~Wednesday, October 5, 2022~
Day 843 (Travel Day)
The smoke isn’t quite as bad, but it’s still horrible enough to make our exit. We’re so disappointed but in the grand scheme of things, in the last few years, we’ve been able to execute 95% of what we’ve planned.
So we really can’t complain. Unsure if we’ll be able to follow through with our planned stops at Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier, we at least look forward to our stay in Olympic National Park where the air quality is stellar. Plus, it will be so nice being back at the ocean.
While backing up the trailer this morning to hitch up, I heard a buzzing sound coming from the dashboard area, not under the hood. Are you kidding me? It seemed to only buzz when you put the truck into gear, not immediately when the truck was turned on. We’re about to hit our 75,000 mile mark when our extended warranty runs out, so if something’s going to go wrong, it better be now. Well, leave it to me to make a bigger deal out of nothing. When Jeff was inspecting things for himself, he asked me, “Is this the sound you were hearing?” I reluctantly said, “Yes…..what is that?” “It’s the static of the radio my dear”, he lovingly said. I hate to admit it, but I’ve also done the same thing in the trailer before when we’ve arrived at new places where the radio is not quite in tune, seemingly sounding like a leaky pipe or something of that nature. Thank goodness we didn’t have a real problem, other than Jeff’s dimwit wife making mountains out of mole hills.🤪
Having a very long day of driving ahead of us (about 400 miles), we didn’t want any unnecessary weight, so returned to the dump station we were at yesterday, having had to pass through the town of Sedro-Woolley anyway. And it was the perfect town to grab a few sandwiches for the long 7-hour drive ahead. We’d fill up the rig with water once we got closer to Olympic N.P.
Being back on a major interstate is quite jolting, especially when having to drive through major cities like Seattle. Thank goodness we passed through early enough to avoid commute hour. I now find myself writing about crazies stopping all 4 lanes of traffic to either ask for a handout or pick up a fallen object from their vehicle rather than buffalo cautiously crossing the remote roads of Alaska. We prefer the latter.
Gradually, we saw the skies clearing up, a welcome change from yesterday. Referred to as the “Gateway to the Olympic Peninsula”, we came to the town of Aberdeen. This historic community is rich in fish, wildlife and timber. Tourism now plays a huge role in their economy. It was nice knowing our drive was soon coming to an end.
There are a number of campgrounds to choose from on the Olympic Peninsula, but we chose to boondock on the Hoh River at a place called Allens Bar which is right off of Hwy. 101. At the entrance, there was a welcoming open gate, with a fee box on an honor system. To access the dispersed camping area, you have to use their private property road to get to it, thus the $5/day use fee. Wow, what a deal to have such a killer spot. Having done our research, we thought there’d be a much bigger area, but it appeared to have only 2 remaining spaces left, large enough for our size rig. Three other rigs had already claimed their spot close to the river with a number of campfire rings dotting the beach, left by previous campers. We found our spot which posed a bit of a problem at first, in trying to get in it…..deep sand and gravel, but nothing that 4WD couldn’t handle. Wow, what a spot, and what amazing weather….low 70’s, something we missed all summer.
Within minutes, we met one of our new neighbors, Oksana, who, with her father-in-law and husband, have been here for 2 months, set to leave near the end of October. I guess you could call them the mayors of Allens Bar. Another couple was from Florida who had been here about a month, and another couple about a week, who preferred keeping to themselves. Eager to meet Sadie, Oksana’s husky mix is all puppy, and couldn’t wait to frolic with our girl on the beach. Sadie was just loving it, though a little too eager in finding foreign objects near the water. Not again. In fact, she brought to us a very strange looking coagulated chunk of white stuff. I skewered it with a stick, appearing to be a big chunk of white glue, the size of a wine bottle. So in the trash it went. Other than that, the beach was pristine. The water, a beautiful slate blue.
We learned from Oksana that there were additional camp spots at Allen’s Bar, around the corner from where they were parked, but not easily accessible for larger rigs. Vans, Class C’s would be more suitable. No matter, we’re in the perfect spot we’ll call home for the next 5 days!