September 20

This was one long day due to two factors; air travel delays yesterday and the NPS closing the access roads to Oregon Caves NMon and Devil’s Postpile NMon on weekdays. Monday morning was spent trying to reschedule the first half of this loop because of the two Monuments now only being open on the weekends. Then yesterday, two flights were delayed, I was rerouted through LAX, and planes were changed (and barely made my connection to a new flight at LAX because of the second delay in Charlotte), all adding up to arriving at my hotel at 11 PM instead of 1 PM. Therefore, Mt. Ranier NP and Olympic NP have been dropped from experiencing each for two days down to a few minutes each.

I am going to add to the Daily Trip Report and if I have time left over will finish the blog. If not, will do so tomorrow.

September was not as long a day, so now have time to add comments for the 20th.

Not much for me to say about Mt. Ranier NP. I drove to the Carbon River entrance at 5 AM. Rain had started. A few cars were in the parking lot at the trailhead. Five minutes later I was back in the car going west to Olympic NP. Olympic is having some problems. Hurricane Ridge road is closed due to fires. I thought I read the Hurricane Ridge VC burnt down. And the road into the Hoh Rain Forest area is a shambles. But due to my travel issues on the 19th I did not have to worry about those sections of the park. I was going to drive the loop road around Lake Quinault. The South Shore Road does not enter the park for 12 miles after leaving US 101, but I was too engrossed in the Quinault River and lake to care. I came to the park entrance sign, and sson after there was a bridge going across the river, to the North Shore Road. I was now in the Quinault Rain Forest. The volume of moss dripping from the large tree branches and on trunks is eerie, a perfect setting for a Hollywood horror movie. Two Roosevelt Elk met me on the north road. These guys are bigger than the elk back in the Rockies. Eventually you come to the Quinault Ranger Station. But the building is now only open five days a week. Want to guess if Wednesday is one of them? A couple were standing in the parking lot, and asked me if I knew where they could purchase the annual America the Beautiful pass. They had hoped to get one at the station. The park’s HQ is way up north by Port Angeles, which is too many hours away. Turns out they were headed next to Lewis and Clark NHP in Astoria, just like me. Not all of the 425 parks have this pass for sale. And not all VCs or Ranger Stations in any one park will have the pass. The cost is $80 for 12 months to enter any park that has an entrance fee. My last count was 108 parks with a fee, a total of $2228. If you are going to multiple “large” parks in a 12 month period, you might want to buy the pass ahead of time or when you arrive at that first park. Yosemite, Glacier, Yellowstone, and others are up to $35/vehicle. Just three parks and you have saved money.

I had never been to the Quinault section of Olympic and I am glad I was able to spend about an hour seeing the sights. The drive to Astoria was uneventful. US 101 gets you there. When Lewis and Clark arrived here, at the mouth of the Colombia River, in 1805, they took a left-turn into Youngs Bay (that is what we call it today) and went upstream on a small tributary. The canoe landing spot has been preserved in the park. Two hundred yards inland is where they built a log structure to sit out the winter. A replica fort sits a few feet from the original spot. Detailed descriptions of the fort and surroundings by the Corps of Discovery provided the information needed to recreate it. A school group was on a fieldtrip to the park, so I listened to the history information being given by a park intern. I hope the kids learned something today.

Almost forgot. The Corps did not get to go up the inlet right away. On the north shore of the Colombia River is a section of the park called “The Dismal Nitch”. On November 10, 1805, the group was headed to the ocean, but a fierce storm forced them to this small cove (with no flat land) on the north shore. The storm lasted six days. Finally, the weather relented, and they pushed around the last obstacle to the sea, hoping to meet up with the last trading for the season ship… though they missed that window. Captain Clark named the spot “that dismal little nitch”, and it still looks the part today.

US 30 down to Longview, WA, then onto I-5 South towards Portland will get you to Fort Vancouver NHS in a couple of hours. There are four units to this park, with three on the north banks of the Colombia River. The “old” fort has been reconstructed. This is where Hudson Bay Company began its work in the early 1800s. A larger modern military base is the second unit, with multiple barracks and an Officer’s Row. The third unit is the Pearson Air Museum. The McLoughlin House is the 4th unit, near Portland. Since I arrived just after 3 PM I had to choose between the old fort and the air museum… I chose the fort. A historic garden greets visitors. There were plenty of good-looking eats coming up out of the ground, as well as colorful flowers. The structures a visitor sees today are all replicas. The only original HBC item left above ground is the fort’s well. Matt had the furnace at the blacksmith’s shop going hot. He was demonstrating the science of iron. That had to be a rough trade.

The Chief’s house was resplendent with fancy furnishings and dinnerware. The men who held this position lived the high life. On the steps of the house I met a couple from London. The three of us agreed London is a great city. I hope to make it back there some day. As with the other Englanders I have met during my Quest, they say a visit to the Lake Country is a must. For sure that will be on my agenda. A local woman had brought her large dog into the fort for some walking exercise. His name was “Ranier”. We figured this might be a good-luck sign for my trip. The rangers who I had met when I entered the fort (yes, this is one of those fee-areas) arrived back in front of the house. The objective was to take a photo of me and my shirt. I turned around at one of the two cannons in front of the house and two rangers stood on each side of me. You can see the photo on the park’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/FortVancouver/).

I joked with the team that in 1995 my wife and I had stopped here on our honeymoon. A television crew for Channel 5 was interviewing visitors, asking them what they felt about the idea Congress was floating of deauthorizing certain parks. I was one of five people selected. Elizabeth and I anxiously waited in our hotel room for the 6 PM news that night to see who they would show. Well, it was not me. Two other people had their voices heard by the Portland community that night. And, whether right or wrong, Congress has not deauthorized any park since then, and I doubt they ever will… they will just keep adding.

Even though the air museum was now closed at 4 PM, one can drive around the larger complex of buildings. It is easy to see that officers had better lodging than enlisted men.

I wanted to make Albany, Oregon to see an old church friend (St. Stephens United Methodist… he attended Lake Braddock H/S as did Elizabeth, while I went to WT Woodson) and his wife. Robin and Nancy talked with me for nearly two hours. It is great to catch up with people from your past.