West Coast Road Trip: Days 6, 7 & Beyond

Days 6-7:

Start: Federal Way, WA
Finish: Olympia, WA but kept driving
Miles: 420
States: WA

After spending way too many hours on google maps, my favorite part of the trip finally arrived. The first stop was the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge. I was hoping to see a seal or something but instead saw a ton of birds and one of the world's longest sand spits. That's basically just a strip of land made of sand. There was also a lighthouse at the end, some 5-6 miles out there. I made it about a mile down before turning around.

Also saw a deer chilling on the slopes.

The Ediz Hook Reservation for Native Birds was next. This was basically another strip of land out into the ocean (or Strait of Juan de Fuca) but you could actually drive out on and check out the views/wildlife.

At the very end there was a Coast Guard station. This place was actually where Ashton Kutcher become a Coast Guard legend and where Kevin Costner was stationed when he died. Or maybe not.

Another quick climb up a mountain range led us to the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center where I had planned on hiking the Hurricane Hill Trail. Zero visibility, a 36 degree temp, snow, and an "active" bear and cubs put a hold on that. Here is the only picture I even attempted to take up there.

That was the end of the first day and we ended up staying in a little fishing village right on the coast called Sekiu.

The next day started with a quick stop at the general store in Neah Bay to get a parking permit for the days activities as the majority of the NW tip of Washington falls in the Makah Indian Reservation. If there are 2 places to visit in WA with incredible views, I would recommend Cape Flattery and Shi Shi Beach. We'll get to the latter in a bit but I'll just let the pics show you Cape Flattery and let it be known that they do not do the scenery justice.

A quick climb down to get a better view of the ocean.

After those views, it was on to Shi Shi Beach. A 1.7 mile hike led to the beach where it was another 1.5 optional miles down the beach to the Point of Arches which I ended up making. When I made it to the beach, it was overcast and gloomy but by the time I was making my way back from the Arches, it had cleared up and lived up to the beauty I've read about. Again, I'll let the pictures do the talking.

The beginning with the arches in the distance.

I left my shoes here so I didn't have to carry them. Poor decision.

An arch. 

   

Time to head back.

The tide came in and move my shoes 10 yards down the beach. Beats out in the ocean I suppose.

Enjoying the views before I left.

New Tinder pic??? Lookin like Forrest Gump/Stanley Yelnats

The last stop on the Olympic National Park/NW tour was the Hoh Rain Forest. I don't think I've ever seen something so green and I suppose getting 3 inches of rain every day helps. Not too many pictures from here either as it was actually raining the whole time but everything looked like this.

 

This is where the story ends though. Unless some crazy stuff happens on the way home, this will be the last post and I hope you've enjoyed at least some of it. Thanks for ready and until I think of my next adventure, I'm out!

Update: we ended up getting snowed on near Bozeman, MT and it immediately led to 2 different 4 car pileups and came across a couple other spin offs. It's nice to know that it's not just Madison drivers that suck when a few flakes come down!

West Coast Road Trip: Days 4 & 5

Days 4-5:

Start: Red Lodge, MT
Finish: Federal Way, WA
Miles: 968
States: MT, WY, ID, WA

Like I said before, day 5 was going to be a whole bunch of becoming one with nature and it did not disappoint. First thing on the menu was the Beartooth Scenic Highway and they definitely meant scenic.

On the way up.

Near the top, there were 4-5 people standing out on a snow cornice and I thought we were going to see one fall to their death but it turned out that they were scientists and probably knew what they were doing. As you can see, the summit was still covered by a ton of snow.

This picture is deceiving but still plenty of snow.

Making it up another 5,000 ft climb to the summit though, New Hotness has definitely earned a few car washes for her efforts. 

A much less rigorous descent on the back side.

This route led directly into Yellowstone National Park and the first attraction was Tower Falls. It was a cool water fall only until I saw what was coming later.

Mt. Washburn is the highest point in Yellowstone and I had my sights set on hiking my way to the top even after I found out the trail was closed because it had 3-4 feet of snow on it. The snow pack was hard enough that I could walk on it so I headed up. 

The marker is where I stopped.

As you can see above, the trail has a few switch backs and I decided to cut down on time by heading straight up the mountain instead of taking the "trail." I would have kept going but the snow became a bit soft to keep going vertically and following the trail was too much of a time commitment. The real deal breaker was sinking in the snow up to my hip with one step and taking 20 seconds to get out. There were people hiking the service road on the other side but I was literally the only idiot on the trail so I used common sense for once. 

No more going up.

I was also shirtless at this point and wearing only running shoes and basketball shorts. Not the best snow hiking attire. Right after I took the above picture, I dropped my camera case and as you can imagine, the mountain consumed it with a helpful dose of gravity.

RIP camera case. 2019-Too Soon.

Taking the trail back down was not an option and I wanted to attempt to find my camera case so I "skiid" down the route above on my shoes. I thought about recording a video on Snapchat to prove that I actually did this but I didn't want to lose my phone too. Once back at the bottom, I fully expected to find a Park Ranger waiting for me but I ended up getting lucky I guess.

The Upper/Lower falls were next and this place is what made the previous water fall look like childs play. This area was also referred to as the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

Other than stopping to take random pictures of animals, the only other main attraction was seeing Old Faithful erupt. 

Not a whole lot to mention there. We waited 30 minutes to watch a 2 minute "eruption" that people actually clapped for afterwards. If you've ever taken a garden hose and sprayed it in the air, you've experienced Old Faithful. 

After leaving the park, it was just driving overnight to Seattle. The only exciting things were coming across a dead snake on the road which led to the quote of the day and seeing an overturned semi hauling hay bails.

"Don't open your door, it'll strike at you." Debbie

We made it to Seattle at about 10am yesterday and just took a quick drive through downtown to check out the site of the miracle below and to see the Space Needle.

Upcoming: Olympic National Park and whatever comes with it.

West Coast Road Trip: Day 3

Day 3:

Start: Spearfish, SD
Finish: Red Lodge, MT
Miles: 397
States: SD, WY, MT

Day 3 started just like the rest, with driving. A one hour trip to Devils Tower was the first adventure of the day. This was another one of those things you just have to see to say you've seen it. I ended up walking the 1.3 mile trail around it but ironically, the best picture we got of it was from outside the park area.

Postcard material.

There was no real destination after Devils Tower other than making it to Red Lodge, MT but we did come across some cool stuff. Like this cloud.

Cumulonimbus 2,000? Shout out to my Harry Potter nerds!

And New Hotness (my car) huffing and puffing while making it up the 4,000 ft climb heading through Bighorn National Forest.

This is only 2/3 of the way up.

The peak was only 8,300 feet or so but I was amazed at how much snow was sill covering the ground. I imagine that this is normal for the area but I can't recall ever seeing snow in June.

Update: I heard a guy at breakfast talking about how the snow melt has just started in Colorado and he seemed quite surprised by this.

And a semi-frozen lake!

As Isaac Newton once said, "what goes up, must come down." This lesson definitely applies to to driving over a mountain range. The way down was a 13 mile, 10% grade maze of low gear hairpin turns. At one point, we had to pull off because we could smell my brakes disintegrating. Upon review after stopping, the brakes were visibly smoking and I quickly splashed some water on them creating a nice cloud of steam. Right or wrong, it saved my car from potentially starting on fire.

Once we made it into the valley below, it was just a 2 hour drive past mountains and lime (the mineral) plants to get to Red Lodge. The resort we ended up staying at was pretty awesome as it was surrounded by mountains on all sides and the very loud Rock "Creek" for a view out of the window.

Upcoming: Beartooth Highway and a bunch of nature shit in Yellowstone.

Quotes of the day: "I don't know what the big deal is. It's just a big rock." 10 minutes later. "You know what, that is kind of cool." Debbie on Devils Tower

P.S. There might not be a post tomorrow morning as we may drive through the night.

West Coast Road Trip: Day 2

Day 2:

Start: Rapid City, SD
Finish: Spearfish, SD
Miles: 108
States: SD

A short day of driving led to some memorable life experiences on day 2. A 20 minute drive started the morning off as we hit up Reptile Gardens. This place was full of alligators, crocodiles, snakes, and a bunch of things that were not reptiles. We were the only people there that did not have kids under the age of 7 years old but it was still fun.

Steve Irwin would have geeked out.

2nd stop of the day was Mt. Rushmore. Boy, talk about taking a piece of art and commercializing the shit out of it. I've never seen so many magnets, mugs, and t-shirts with the same picture on it before. $10 was the perfect price for this place though as you can walk up, take a picture, and roll out in about 10 minutes. $10.01? I would have driven right by. You can see it from the road anyways!

"I like Lincoln's face the best." Some little girl

Custer State Park was next with my main goal being to hike to Black Elk Peak. Seems pretty simple, get on the trail that goes North and 3.5 miles later, you're at the top. NOPE! Eric decided to start on the trail that goes East and adds an extra mile of too many ups and downs. I couldn't complain too much because the views were 10x better than the correct trail. The views at the top were also incredible and it was a great workout as I sweated more than my last time in a church.

2.25 hours up, 1.25 hours down

I kept waiting for this storm to get me. 

After recovering from my harrowing climb up and down Black Elk Peak, it was on to Deadwood to find some eats. The best part about this was how I turned a $20 promo voucher to the Casino/Restaurant/Starbucks/Pub combo that we ate at into a $54 profit in 5 seconds at a slot machine. I promptly cashed out, paid for dinner and rolled out. Against my better judgement, I did get talked out of trying to double it up on red at the roulette table.

Last stop of the day was a quick 10 minute "hike" to visit the Mt Roosevelt Friendship Tower. I came across this one day while checking out google maps instead of working. Sorry Lori. It wasn't much but it was cool to check out a 100 year old tower and it was free-99. 

It was completed 6 months after Teddy passed away. 

Upcoming: Devils Tower and I'm not sure what else on the way to Yellowstone.

Quote of the day: "I'm just going to wait here and let the people from Wrong Turn come get me." Debbie on not hiking up to see the Friendship Tower.