and then walk a couple blocks to the historic old town. Baker City, known as the “Queen City of the Mines”, is a community steeped with tradition and history. Granted its city charter in 1870, Baker City was once considered to be the premier social center along the Oregon Trail and once boasted the largest population of any city in the state of Oregon. During an era when gold mining was the norm, Baker City was born as a support center for the surrounding gold mining towns. Baker City soon became the focal point of activity. These days, Baker City has quieted down a bit. Gone are the bawdy houses and dancing girls, the wild saloons and even wilder people. One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the community’s commitment to its past and future. Today, Baker City is rich with the flavor of the 1890s with its nationally recognized historic shopping district, museums and attractions.

One of the the historical buildings is the Geiser Grand Hotel. It was built in 1889 during the gold mining boom. It enjoyed the reputation of being the finest hotel between Salt Lake City and Seattle. Those who visited and settled in Baker City enjoyed the finer things in life. Timber and cattle barons, politicians and dreamers mingled here. Fresh Maine Lobster and Green Turtle Soup were among the delicacies served by white gloved waiters. The Geiser boasted the third elevator west of the Mississippi. The first was the Hotel Jerome in Aspen, the second the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. The Geiser was one of the first hotels in Oregon to offer electricity, a marvel in its time. When the “good times” were over the hotel closed down in 1968 and was almost demolished to become a parking lot. From 1993 to 1998 the building was restored. The restoration was privately funded and cost about 7 million dollar.

Believe it or not: we have dinner at this very nice and nobel place. We sit there in shorts and tennis shoes and enjoy the early bird special for $7.99 each (a regular entree costs at least twice as much). It is delicious and very stylish - another highlight of the day!

Overnight Stay: Budget Inn, Baker City, OR

Dinner: Geiser Grand Hotel