June – July 2023 Crater Lake We visited Crater Lake on June 20th, one day before the offical start of summer. Surprise! We arrived to find a fresh dusting of snow and frosty temperatures to match. A clear, bright blue sky made the water look dark navy blue. Crater is the deepest and purest lake in the U.S. This mountaintop lake was once a volcano. An eruption 7,700 years ago created the crater and set the stage for this 2,000…
Mid-May to Mid-June 2022 We crossed into Oregon, and found ourselves in familiar territory, both weather and location-wise. We stayed at several parks that we enjoyed last year. The chilly rains travelled with us. Locals are so used to being damp, that they don’t notice a drizzle – or even acknowledge that it’s raining. They just call it heavy mist or fog and go on about their day. Our first stop was Humbug Mountain State Park, where we had stayed…
Early to Mid-July 2021 North to Bellevue, Bothell, and Beyond We made a stop in Bellevue to pick up some items that we’d ordered. We were contemplating heading east from there, but hadn’t made any reservations. We spent a couple of nights at Lake Pleasant RV Park near Bothell. This is where we met Carrie and Rob, two enthusiastic campers, who are also living in a van full-time. They, along with other friends, said that we shouldn’t leave Washington without…
Mid-June to Early-July 2021 Astoria, Oregon sits on the Columbia River at the northwest tip of Oregon. We crossed into Washington state via the Astoria Bridge, and then turned west toward the Pacific for the short trip to our first stop, Cape Disappointment State Park. We loved this park. Too bad that Captain John Meares gave it such an unfortunate name; for us, it was not disappointing at all. This is where the mighty Columbia River finally meets the Pacific…