Headed to PNW

T

terry alexander

New member
Hello to all, I'm sorta new here having posted once some time back. Anyway, Helen and I live in Salida, Co. and are headed to the PNW sometime mid-May. We are traveling in our truck and camper going straight to Anacortes, hopping the ferry to Orcas then to Friday Harbor for the ferry to Sidney, then to Port Angeles and sadly head home. Whew, we had hoped to be cruising around on a C-Dory by now but thanks to the economy and other factors, my retirement has been pushed back. I am hoping to see a c-dory or two along the way. I noticed there is a gathering at Friday Harbor. I hope to swing by. I did have the opportunity to meet Dixie and Brent in Rockport this past winter. Tried to get back there again Brent but work got in the way. I also heard from Barry of c-cakes. We exchanged a coupla posts regarding his living in Co. Okay, I guess I'm rambling, so I'll wrap it up. You are all gonna laugh but we are so looking forward to some rainy weather. I don't think I have ever seen it as dry as it is here. Mountains have record snowfalls, yet the valleys have seen little moisture. I welcome any info on the San Juans. Helen and I :D spent our 1st wedding anniv. on Orcas two years ago and can't wait to return. Suggestion on RV parks on Vancouver Island and the Olympic Pen. would be appreciated. I hope to have a c-dory within another year. Hoping and a wishing anyway. Thanks to all, Terry
 
I don’t know if I can help with your trip to the PNW unless you are coming thru Bozeman Montana. I do know I can help with the rain/snow issue in Salida. Have the right people contact me about relocating the wife and I down to Salida for a while (it may only take 6 months over next winter) and I will guarantee you rain and snow beyond your wildest dreams. I can document that where ever we move to the rain and snow will come. It’s been snowing here in the valley all day. Looks just like it did in March, February and January. We are at 120% of snowpack. Bozeman was deep in drought when we moved here. We have lived in 3 states in the last 27 years and each area I moved too went from drought to record moisture levels in a short time. There are some folks wanting me to relocate to Texas but I would consider Salida.

Have a great trip to the PNW.
Kevin
 
Morning to all, and thanks Kevin, rained here in Salida last night. 1st rain of the year. Maybe you guys could visit us for a couple of weeks. Ha! Anyway, I enjoyed looking at your photo albums. Either 2 or 3 summers ago we were going to come up and spend time on Flathead Lake, however, the temps there at the time were over 100 degrees. We stayed here instead and spent a week on Blue Mesa. Still gotta get up there. Happy Trails, Terry
 
Hi Terry,

We enjoyed talking with you this winter in Rockport. Thanks for the bait shrimp. I turned them into some nice Redfish and Sea Trout.

We have stayed at Gold Stream Provincial Park, near Victoria.
http://www.goldstreampark.com/

It's a nice place in the deep woods. Mostly just camping spots with central bathrooms and water and fire wood. Not too far to Downtown Victoria and all the attractions.

We will be in BC on the boat starting in early June until August.

Hope to see you in Texas next winter.

Brent and Dixie


PS some nice deals on used C-Dorys here.
 
Hello Brent, good to hear from you, and thanks for the info. You will see me in Rockport next winter. In the meantime, we continue to work a little, travel a little and remain hopeful for the future. Helen and I did another trip to Central America in March. We went to Nicaragua for 12 days, paddled four rivers and traveled down the Rio San Juan, Isla de Omotepe, then back into Costa Rica. Great trip. Hopefully, Valdez again in Aug. This working thing sure gets in the way of the good stuff. Adios and Hasta luego, Terry
 
Terry, I like the Parksville area on Vancouver Island. We stay at a nice campground in town there. I can't remember the name of it but it was on the NE side of the main street (Island Highway) just beyond the Surfside RV resort if you're traveling NW . There are several campgrounds along this stretch of road. There's a nice boardwalk and it was easy to bike around in the town. Farther north, we stayed just outside of Campbell River at this place.
 
Terry -

Hi neighbor - we are spending winters in Lakewood, CO and the rest of the year on Halcyon.

We will be in the Pac NW in June and would enjoy meeting up with you folks then and perhaps give a ride on Halcyon.

Or - if you are up this way anytime, get in touch and perhaps share some boating tales -
 
Thanks Roger for the recommendation. I will check it out. We sometimes consider moving out to the PNW. I have lived here in Co. for over 30 years and sure do miss the water. I boated on Lake Powell for many years while raising 3 daughters. Great times there. Helen and I were married in Sitka 3 years ago and have kayaked all around Alaska. We enjoy living here but we miss being near the water. Thank you El and Bill for the kind words and the invite. We will be back in Co. in June so we will take a rain check on the boat ride. My daughters and grandchildren all live in Ft.Collins and we visit there often. We would love to catch you guys while coming thru Denver one of these days. Thanks again to all, Terry
 
I am not an RV'er so not sure if State Park Campgrounds are valid substitutes for real RV parks. However; if a State Park would do the trip there are some real pretty Washington State Parks close to here which I am intimately familiar with.

Check out Fort Warden and Fort Flagler - both near Port Townsend (PT), WA on the northeast corner of the Olympic Peninsula. PT is a great town to visit w/ lots of good restaurants and beautiful views of the Olympic Mountains, the Cascade Mountains including Mount Ranier and Mount Baker (the two tallest peaks in WA), and the San Juans and Vancouver Island off in the distance as well as the entrance to the Puget Sound.

Lots of boats in PT and both of the aforementioned State Parks have quite a bit of history as former military bases.

Also worth visiting is Sequim Bay State Park which is adjacent to John Wayne Marina (where John Wayne used to keep his yacht) and nearby Sequim, WA.

Sequim is amazingly dry and arid considering the proximity to the west side of the Olympic Peninsula which is a temperate rain forest and the wettest spot in the contiguous US.

Port Angeles, just west of Sequim, offers the road to Hurricane Ridge which enables one to enjoy the alpine aspects of the Peninsula (probably not as interesting coming from Colorado!) but, still worth seeing considering its so close to the coast and tied into the peninsula's many rivers and interesting weather patterns.

Check out the Washington State Parks website at http://www.parks.wa.gov/..... click on the "Find a Park" pulldown and select the 'Regional Park Maps' option to see an overview map of all Washington's State Parks. Besides the ones I mentioned close to PT and near the many boating options on the Sound there are also many parks on the west side of the Peninsula where you can check out the Rain Forest.

Chances are you would need some resrvations to stay in the WA State Parks if they were indeed valid alternatives to the real RV sites ... you would probably need to make reservations in advance to be safe.

If I can help w/ any more info on this area (I live in Quilcene near PT) please do not hesitate to ask.

Take care,
Dan & Tanya on C-Renity
 
Terry,

Dan (Hi Dan, good to see you on the site) covered the North Olympic Peninsula pretty well. The PT parks are very nice. Sequim Bay State Park is close to home for me and there is often a C-dory or 2 there. If you are up on Vancouver Island, there is a very cool boat ride (Lady Rose, I believe; a coastal working mail/freight boat) from Port Alberni out to the west coast, Bamfield, that is absolutly worth the day trip, and there is a pretty good chance of seeing a C-Dory on that run.

The Friday harbor CBGT will have lots of C-Dorys there, and visitors are welcome.

Have a great trip.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
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