August 16 - 24, 2002

Friday, August 16, 2002                                                                Anacortes, WA

We decided to take the drive up to Mt. Baker this morning.  It was another perfectly clear day and the vistas were incredible.  Mt. Baker (10,781’) was covered in snow.  We also got some great views of Mt. Shuksan (9,131’) reflecting across Picture Lake.  We have been so blessed this week with perfect weather for exploring the Cascade Mountains of Washington.

We returned to Anacortes and picked up dinner at the annual Eagles Barbeque.  We shared a couple orders of barbeque salmon and ribs.  It was an easy and tasty dinner.  We spent our last evening together playing a far more even round of Sheepshead.  It had been a good eight days together.

1) Mount Shuksan is said to be one of the most picturesque spots in the country.  Well, we couldn't pass that up!  Joe got a wonderful view here with the reflection in Picture lake.  2) Christine, Joe, Dad, and Mom in front of Mount Shuksan.  3) Nooksack falls was one of our stops on the way up to Mount Baker.  It was a beautiful spot.  4) At the top of the road with views of Mount Baker there are many paved walking paths, but this year in mid-August they were still mostly covered in a fair amount of snow.  5) Mount Baker.

Saturday, August 17, 2002                                                                Woodland, WA

We shared one last breakfast together and then parted ways.  John & Carol had a long trip home, and Christine and I were back on our own.  We stopped in Tacoma for some shopping and then went to visit the State Capitol Building in Olympia.  The entire building was closed for a 3-year complete renovation.  We took a short walk around before driving south toward Portland.

By Christine: It has been a wonderful week spent with my parents.  This trip was given to them by Craig and myself to celebrate their 35th Anniversary.  Joe and I are so lucky to have good role models in marriage, in both our parents.

This is a picture of the North Cascade mountain range.  I just love always being within view of mountains!  2) The Washington State Capital under construction.

Sunday, August 18, 2002                                                                Tualatin, OR

We took advantage of the good weather this morning and drove up along the Columbia River.  We passed the Cascade Dam on the Washington side of the river before crossing over at Hood River into Oregon.  We circled Mt. Hood (11,239’) before heading back to Portland for some shopping.  We spent the rest of the afternoon at a mall.

1) Cascade Dam, on the Columbia River; 2) Mount Hood.

Monday, August 19, 2002                                                                Odell Lake, OR

Christine and I killed the morning running around doing errands before we drove down to Salem to visit Oregon’s State Capitol Building.  After fires destroyed Oregon’s first two capitol buildings in 1855 and 1935, a new capitol building in the Modern Greek architectural style was completed in 1938 making it the fourth newest Capitol in the U.S.  It is a bright white building faced with Vermont marble, and the rotunda rises above the building in a large cylinder—no dome.  The interior comes off with some minimalism.  We were both impressed with the many murals.

We continued south through Eugene and hooked up with Capetown Jenny at Odell Lake near Willamette Pass.  Her husband, Brooster, had flown out from Georgia and met her in Ashland, OR.  He’s hiked with her a couple days and spent the rest of his time doing trail magic and giving rides to PCT hikers.  He’s spending nearly three weeks here to share in her experience.

We grilled a big chunk of salmon for Jenny, and Christine baked a pecan-lemon bread for dessert.  We really enjoyed spending the evening in relaxing conversation with the two of them.

Two different views of the Oregon State Capital.

Tuesday, August 20, 2002                                                                Lakeview, OR

We said goodbye to Jenny and Brooster in the morning and then drove up to the PCT trailhead for a morning hike.  We didn’t get very far before a morning mist turned into a steady rain.  We returned to the RV to dry out and then drove on southeast to a pretty campsite near Lakeview.  We went for a 3-mile hike and spent the evening working on projects.

Wednesday, August 21, 2002                                                    Standish, CA

We took advantage of the pleasant area surrounding our campground and went for another 3-mile hike this morning before cruising south into California on our way to Reno.  We leave for the Burning Man Festival Sunday, so our minds are filled with necessary preparations.  We’ll be in Reno tomorrow to get it all together.

Thursday, August 22, 2002                                                                Sparks, NV

We drove into the Reno area and began our final preparations for Burning Man.  These preparations included, putting our motorcycles and other unneeded stuff in a storage unit for the next week to make room and to keep them free of the thick playa dust; picking up the two beater bikes that we had on hold for our playa experience, and beginning the shopping.  We will have to go into the desert with everything needed to survive for eight days in the desert, including enough water for drinking, bathing, etc.

Friday, August 23, 2002                                                                Sparks, NV

We took in a 4-mile walk this morning along the city bike path, which follows the Truckee River.  It happens to run right next to our campground.  We spent most of the afternoon making preparations at the campground.  Christine took on a marathon session at the sewing machine to create the dress for our RV.  It’s a multicolored drape of eight vertical panels that will completely cover the passenger side of the RV and wrap around the front.  It really looks good just spread across the ground at the campground.  Getting it secured to the RV will be a matter that will have to wait until we get to the playa.  We filled the rest of the day with accumulating more provisions for the festival.

Saturday, August 24, 2002                                                                Sparks, NV

We repeated our walk from yesterday morning before setting out for our last day of shopping.  Christine tackled the groceries and liquor today.  We wrapped up our preparations early enough that we went to the nearby casino for a buffet dinner.  We were given 2-for-1 coupons when we checked into the campground, so our dinners ended up costing $3.75 each.  The buffet was enormous, and the food was pretty good.  We ate much more than we usually do, but we won’t get a chance to eat like that again for a while.