I see a blue, cloudless sky through the tree tops.
Hmm . . . This is a good day for Mt. Walker! The road up the mountain cuts off of Hwy 101 less than two miles from Falls View Campground. I’ve read that one can see across Puget Sound to Seattle and view Mt. Ranier from the look-out point. I’m not particularly fond of high places and look-outs, but this is so close. It’d be silly to pass it up.
The road is narrow, winding, and steep, of course.
Mt. Walker’s peak is only 2, 759 feet in elevation. It seems higher than that because one starts at such a low elevation next to Hood Canal (which is a glacial trough, not a canal). The road climbs aggressively with steep, sharp turns.
We park at the north view point.
I position the Perfect Tow Vehicle in the sunshine. My laptop is plugged into a dash inverter so it can be charged throughout the day.
Boy, it’s nice to see sun hitting the solar panel!
(And before anyone thinks otherwise, that front tire is not going flat. It looks like it in the photo because the wheel is turned and there’s a shadow.)
I open the side door for the crew and we head up to the view point.
After much excited prancing around, Bridget stops and makes poopies in the path. Groan. We go back to the PTV so I can get a dog-poop bag. We return to the scene, I clean it up, and we go back to the PTV again so I can put the poop bag in our on-board trash bin (no receptacles on the mountain.) Well, we’re off to a great start!
That must be Quilcene Valley in the photo below.
Instead of driving to the south look-out, the crew and I hike it.
It must be beautiful up here in the spring when the rhododendrons are blooming.
Spike and Bridget love these little adventures!
I’m concerned that the walk may be too long for Spike. He’s really into it though, trotting along, alert and peppy.
Okay, dear reader . . . I want you to look very closely at the next photo. I’ve darkened the photo to help you. Squint your eyes and look through the thick haze. At the top of the photo, exactly in the middle is Mt. Ranier! Do you see it? Do you? That’s great if you do, because I don’t and I didn’t when I was there.
I’m plagued by fog and haze.
My first view of the Pacific was like looking at a white sheet. My first view of Mt. Ranier was a bunch of white clouds. My second view of Mt. Ranier is . . . well . . . you see how it is. No Seattle skyline either.
It doesn’t matter.
The crew and I are healthy, happy, and breathing fresh, mountain air. How great is that? I get as much enjoyment, if not more, from common sights like the one below.
The walk back to the PTV is mostly uphill. I keep a close watch on Spike. He’s walking a bit more slowly, but still plugging along, enjoying himself, doing his favorite thing (peeing on bushes). I stop and sit on a rock to give him a rest. He doesn’t want to stop, so we keep going.
Down the mountain, I take Highway 101 north.
I’m not sure where we’re going. We go through Quilcene and go past forest, homes, and a few farms of vegetables or cows. At Route 104 I turn east. This is the way to the floating bridge going over to Port Gamble. After about a mile I realize I’m pushing myself. I turn around because I’m not in the mood to drive a superhighway. I guess the drive up and down the mountain was enough for this day.
Instead we go to Lake Leland.
It’s off 101 a few miles north of Quilcene.
The crew wakes up from their brief nap. “C’mon, guys! Let’s go for another walk.”
A man fishes from the pier. It looks like his two sons and daughter are with him.
We pass by folks fishing from the bank on our way to walk the trail by the lake.
Spike finds an opportunity and goes for it! Bridget wades for a few moments.
Spike’s like a young pup today! Go, go, go!
We come upon a picnic table. “This is a good place to stop.”
My Sevylor, two-person, inflatable canoe could go on this lake.
I’ve taken it out twice in the two-plus years we’ve been full-time vagabonds. I thought I’d use it a lot more than that. What is holding me back?
I don’t like the job of inflating it, for one thing. It’s noisy. The last thing I want to do in a beautiful, natural setting is make noise! I should get rid of it.
I’d rather have a hard-sided kayak. Pull it off the roof and set it in the water. I don’t think one would fit on top of the PTV next to the panel. I’d have to get one big (wide?) enough for all three of us. Have to look into that.
I’m just mulling things over . . . Sitting by a lake tends to make one do that.
“Well, pookies. Have you had enough for one day?”
We go back to camp and find the campground almost empty. It being Sunday the weekenders have left. I heat up a bowl of soup for a late lunch and pour out some kibble for the crew’s early supper. Bridget and Spike snooze on the blue rug in our outdoor room while I sit in the camp chair and finish my book.
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