Week 3 – Pacific Northwest & Glacier National Park

We had a full day to spend in Seattle, with our tour guides Craig and Brent, and the weather was now fully cooperating! We picked up hummus for lunch, made a stop at Chuck’s for beer, then took an amazing boat tour of Lake Union and Lake Washington! We love boats, so seeing the city from the water was such a special treat for us.

We had a very nice dinner at a place called Cafe Flora, then we made a stop a Ravenna Brewing! It was a really nice day and a great departure from life on the road – a life that would resume the next morning.

We got up the next morning and wasted no time getting back on the road. Our destination for the day was Port Angeles, Washington, in the very upper northwest corner of the continental United States. At some point previously in the journey, we had misplaced the crank tool needed to operate the roof of the popup camper, Fleetwood Mac. So, we made a stop in Tacoma at a Camping World to replace it. After what seemed like an eternity in the parts department line – we’re not big fans of Camping World – we got our part and got back on the road. We made a mid-day stop in Gig Harbor, where we found 7 Seas Brewing. We inquired about the dog policy, and they let us know that they don’t allow dogs, even on the patio out front, but it wasn’t very busy, and they told us that if Stella was well behaved, she could hang out just on the other side of the railing while we had a beer. We ordered some take-out from just down the way and had a very nice lunch.

The rest of the drive to Port Angeles took us a bit longer than expected, but we finally arrived at the KOA. It was now mid-September, and the campground was nearly empty. We weren’t happy with the spot that they assigned us, so we asked if we could move, and they told us to pick any spot we wanted! So we settled in a very nice little wooded area, and we had it all to ourselves! It was so nice!

After setup, we made the short drive into Port Angeles and stopped at a small brewery called Barhop. We had a beer, and took in the views of Canada, just across the Juan de Fuca Strait. Under normal conditions, we could have taken a ferry across and put our boots on the ground in Canada, but due to Covid restrictions, the ferries were not running at the time. After a beer, or maybe two, we went back to our beautiful camp spot and made dinner. We had big plans for the next day!

We had ventured beyond Seattle, to the farthest reaches of the Pacific Northwest, for one reason – Olympic National Park! We started our tour with a short, but very scenic, hike near the Park Visitor Center close to Port Angeles. We had done some research, and this was one of only a handful of dog-friendly hikes in the park.

After our hike, we drove 18 miles to the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center, which has some of the most incredible views I’ve ever seen! The Olympic Mountains are worthy of the drive! It was not the clearest of days, but I’m pretty sure we could see Mt. Olympus off in the distance. We did another nice little hike that included some really nice views of Vancouver, and a few not so wild deer-elk.

We spent a fair amount of time on Hurricane Ridge taking in all the views, but eventually headed back down into Port Angeles, where we found a great little taproom called Peninsula Taproom! We ordered a few beers, and also got some snacks from the restaurant next door, then called it a day. We were able to enjoy a nice campfire back at camp before retiring for the evening.

The next morning, we packed up Fleetwood Mac with plans to explore a bit more of what Olympic NP has to offer, on our way down to Portland, Oregon. Our first stop was at Ruby Beach. It was a chilly, overcast morning and the fog over the water restricted our view, but that did not stop us from having a nice stroll on the dark gray sand. We ventured far enough away from the other tourists to let Stella stretch her legs on the beach – that dog sure does love to run in the sand!

Our next, and final, stop in Olympic NP was at Quinault Rainforest! We couldn’t hike any of the trails with the dog, but we did explore the visitor center and surrounding areas, then hit the road headed south toward Oregon!

We made a lunch stop somewhere along the coast, and eventually crossed the Columbia River, into Oregon. We made it to Portland around 7:00 PM, and we knew that we had no time to waste, as this was a “one-nighter” at a campground that we’d booked very last-minute. We managed to find parking for Lexie and Fleetwood Mac in downtown Portland, and we got ourselves to the nearest brewery, which happened to be Von Eberts! We pulled the old “service dog” trick we’d learned about back in Missoula since Lexie was parked a few blocks away. The staff at Von Eberts were very good sports about it, and we enjoyed a beer along with a few burgers (mine was a black bean burger) and had a nice time!

Our next stop in Portland was Rogue Ales! They have some outstanding beer, and we ran into a young couple that was there on their honeymoon all the way from Cleveland, Tennessee! They were surprised to learn that we’d driven out there!

After Rogue, we found our campground, which was nothing more than a parking lot packed full of RVs, got set up in the rain, and went to sleep eager to get up and get out of this parking lot situation.

We got an early start the next morning, packed up the camper, and left Portland heading east. For the first time in almost 3 weeks, we were an eastbound train! Our intended destination for the day was Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. We had passed through Coeur d’Alene on our way west, and when we did, we thought that it might make a fun stop on our way back through. We were able to book a site at Camp Coeur d’Alene earlier that morning, so we now had an official destination to shoot for! The drive east out of Portland took us along the banks of the Columbia River. The views were impressive to say the least!

We made a gas stop in the Dalles (pronounce like pals, only with a D), and then a lunch stop at Burnt Field Brewing, in Boardman, Oregon. We had some delicious pizza, great beer, and a nice break from the road. There was a very large park with wide open, grassy space so we let Stella get in a good run! She was thrilled! Jen and I stood at the bank of the Columbia River, and admired the vineyards across the river on the Washington bank.

After lunch, we completed the drive back into Idaho, and checked into the campground. We were very pleasantly surprised with Camp Coeur d’Alene! They had a monstrous pile of free firewood, and access to canoes and kayaks, also for free, so campers can paddle around on the lake. After setting up the camper, we went into the downtown area and made our way to Jeremiah Johnson Brewing. It was quite chilly, and they did allow dogs, but only on the outside patio. We took turns going inside to order a beer, use the facilities, and generally warm up a little bit. It was a very fun and comfortable atmosphere inside. If we ever make it back, I’m sure we’ll spend a good bit of time there!

We made one more beer stop at a place called Trails End. From the outside, we weren’t impressed. But once again, another lesson in “don’t judge a book by its cover.” The inside was well appointed in natural wood and it had an outdoorsy theme that we sure appreciated. After one beer, we headed back to camp to get some rest. Our destination for the next day was West Glacier, Montana!

 Another early morning, packing up and hitting the road without wasting any time. We drove through some heavy rain as we made our way northeast. We made a stop in Bigfork, at Flathead Lake Brewery! We had lunch and a few beers, peering out of the window across the bar at the lake. It was cold, rainy and windy, but for some reason, that felt just about right in that moment.

It continued to rain nonstop as we made it up to the West Glacier KOA. It’s not much fun setting the camper up in the rain, but you have to do what you have to do, right! The West Glacier KOA was quite a sight to behold, as it included a full service restaurant, an ice cream shop, and a variety of other amenities not always found at a campground. We made stir-fry in the camper for dinner and called it a night! We had plans to explore Glacier National Park when we awoke.

The final day of week 3 found Lexie in need of an oil change. We went into Columbia Falls, got the job done, then had one beer at a place called Backslope. It turned out to be more of a restaurant than a brewery – there was no bar to speak of – and we quickly downed our beers and headed along our way. Our second stop was at a brewery called Bonsai, and it was amazing! They had great beer, superb food, and a very friendly atmosphere. We enjoyed meeting some of the locals and chatting about the area. Bonsai was one of our favorite stops of the entire trip!

We left there and headed for Glacier NP. The rain had cleared out and the sun was trying to show itself as we entered the park. We stopped at the visitor center at Logan Pass, then drove down into the valley along the “Going to the Sun Road.” It was a pretty drive, and we made several stops to take in the amazing views.

We reached the end of the road, so to speak, as the Blackfoot Indian tribe had closed the road where it enters the reservation. On our way back, as we drove back up Logan Pass, it started snowing. Not just a little bit, a lot of snow was falling! Turns out that shortly after we’d crossed Logan’s Pass on our way out, the road had been closed as the storm was moving in. We managed to make it back across the Pass, but I was glad Lexie’s 4-wheel drive was doing its job!

We got back to the camper and settled in for a cold night. The snow had stopped, but the temperatures were still below freezing as we went to bed, furnace working hard as we slept! Week 3 was drawing to a close, and we had a LOT of miles to cover on our last week to make it back to Chattanooga as planned. Sleep tight!

Week 3 – 1,100 mostly rainy miles, 2 National Parks and 11 breweries.

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