Glacier NP to Alpaca Ranch

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Glacier NP, MT to Alpaca Ranch #2 06-30-24 to 07-14-24

After leaving Glacier, our next stop was at the East Shore Smokehouse in Polson, MT, another Harvest Host. But this one cost us more for dinner than any campground had previously. But we did meet a nice couple from Arkansas, Gene and Deb, the only other rig on the grass lot, with whom we enjoyed dinner. He was a pilot and she directed an upbeat catholic choir akin to Whoppi Goldberg in Sister Act II.

More rain overnight.

Our plans changed in the morning. We had hoped to spend a few more days at Flathead Lake (huge lake in northwest MT), but miscommunications with Paula’s Air Force nephew meant we needed to change plans to be able to see Paula’s brother and sister-in-law also visiting before they returned to NC. So, we packed up and drove the 4.5 hours to Spokane where he and his family had just moved into a house 2 days’ prior. It meant we had to leave some other things we desired to do in MT behind, but family is family. We enjoyed dinner with them that evening and were glad to have been invited and finally meet his 2 girls. Talia, age 4, went from being scared of Whisper to wanting Whisper to sit in her lap.

We stayed at a somewhat sparce campground 15 miles away for the next 3 nights while we visited with them. We also enjoyed a bike ride in Riverside Park in downtown Spokane, a 40-mile bike trail along the Spokane River (but we only did about 10 of it). Whisper enjoyed the scenery from Paula’s bike basket.

We got a late start the next day on our way to North Cascades NP. En route, we drove past Grand Coulee Dam which is the largest hydropower producer in the US, able to supply about 2 million households with electricity for one year. It is 1 mile long with 12 million cubic yards of concrete, enough to build a highway from Seattle, WA to Miami, FL.

Shortly after leaving Grand Coulee, we got into the apple and cherry-growing country for which Washington state is known. We were amazed at the way orchards were placed on the side of a mountain, leaving gaps where the terrain was too steep. Tom was also amazed at how high they stacked the crates of apples…crates that looked to be about 4+ feet square and 3 feet tall and then were put 10 high with well over 1,000 crates in some of the “stacks.”

North Cascades NP, like Glacier NP, was formed by glaciers. In fact, the North Cascades NP has almost 400 glaciers, more than any other US park outside AK. (Remember Glacier NP only has about 5 remaining.) We found it to be less commercialized than any NP were had visited. State Route 20 goes through the center of the park. The only way to the one visitor center is via a 1-lane bridge with a stoplight. About 3 cars were in line when we arrived. As you can see from the picture, our rig space there was quite tight. Newhalem, the only thing that resembled a town nearby, had one very small general store and was actually a company town with small houses for the hydroelectric employees. No restaurants, no grocery store, no stoplight, basically nothing. You better take everything you need with you to Glacier NP!

Over 370 glaciers fed the Skagit River on the west side and the glacial melt helped fill Gorge, Diablo (blue green lake in header image), and Ross Lakes, all of which were dammed, with hydroelectricity generating stations that provide power for the city of Seattle. All 5 Pacific salmon species spawn here. East of the Pacific Crest, snowfields and 19 named glaciers fed the Stehekin River, which rushed into Lake Chelan.

There are lots of hiking trails in North Cascade NP, and the Cascade Loop, a 440-mile road trip that circles the Cascade Mountains, is the main road through the park. We drove part of this loop, starting at Twisp, WA on the east side of North Cascades and drove through the park to Clinton on Whidbey Island on the west side. Unfortunately, WA was under a heat wave while we were there (like much of the rest of the west), but we still managed to do a 2-mile hike the day we arrived on the Thornton Trail to a water cascade, (begun by driving a 5-mile high-clearance vehicle road), and the following day, we kayaked Lake Diablo. We really appreciated that North Cascades is the dog-friendliest NP we have visited. Dogs (on leash) were allowed on many trails, and we took Whisper kayaking with us as well. Unfortunately, the only wildlife we saw was 1 deer. We enjoyed the park with its variety of lakes, streams, tall trees, waterfalls, and rivers.

After leaving North Cascades, we spent the night in a junky Harvest Host field at Concrete, WA. Free but nothing to brag about. Some of the junk laying around was so covered in moss that it almost took on an art form. Tom netted a delicious strawberry-rhubarb tart for $10 from the little store. Pretty lame name for the town too – Concrete, named for, you guessed it, the concrete factory in town (which actually supplied concrete for Grand Coulee Dam before they shut down). We were appreciative for the laundromat though.

Next up, Whidbey Island. About a month prior to leaving home, a new gal joined Paula’s Needle Arts and Crafts club at Westbrook Village where we live. When Susie heard we were touring the Pacific Northwest this summer in our RV, she offered to let us stay at their house in Coupeville while we explored their island. And she was serious! Ken and Susie had previously owned an RV and Ken had leveled a spot into which they thought we would fit.

Susie gave us great directions but when we saw how steep their driveway was, we drove on by and disconnected the Jeep before taking a stab at it. How steep was it? So steep that the air brakes on WOW would not hold her in place without the brake pedal depressed. Their RV spot didn’t work because our slides wouldn’t clear their fence, but further up the driveway was another level spot that did work well for us. Ken even ran an extension cord to WOW to keep the basics powered. They rolled out the red carpet, telling us to stay as many nights as we desired, use the washing machine, dryer, clothesline (Paula loves the smell of line-dried sheets), relax on the deck overlook Penn Cove…and Susie came up with numerous sightseeing suggestions.

While there, we couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather, highs of 70s during the day with cool evenings.

We started the first day by sightseeing the north end of the island. Just north of Oak Harbor (where another long-time friend, Bev, who grew up in Oak Harbor also gave us great suggestions), we crossed the Deception Pass Bridge. When we were boating the San Juan Islands, Deception Pass was one of 3 routes on the water that would take us north to Anacortes. It was known for very strong currents (up to 9 knots, which in a boat that only cruised 7 knots could certainly be a problem. Because of that, we chose another route.) From the top of the bridge, we could see how swirly the water was and we were glad we had not attempted to cruise through.

It was less than a half-mile hike from the bridge to the top of Goose Rock, the highest point in all the islands, giving us a wonderful view all the way to Canada.

The next day, we explored the southern end of the island, going all the way to the tip where the ferry connects to Port Townsend. Taking the back roads when we could, we found a wonderful little sculpture park. (Thank you, Bev for that unique idea!) We drove through several beautiful state parks, took a walk on the beach, and admired some houses with amazing views. All-in-all, a great day!

Before leaving in the morning, Tom wanted to replace one of the fork brackets on the bike rack which had worn out. He had ordered a replacement from Amazon, but it did not fit. Ken to the rescue! He welded the worn end of the bracket, drilled a new hole, and it was as good as new. Thanks Ken! While all that was going on, Susie and Paula were off to the yarn shop in town to pick out some yarn for a shawl Paula wants to make for Susie.

From there we dove southeast to Arlington to another Harvest Host alpaca ranch. This one didn’t hold a candle to the first one. It had a very junky yard and no one who really knew anything about the place ever talked to us…but they had the alpacas – 120 of them and they had the run of the whole place! We looked out the window after we got parked and there were about 30 of them all around WOW. There were also grain pellets out so we could feed them by hand. Paula bought a really cute alpaca T-shirt she says she’ll wear on her bad hair days. But the first ranch was a much better experience because we learned so much about them.