Washington - In One Fell Swoop

Oh my gosh we made it to the Pacific Northwest. We had our doubters (you know who you are) who didn’t think we would make it this long. Well, ha! We made it to mid-August relatively unscathed.

Our first stop in Washington was Soap Lake, a small town in northeastern Washington (strategically 3 ½ hours from our last destination). I had read that the lake has one of the highest mineral contents in the world and has long been touted as having healing powers through its sulfuric mud baths and soaks – sounds ideal. Well, as we left the dense green forest of Northern Idaho what we found in eastern Washington was not ideal.

As we approached Soap Lake the terrain flattened out and turned arid and stark once again, much like most of Wyoming. Immediately surrounding Soap Lake was post-apocalyptic scenery: rigid, sharp rock cliffs hugged the roadside and the lake itself sat eerily still without boats or ripples of any kind. Perhaps most strange coming from Minnesota was that the lakeshore was entirely devoid of development. It didn’t help that the wildfire smoke was terrible. It literally and figuratively clouded our perception of the area.

The campground was fine – in fact, it had a pool, so it was more than fine. But the smoke measured in the unhealthy zone, so after a quick dip in the pool we elected to hunker down in the camper for movie night. The space starts to feel awfully small when we are all stuck inside the entire afternoon and evening. So small, in fact, that we scrambled to find a place to stay the following night that was closer to our next destination and away from the worst of the smoke.

But we didn’t leave before a mud bath. Soap Lake’s ph level is so high that no fish can survive. This also turns the mud into a soft, sulfur-smelling basin. In Audrey’s words: “yuck.” Alex, Elsie and I covered ourselves from head to toe while Willa and Audrey played at the park nearby and pretended like they were not part of our family. The first of many times I assume they will make this claim. The mud bath was… okay. We weren’t sick so the healing powers weren’t truly tested. Next time, I guess.

After the morning mud bath we took off again in search of a true Pacific Northwest experience. The trees, hills, and valleys we had eagerly anticipated quickly appeared as we traveled West. We drove to a little campground on Lake Sawyer just outside of Maple Valley, Washington for our one-night detour. Lake Sawyer touts itself as the largest lake nearest to Seattle, but to us Minnesotans it was tiny! We (somehow) managed for one night, found some pizza and a park, and left early the next morning to Kanaskat-Palmer State Park for a week(ish) of exploring.

Kanaskat-Palmer turned out to be a beautiful state park on a rushing river and tucked into an old growth forest. We had a prime pull-through site with woods on one side. Plenty of stumps, rocks, felled trees, and deer paths entertained the girls right outside our door.

Alex had planned on taking this week off so we could explore the Mount Rainier area together. It was fortuitous timing since the campsite had no service and working from there would have been difficult if not impossible.

Before his time off, however, he had to get in a few hours on Monday morning. So the crew and I drove him to a nondescript office building in downtown Bellevue, Washington (about 45 minutes). From there, while Alex worked, the girls and I ran some errands before finding an adorable and extensive park and playground in the middle of the city.

Alex and I quickly noticed that Bellevue is incredibly well-designed. Everything from its plethora of city parks and well thought out grocery store parking garages, to its seamless freeway access, which expertly contrasts with the hidden, complicated avenues that lead to lakeshore mansions. Clearly a lot of thought and maybe more than a few motivated and well-funded benefactors went into its development. After the park we found the cutest little hidden beach, tucked within a lush and private neighborhood, to enjoy Lake Washington and catch a glimpse of Seattle in the distance.

It was quite the contrast to drive out of Bellevue, leave the high rises behind, and venture back into the woods of the state park and our campsite. But we had a big day ahead of us. On Tuesday we woke up early (ok, leaving around 8am is our new early) and drove to Mount Rainier National Park. It was a drive, let me tell you. And, thanks to another ridiculous truck mishap, we made the drive even longer.

We were super excited to see Mt. Rainier up close and decided to see it from the highest access point possible. Coming in at 6,400 feet, Sunrise is about 30 minutes from the park’s border to the official entrance and another 15 minutes up switchbacks with steep drop-offs- not for the faint of heart!

Even though we pulled into the Sunrise entrance, drove through like a breeze with our handy national parks pass, we didn’t summit Sunrise until much later. We had another “uh oh” moment with the truck fuel. I was actually driving this time (rare occurrence) and paused just inside the park entrance to look at the fuel gauge which turned out to be hovering around a quarter of a tank. Knowing the drive up to 6,400 from about 3,000 would require more serious fuel usage, we did some rough math and we just weren’t comfortable risking it, knowing we had about a 45-minute drive back into anything resembling a town and thus, fuel.

Well, crap. The ranger at the entrance said the nearest fuel was probably just outside the south entrance to the park (opposite the way we entered), but we felt we had no choice but to leave, refuel, and come back. I can only imagine what the park ranger was thinking as we did a u-turn, left the park and turned the opposite direction toward fuel. A full 45-mintues later (!) we found fuel and a snack and turned back around to head toward our destination.

I’m pretty sure the weather was better in the morning when we first tried to get to Sunrise, but by now, the fog had settled in over the meadows and it was a brisk 46 degrees when we parked. Yikes! We hadn’t hiked in anything but hot temperatures. Luckily, we were ready with our warmest jackets, hats, and mittens, and boy, did we need them! The damp cold felt extra chilly on our unaccustomed noses, but the girls (somewhat forcibly) persevered. We managed to hike despite the mist and were able to catch the great mountain off in the distance through breaks in the clouds. It was a spectacular sight. We could only imagine the extent of her stunning beauty, so close and exposed, if the fog had lifted. We immediately started to plan another day on the mountain.

The next day we asked the girls what they wanted to do – bike, play soccer, and play at a park was the age-ordered response. So first we biked along the Cedar River trail and found ourselves at the cutest little lunch spot beside the river. It was Willa’s first real family bike ride, and she did so great biking on her own! We dropped her bike about a mile into the trip so she could keep Audrey company in the Burley. She expertly biked back to the truck after lunch with energy to spare. Then we played soccer on a brand-new turf field in Maple Valley, Elsie’s pick, and transitioned to the nearby playground to satisfy Audrey’s wishes as well.

We had a full day doing what the kids wanted to do in part because we knew we would drag them back to Rainier the next day, whether they wanted to go or not. It was a gorgeous and mostly clear day and we decided to hike somewhere new rather than go back to Sunrise. The hike we decided on was labeled “moderate” which we thought totally doable, especially since it was under 3 miles.

It was a relatively easy start with a wide, well-groomed trail and small increases in elevation. Yet less than a mile into the hike we began to climb at a faster pace. Audrey was already in the ergo carrier at this point, which had Alex huffing up the mountain in full work-out mode. As the trees thinned out it was truly a gorgeous sight; somewhat scary too. I had to remind the girls to stay toward the inside of the rocky trail and remind myself not to look down. Elsie and Willa did great and with just a few stops on our way up, we made it to the peak. We could see Rainier on one side and Mount Hood (or maybe it was Mount Adams?) on the other side. It was clear enough to know Rainier was RIGHT THERE, but not clear enough to see the entire majestic mountain as we had hoped. Regardless, it was a rewarding hike, climaxing with breathtaking vistas and, as always, snacks at the top.

We ran-walked down the mountain (always faster on the way back!) and found our way to the nearest visitor’s center. Elsie and Willa had been working hard on their junior ranger booklets over the last two days, so we found a park ranger to fulfill the badge requirements. This particular ranger was nothing if not thorough. She straight up quizzed the girls like she was their teacher, questioning them as if were caught in a lie. She asked questions about the activities they performed and what, exactly, they found most interesting. The girls held their own and adequately answered the questions.

We also learned that the little animal with huge ears that we had seen on the trail was a pika – a rarely seen rabbit-like rodent native to the area. In the end, they said their oath to protect the natural parks and share them with family and friends, and earned their badges. Due to the busy summer, the park was out of actual badges, so mom and dad – keep an eye out for a very important package from Mount Rainier National Park.

Leaving Kanaskat-Palmer the next day, I had grand plans to get to our next campsite near Bainbridge Island in the early afternoon, take the ferry into Seattle, and enjoy the afternoon and evening exploring Seattle and all its touristy must-sees. Well, in keeping with our trend, it took us longer than we expected to get going and we didn’t get to the next campground until a bit later in the afternoon. We took the 4pm ferry to Seattle, hoping to check all the tourist boxes that evening so we could spend the next day exploring a different spot.

The ferry experience was great. Personally, I love being on the water and even though it was chilly, it was fun to experience the slow creep of the city getting closer through the girls’ eyes. But Seattle itself? Oh, man, it has seen better times. I’m telling myself that covid has been extra tough on the city and not that it’s just gone downhill.

Every other storefront we walked by was abandoned. The streets were trash-strewn and, tragically, exploding with homelessness. I had visions of us picking up a hodge-podge of goodies from Pikes Place Market for dinner, but when we got there at 5pm it was nearly all closed up. Or had it never opened in the first place? We walked through downtown toward the Space Needle, fed our hangry selves on the overly priced health food that was offered at the top, and then opted for an Uber back to the ferry. There was no way I was going to have us all walk the same rough route back to the ferry. We made it just in time for a twilight cruise home.

The next day we again had high hopes, this time to do a whale watching cruise near the San Juan Islands. What was I thinking?! Those types of things require advance registration! Apart from reserving campsites, we don’t do anything in advance! So, of course I hadn’t thought to call and book something ahead of time. By the time I looked into it everything was booked. Instead, we drove up to Port Townsend for the day and slowly meandered around. We spent time at the playground without a set agenda or time limit, and we watched the ferries and sailboats coast along the shore. It ended up being just the change of pace that we needed. The girls may not have lasted on a 3-hour boat cruise anyway.