Month: August 2019

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Hiking in the Cascades and Dinner with Tracy

Amy Kline

We secured the camper at the hotel and drove up into the Cascades on Hwy 2 (the same highway that eventually goes through WI) on Stevens Pass. Our goal was to go find the site of the Wellington Avalanche, which knocked 2 trains off the mountain in 1910. We both read

The White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America’s Deadliest Avalanche by Gary Krist. It is a true account of what happened and it was a fascinating read. Well, we found the site and had a great hike at the same time as you can see. Jeff even had to use a rope to go down a steep trail at one point, and found some wreckage still at the crash site.

Next, we went to Leavenworth. Jeff and I passed through there on our first road trip in 2005, and wanted to explore this town more. It is a town that is completely Bavarian themed, in a very cheesy way. After finally finding a parking spot, we stopped at a bookstore and the ice cream shop. We read the history of the town, which voted to do the Bavarian theme in order to bring in tourists (and there were people everywhere so it worked).

And then the highlight of my day. I got to see Tracy!!! Tracy and her son met us for dinner at a yummy Mexican restaurant and then Jeff went back to the hotel, while we took the boys to a cool playground where the boys could play while we had a chance to catch up a bit. It was so wonderful and I wish we could have talked for hours more!

  • Jeff puts a “boot” on the camper, plus locks the hitch down so there is no way someone can drive away with the camper.
  • Screenshot of a webcam in the town of Skynomish (where the survivors of the wreck were taken). And yes, Jeff was pretty proud of himself for finding the webcam and waving to it. Goofy man.
  • A restored caboose at the beginning of the trail system that leads to the snowsheds and original Cascade tunnel and the wreckage. Lots of signs here explaining the whole thing. We didn’t see this until the end of our explorations though.
  • Avalanches are very common here in the winter and spring. This sign talks specifically about Wellington, but we could see evidence of former slides all over the mountains. Once the mountains got logged, there is nothing that is holding the snow back from sliding off the mountain face.
  • This is the first Cascade tunnel, that the steam trains did not use to hide out from the massive snowstorm because the danger of inhaling too much exhaust from the engines was huge. The conductor thought it was safer to keep the trains out on the track since there hadn’t been an avalanche in the spot nearby.
  • On our hike. Pretty steep drop off. Beautiful too!!
  • The trail entered a concrete snowshed that was built to prevent future avalanche catastrophes. Once the railroad built the second Cascade tunnel at a lower elevation, this section of track was no longer used.
  • Huge leaves (18”) on this bush that looks like a maple leaf.
  • We kept the boys in between us and the bear spray handy, just in case.
  • Summary of the disaster. Almost 100 people died.
  • Gorgeous photography opportunity and a great shaded trail to hike. Two trains could use this shed and be protected from avalanches. It is designed so the snow can just slide over the roof of it.
  • Jeff is about 20 feet below me in this photo and the trail is very very steep. While Jeff went down to investigate the crash site, the boys and I hung out in the shade under the snowshed.
  • Down at the actual crash site of the avalanche, there is lots of wreckage still there.
  • The snowshed were expensive to build and to keep up, so the railway built a new tunnel with venting capabilities that was cheaper and faster.
  • Is this a banana slug? The one on the left looks squished but the one on the right is about 3” long.
  • On the way back to our hotel, we stopped at the second Cascade Tunnel which is ventilated and still used today.
  • This is the Second Cascade Tunnel which is still used today.
  • Lots of wildflowers by the tunnel and fuzzy little bees pollinating them. Though if a thistle is found in my garden I call it a weed!
  • Carson saw the No Trespassing sign and “arrested” Jeff for walking past the sign.
  • Levenworth is hilarious and extremely over the top (think along the lines of Disney’s It’s a Small World Bavaria). Even their Banks and McDonald’s had a Bavarian theme.
  • There were huge pots of beautiful blooming flowers everywhere.
  • Real ice cream. Carson got mint chocolate chip, and I got a scoop of coffee and a scoop of salted Carmel in a home made waffle cone (I remember making those myself when I worked at Randall’s Custard which became a Culver’s)
  • The boys were being silly at the restaurant.
  • Carson hamming it up at the playground. How is he going to be 11 already?
  • I have missed Tracy so much. I love that we could have some time to catch up while watching our kids play together. I wished we lived closer so we could do this much more often. ❤️❤️❤️
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Squamish Train Museum and back to the USA

Amy Kline

Sunday. We had about 4 hours of driving (or so we thought) to get to the hotel near Seattle, and I found a cool train museum in Squamish, which was right on our way. We got there right as it opened and had the place mostly to ourselves. It was a cross between Green Bay’s National RR Museum and Heritage Hill. Lots of restored train cars with the history of the men who worked there weaved in with a restored house of the conductor (included a summer kitchen and extensive kitchen garden). There was also an adorable little train to ride around the park and the conductor (who looked like Colonel Sanders from KFC according to Spencer) stopped and explained a few things along the way. A very enjoyable morning!

Then we proceeded southward looking at beautiful views the whole way until we got to the port of entry where we crawled towards the border. We spent an hour in that line! Note to self that next time, don’t take a main highway while crossing the border.

Lots of traffic all the way to Monroe, but we finally made it to the hotel. Ate at a delicious Mexican just past the parking lot and then relaxed in real beds.

  • A restored business car for railway executives.
  • Inside the roundhouse building there is the engine I am attempting to photograph as the boys photobombed. Carson woke up with a mysterious mark that doesn’t hurt on his forehead and we don’t know how he got it. Maybe he slept against the support bar in the camper last night? Or maybe since he turns 11 on Tuesday, he is turning into Harry Potter and will be going to Hogwarts? Who knows?
  • This part wasn’t really open (see the things piled on the seats in the background) but it wasn’t locked so we peeked in. Restored seating with overhead storage. They must use this for events and bring them into the roundhouse for display if they aren’t using the building for weddings.
  • There were a whole bunch of hydrangea bushes that had huge bright flowers on them. I just love them!
  • The “Wig Wag” signal. Restored buildings in the background.
  • They had great signage throughout the place, both explaining what we were looking at and also giving a history of the actual artifact.
  • The queen stood out on this when she traveled on this train back in the day.
  • Jeff is in heaven at this museum!
  • “Colonel Sanders” was the conductor. We each sat on top of the rail and put a foot on each side.
  • Train selfie while on the cute little train.
  • There is a little tiny station on the other side of the park that they are restoring as a one room school house. Spencer and Carson immediately started role playing of course. ❤️❤️❤️
  • On old Singer sewing machine is set up in the living room of the conductor’s house.
  • (Inserting my former Heritage Hill job knowledge here). Women would heat the irons on the wood stove and switch the handle to a new iron as one cooled off. I’m so glad they made no-iron clothes these days!
  • Spencer exclaimed. Mom! Those are old time cameras!
  • This room is set up as a tea room in a train station like building (it also has modern bathrooms so I don’t think it’s original). You can rent it out for luncheons and wedding/baby showers. Great idea!
  • Communications. The workers had to communicate with the upcoming stations so the train system worked smoothly and so the conductor would know the conditions of the track, especially in winter when avalanches and snow covered tracks were so common.
  • They have restored this mail car that was used in the first half of the 20th century. I think it’s a little newer than the one in Green Bay if I remember correctly.
  • Sorting the mail by town. There was another setup just like this on the other side of the train.
  • Very cool little train museum. I’m so glad I found this gem!
  • We need a Tim Horton’s in Green Bay! Bacon, egg, and cheese on waffles! Brilliant!
  • Carson love’s going to Tim Horton’s. And asked if we could stop every time we saw a sign for one (and that is all the time, they are everywhere). So he was excited to get this apron and can’t wait to make donuts with Jeff when we get home.
  • I look a little crazy here, but this margarita was delicious as was our meal. We ate the chips and salsa and all of our meals like we had never eaten before. Yummy!
  • This is a scale. It was used to weigh the train cars.
  • The conductors office located in the caboose.
  • There was a trunk display of old toys in the bedroom of the restored house. We had a copy of this book and read it to the boys when they were little. Jeff remembers it too from when he was little.
  • The dispatcher’s terminal. They could turn on the signals along the track.
  • Funny tourist pic of Carson.
  • As we continued south, we took a quick detour to find the filming location of Once Upon A Time. This is the library/clock tower from the show. The clock tower was added later through CGI.
  • Granny’s in the show.
  • All of our port entries the last couple years have been fairly quick, usually less than 10 minutes. Not here. The line crawled for an hour.
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Whistler

Amy Kline

Saturday. We had a leisurely morning (needed after the long drive yesterday) and then went into Whistler to explore the Olympic Village. Whistler was where many of the Olympians lived during the 2010 Winter Olympics and in summer these days, the town caters to the mountain biking crowd, among other outdoor sports like white water rafting. What a hoot! The Village is like a very upscale outdoor mall (lots of high end sportswear brand stores), with lots of delicious looking restaurants, and tons of very fit people. It was very pet friendly so we saw lots of “cute doggies” everywhere and had to watch out for mountain bikers who were on the way to take the gondola up to the top of the mountain. We ate at a Mongolian grill restaurant that was delicious, and then watched the guys at the nearby skateboard park for a bit before heading back to the campsite.

  • It was like Endor. You could almost spot Ewoks in the trees! (Star Wars reference for anyone who doesn’t know)
  • The boys and I took a walk around the campground. We had a great site with shade, and the sunny sites had a great view.
  • A very nice dishes station so it was quick and easy to do the few dishes we used each day at the campsite.
  • Huge pinecones from these trees.
  • A welcome Totem pole that was up during the Olympics.
  • Everyone here was really in shape. I mean really fit and active. To the point that when I saw a hula hoop class and a yoga class going on at the same time in the common area, it almost felt like a Saturday Night Live skit!
  • A gorgeous hotel with some of the Nordic ski slopes (and mountain bike trails during summer) in the background.
  • This place is awesome. So much to look at and so many activities to partake in. So fun!
  • One chair was for up to 4 bikes, and the next was for up to 4 people.
  • Lots of BMX enthusiasts were waiting in line to try this track.
  • Mongolian entrees. When we have exploring days like this, we tend to eat a morning meal like eggs, and then one bigger late lunch meal, then just cheese and crackers for a snack back at the campsite later.
  • Carson even ate some! He had shrimp and corn. The cook in the back was fun to talk to also. He loved the Packers and camping.
  • You are welcome!
  • Extreme Carson closeup
  • Carson went to skateboard camp a few years ago and though he didn’t really take to the sport after that summer, he was definitely entranced watching the cool tricks the skateboarders were attempting.
  • Back at the campsite for some dinner for the boys (they are always hungry).