Digital Nomad Summer - Part 9

Need to catch up on Part 8?

In the last blog, we finished our working week at William Tugman State Park in Lakeside, Oregon and said adieu to Mom as she started winging her way back to Florida.

It's time to get cheesy!

Saturday morning started early for us - 5am - as we wanted to be on the road by 7 (even on travel days, we still have coffee/tea/breakfast and watch as much of the Tour as possible, hence the long lead time).  We'd be covering another 500+ miles on our way to our next destination, Salt Creek Recreation Area in Port Angeles, WA, and part of it would be on twisty, turny mountain and coastal roads, which always takes awhile (and lots of concentration).  Plus, as you can see in the photo above, we had an important stop to make!

We made our first stop about an hour north of Lakeside, in Waldport, OR at the Beachside Buzz, an adorable roadside coffee/snack kiosk.  While the coffee and chai were just fine, the baked goods we enjoyed were incredible - Chris picked a chocolate chip cookie, and I went with an Asiago cheese bagel filled with "creamy artichoke topping" - aka warm spinach artichoke dip.  It was a bit odd for 8am, but it was so good, I didn't care one bit (it was so worth every single calorie).  Weeks later, and I am still thinking about that bagel, to be completely honest.

Chris outside of the little stand

As we drove north along the 101, we covered much of the same ground Mom and I had just a few days prior, including white knuckling it through the tunnel near the Heceta Head Lighthouse (we were fine, but we were glad we weren't too much taller) and crossing the Yaquina Bay Bridge, waving hello to Rogue Brewing as we did.

Good morning, Rogue Nation!

On our way to our lunch destination (bet you can't guess where that might be...) we passed through several smaller coastal towns, each cuter than the last.

Dancing oysters on the side of a seafood shack

We flew by the actual sign for the 45th parallel, so I sourced this picture from the Googles.

Pretty fun, right?

Around 11am, we arrived in the town of Tillamook (surrounded by acres of dairy farms, which is probably not surprising); we filled up on gas and then made our way to the landmark location in town, the Tillamook Creamery and Visitor Center!  While the doggos couldn't go inside the building (so, no tour for us - maybe next time!), they were more than welcome on the huge outdoor patio and lovely grass area.  Chris waited with them while I grabbed some food (we split a delicious grilled cheese sandwich and cup of tomato soup - a lighter lunch, since I was still pretty full from that bagel...) and browsed the gift shop.  When we finished eating, I took over dog duty, and he went inside to make our souvenir purchases, including t-shirts, a sticker, and a block of one of their aged cheddars (which came complete with tasting notes).

 

Chilling with my girls in the grass

Keeping an eye out for Dad

They really have a lovely facility - highly recommend a visit, even if it's just to eat and buy cheese

Since Tillamook is right on the 101, we'd been traveling the Oregon Coast Highway since we left Lakeside, but it was now time for us to turn inland and head toward the central part of the state, including skirting around Portland.  While we could have continued to take the 101 all the way up into the Olympic Peninsula, Chris was ready to get off the smaller roads and hit the larger 5 freeway for a bit, and I certainly didn't blame him.  Past Portland, we crossed yet another bridge, the aptly named Oregon-Washington bridge, which took us out of the Beaver State and into yet another new territory on this voyage, the Evergreen State.

Hello, Portland!  Goodbye, Portland!

Mount St Helens looks on while boats sail on the Columbia River

We stopped at another rest area for a short break before the 5 merged back into the 101 and we headed up the eastern side of the Olympic Peninsula; our last quick stop for the day was in the parking lot of the Hood Canal Ranger Station in Quilcene to walk the kiddos and eat dinner.  Finally, it was time for our last push into our spot for the next week, Salt Creek Recreation Area, just northwest of the city of Port Angeles.

The views along the Peninsula are truly spectacular (this is the Hood Canal).

Right as we got on this road, I saw a bald eagle drop down into the water

and fly away with a fish.  I was not quick enough to capture that in a picture, though.

All settled in and watching tv before bed

As has become our norm on Sundays, we spent the day wandering around our new campground, exercising the dogs after the long drive the day before, and learning the area.  Salt Creek actually has a huge World War II-era bunker on site, which was just a short stroll from our campsite:

Bea: "Zoe, are we on Endor?  I wanna eat an Ewok!"

Zoe: (sighs)

The bunker had two massive entrances, so big cars could drive through them

The native flora obviously had no issue adjusting here

Salt Creek Rec Area is right on the Strait of Juan de Fuca,

so the views are absolutely incredible

The bunker trail led to another pathway along the bluffs, looking down at the beaches and rocks below:

Look at the crazy face on that terrier/malinois mix.  The child wants to go swimming SO BAD.

After our wander, Chris ran into Port Angeles proper (about 15 minutes to the east) to do laundry, gas up the truck, and shop for groceries at Safeway.  While he was gone, the girls and I soaked up the sunshine and the incredible views:

The campground has three main sections of camper spots,

all terraced on a big hill.  We were in the top line of spots,

so we looked down on another set of campers before the trees and water.

Overall, the weather was great - alternating sun and fog each day,

with only one rainy morning and highs in the mid-60s.

We're so far north, we could actually see Canada from our campsite!

That's it over there.

As you can see, there's not a lot of privacy between sites,

but the views more than make up for it.

Monday, our first work day from Salt Creek, rolled around, and we were happy to find that the Starlink internet connection was working way better than in Oregon (far fewer trees immediately around the campsite, which is a good thing for its reception).  Per our normal, we strolled the girls to the bunker in the morning, where Bea discovered she really loves collecting sticks while out on walks:

Very excited about her new found hobby

"Okay guys, time to take my stick home!"

The campground has TONS of visiting deer, and they're not overly concerned with people or dogs.

Our kiddos had mostly been ignoring them, but they did take a good gander at this one.

Family selfie!

Bob is still doing well!

Just a few shots from a normal work day in camp:

I can only wish to have ab muscles that look this good

Sacked out in a sunbeam

It's time for a performance evaluation...

The Port Angeles area, including our campground, is surrounded by Olympic National Park.  Olympic NP is a cool place; it's massive (literally, almost one million acres) and encompasses a wide range of elevations and climate zones, so its offerings vary from temperate rainforest to 5000 foot high mountain passes to jagged coastlines.  On many days after work, we headed into a different part of the park to see what there was to see and get some exercise.  For Monday's adventure, we kept it close; Lake Crescent, a glacier-carved lake, was just about 20 minutes away from us, and we could take the dogs on the paved Spruce Railroad Trail.

As you might imagine from the name, the Spruce Railroad Trail is a paved

version of what used to be an old railroad line.

There are still two original tunnels you can walk through on the path.

Lake Crescent is around 600-700 feet deep in certain spots

Since the lake is so cold, normal algae strands don't bloom in it, keeping the water crystal clear.

You can see the continuation of the downed tree under the water, in the left of the shot.

When we got back to Salt Creek, the deer were out in force, including several fawns.

By the way, this is about 6pm.  We were so far north by this point

that the sun didn't even set until 10pm, and actual darkness occurred much later.

On the next blog, more adventures from the Olympic Peninsula, including trips to the aforementioned rainforest and mountain pass!

Later!

Amy