We checked out of the hotel in Monroe (northwest of Seattle) and did our errands. Carson and I did all the laundry and Spencer and Jeff restocked groceries and stuff at Walmart. Then we drove up into the mountains (and no cell signal) to Silver Springs Campground in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, right on the edge of Mt. Rainier National Park land. It was a primary growth forest full of huge, huge trees right near the White River. Very large campsites with lots of rocks-Carson said it was the perfect Parkour campsite. The boys made up great stories as they played in the trees and we relaxed and read books.
Carson loved helping but doesn’t like all the dirty laundry. We got all the laundry into 3 washers and it could have gone into two of the big ones, but I didn’t realize that until it was too late.
The campground was on this river that I think starts at Mt. Rainier. The water was very white and cloudy.
Jeff walked across the fallen tree to the island in the middle of the river. The water looked pretty shallow but it was very fast moving (perhaps Class II rapids).
I attempted to get a photo of a whole tree, but it’s impossible.
The source of the little creek. Spring fed!
All the rocks at the river are a gray color. Pumice stone?
A cool mushroom at our campsite. It almost looks like a cartoon character, though I can’t remember which one. Pokemon?
The trees were so tall.
You could hear and see vehicles at the campsites by the road where we were. But could only hear the river if you got sites near the river. All the sites were great though.
Carson loves playing Yahtzee at night. He is becoming quite the player!
We didn’t reserve early enough to get a site by the river but the sites was amazing nonetheless.
Lots of trees for a hammock and really sturdy picnic tables. Spencer spent many hours reading in the hammock. This is also our organizational set up for utensils, dinnerware, and dry ingredients and snacks. It gets locked up in the back of the truck when we are not using it, so bears don’t come snooping around the campsite.
Our exploration day in Seattle. For anyone who doesn’t know, Jeff loves all forms of mass transit, and loves the challenge of navigating through a big city. So today we drove to the end of a light commuter rail line, then took it in to the cityt to see Pike’s Place Public Market and the Gum Wall, then took the monorail to the Space Needle. We did a lot of walking and loved the Space Needle and The Market. And the Gum Wall was….disgusting yet intriguing? Carson, the birthday boy, thought the wall was hilarious so we had to take some photos there and also gave him some time to play in the huge fountain. A fun day!!
Carson got to choose to create his own big bag of candy as a birthday treat. In the end, we all got at least a small bag of candy for snacks when we go back on the road.
These are the guys behind the “FISH” philosophy (you choose your attitude and can have fun even if things are stinky).
Lots of veggie stands too
Many many flower stands with beautiful bright flowers. I could have stayed for hours just to take pictures!
The gum wall. Carson thought this pose was hilarious. Though he got a little too close for comfort!
Riding the monorail
They had a massive playground with some very unique rope structures and a really long slide.
No filter on this at all. We were standing under an awning while we waited to go into the Space Needle. I love how this turned out!
At the top of the Space Needle.
Once we were done looking around on the top floor, we took thee steps down a floor where There is a rotating glass floor. Very cool!
All around the base of the Space Needle, there are cool sculptures. This one looked really cool contrasting with the blue sky. It also looked cool from the top of the Needle too.
To get to the top, you have to take 30 second elevator ride.
We saw a very large fountain as we walked around after our tour. Carson went over to it to get his feet wet. Miraculously he managed not to get entirely wet, which was good because we had at least an hour travel over multiple modes of transportation, plus there was no more clean clothes for him back at the hotel.
The light rail train. We were only on it for a couple stops, but then we didn’t have to deal with parking in the city.
Candy store binge!! So many choices!
See the fish that is over the side? It is fake. The workers make it flap around and scare tourists who are leaning in to get pictures of frozen fish faces. Um….it works! I jumped a mile.
Stalls (and hordes of people) at Pike’s Market.
At Pike’s Market. Many different kinds of sausage meats.
The monorail. Just like the Space Needle, this was built for the World’s Fair in the 1960’s.
View from the Space Neede
The glass part of the floor rotates, while the carpet part does not. It used to be the first rotating restaurant ever made. Now they just have a little food stall at the top floor.
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. ❤️❤️❤️
Kline Road Trips 