Colin and Cecile Travels

Not much to post the past few days and could not post anyway. No connectivity.  Pacific City is a cute community on the Oregon Coast.  We spent a few days relaxing and just seeing the area.  Cecile's cousin Janice  came back over to spend some time with us again.  While we were here we went a short distance up the coast to Tillamook for some Cheese, Ice Cream and Wine tasting, at at a great local restaurant and strolled on the beach next to the campground. Blue Heron French Cheese Company and Wine Tasting Wine Tasting Tillamook Cheese Company, Line for Ice Cream Headed South to Lincoln City Janice joined us for the Visit to Lincoln City Viewpoint Kyllo's on the Beach in Lincoln City We took a nice (but strenuous) hike down to the beach across from the RV Park Crater Lake & the Rogue River

Nice drive today making the loop up through Mount Rainier National Park.  Like Mt. St. Helens, the wildflowers were in bloom everywhere. There was no shortage of visitors, despite the Covid restrictions.  Traffic Jam getting into the park and when we got to the summit Village (Paradise) the parking was overloaded.  There are many Waterfalls, some easily accessible others that require a long hike. Comet Falls Start of Narada Falls The main Narada Falls Tha Climb down to the falls Viewpoint was not too bad,  however the climb back up was Hell HIke to this set of falls was a couple of miles, so we skipped it. Reflection Lake Pacific City Oregon

It is hard to believe that over 40 years has passed since the eruption of Mount Saint Helens.  We visited a few years after the eruption and saw the devastation when the lahar  flowed through the valley.  The sign here said the lahar covered the valley for 14 miles at an average depth of 150 feet of volcanic ash and material.  Today, other than when you get close to the mountain, Mother Nature has made a miraculous return.  There was a lot of help from Weyerhauser, as they have reforested miles and miles of the forest that was knocked down by the explosion.   Panorama of Mt. St. Helens across the valley. Wild Flowers are obstructing the views of trees knocked down At the Forest Learning center is a statue as a tribute to the men that replanted The Valley Floor View from one of the Viewpoints on the road out. The Lava Dome (it is still active and you can see steam coming up near the top of the dome) Wild Flowers Everywhere

From Eastern Washington to the Cascade mountains offers a wide range of scenery.  The Eastern side of the state is a desert and once you hit the Cascade Mountains, you are in a forest.  Cecile was able to capture some shots with her phone as we moved across.  Now we are at the Thousand Trails Paradise Resort in Silver Creek, Washington.  There was a spectacular viewpoint along the way where we had a great view of Mount Rainier. Great View of Mount Rainier  Desert of Eastern Washington Crossing the Columbia River Desert to Mt. Rainier Moving into the Forest Tucked into our RV Site in Silver Creek, Washington Mount St. Helens

After a long day of driving, we got into Billings, Montana.  While talking to our neighbor at the RV park, they mentioned the Beartooth Highway and said it was pretty Spectacular.  I looked it up and found that it connected to the only stretch of highway through Yellowstone, we had never taken.  The Beartooth Highway is listed as one of the top ten Scenic Byways in America, so we decided that we would make the loop through the park and back to Billings.  We were definitely not disappointed.  Incredible scenery, Glacial ice, Alpine Lakes, waterfalls and wildlife. 352 mile round trip. Beartooth Rock Formation that gave the pass its name. Climb to the top at an elevation of 10,594 feet elevation As we passed through Yellowstone between Tower Junction and Gardiner, we ran into a "Buffalo Jam".  The Buffalo herd walks up onto the highway and won't move.  You don't want to scare then because a 2000 pound beast can r