6-9 June 2021
After our one year hiatus from exploring North America, O and I are more than ready to continue exploring new areas in Washington and beyond as we figure out how to travel safely in this strange Covid environment. By now S and K are also fully immunized, but we remain concerned that we could inadvertently expose un-immunized A to the virus if we do not continue to take precautions. We look forward to studies on vaccine effectiveness and safety in babies and young children.
O and I have decided to see as many Washington State Parks as we can while we are in “short trip” mode. We prefer not to disrupt our weekly routine of watching A, so we schedule these trips from Sunday through Wednesday. S and K have generously agreed to watch Lucy while we travel. I don’t think Lucy is thrilled with the idea of O and I traveling without her, but she will be much more comfortable with S, K, A and Zephy than riding in the van with us.
On June 6, O and I depart for Rainbow Falls State Park, located 2 hours south of Bellevue, near Chehalis, WA. Once again I have managed to pick the first rainy day in several weeks for the start of our explore. We arrive at Rainbow Falls without too much difficulty, the main problem being that neither our GPS nor Maps seems to know precisely where the entrance to the park is. We finally determine that we must cross a bridge over the Chehalis River and then drive further west to find the entrance. At least I did not choose a muddy campsite this time.
O and I set up our new Wglwof tent and, while O hangs our tarp, I put the finishing touches on tent set up. We are fortunate to have a bit of a lull in the rain while all this activity is taking place. We prepare dinner under a most excellent tarp hang and manage to stay fairly dry with the addition of our rain gear. We are snuggled into the tent on this cool evening by 8:30 and drift off to sleep listening to the steady drum of rain on the tent fly.
Monday morning is brighter and showing promise of sunshine, but we continue with a bit of a rain shower during breakfast. We finish the second half of our Marionberry pie and clean up. By now the morning looks promising once again.
We extract our bikes from Vincent and set out on the Willapa Trail, a rail trail for hiking, biking or horseback riding. I am hoping we can do a 16 mile ride into Chehalis for a late lunch and then a return ride to camp. But. . .my plans have not taken into account the fact that it’s been at least 30 years since we’ve done any lengthy bike ride. And the trail is a bit slow because it’s gravel. The countryside, however, is beautiful as we ride along the Chehalis River. After 6 miles, O and I agree it is time to turn around – which happens to be a very wise decision because it starts raining as we pedal back towards camp.
Our twelve mile out and back is more than enough for today. Back at camp we change out of cycling gear, load our bikes in Vincent and drive to Jeremy’s Farm to Table Restaurant in Chehalis. Here we devour a huge kale, beet and apple salad and two “burgers” (mine is an impossible burger and O’s is a portabella burger.) It’s all delicious. Once back at the park we walk over to see Rainbow Falls and then wander slowly back to camp where a weak sun is providing a bit of brightness among the tall trees. We are in for another cool night.
It’s Tuesday morning, June 8. Last night was cool, but pleasantly so, and the sun is shining this morning. Today’s breakfast is a camp-made decadent chocolate pancake filled with dried cherries and mocha chips and served with maple syrup, of course. We also brew our coffee this morning with 5 scoops of coffee and allow it to steep for a full five minutes before pressing. It tastes much more like coffee!
After breakfast O and I carry our new Ecoflow battery and solar panels out into the bright sunshine of the picnic area. We set up the solar panels and plug them into the battery which is already charged to 80% from our drive down here. The battery’s display says it will take 2-3 hours to charge fully in the bright sunshine. We plug my phone into the battery while it’s charging. It draws about 2 volts. After watching the display for awhile we are satisfied that everything is working properly, and we are nicely warmed by the sunshine.
It’s time for a hike. We pack the battery and solar panels back in Vincent and drive over the bridge that crosses the Chehalis River. The footbridge across the river was washed out in a flood years ago. We find the parking area for our trail and cross busy Route 6. Our hike is a 2.5 mile loop through dense woods with some old growth trees. It’s very relaxing, even in the gentle rain that begins part way through our walk.
Before our walk, O and I had already resolved to visit a local brewery if the afternoon proved rainy. Back at Vincent I check for the chosen brewery’s schedule – oops! It’s only open on weekends. I find another well-reviewed brewery in Centralia – not too far away. O calls to make sure they are open. Although the brewery itself is closed today, the Northwest Deli is open. They have all of Dick’s Brewery’s beers on tap, so off we go. We arrive mid-afternoon and once again have a late lunch, this time along with a 6 beer sampler. Our favorites are the Dark Ale and the Porter. We return to camp with a 6 pack of each. The rain picks up again as we drive back, but at least we got to enjoy lunch on a sunny deck. What could be better in the cold evening rain than a dessert of hot chocolate with mocha brownies!
As the evening progresses, the sun manages to reappear. We hope to dry out by morning. . . and so we do – dry out that is. Well, almost. We finish drying tent and tarp back home in Bellevue.