Dosewallips boasts waterfront

It's more than just a place with a funny name.

Whether you are looking for a peaceful place to picnic or stay overnight, Dosewallips State Park will fulfill your desire.

The 425-acre piece of land sandwiched between the Hood Canal and Olympic Mountains with the Dosewallips River running through it offers both -- and more -- year round.

You can sit by the river or the saltwater and take in the sights, or find a way to recreate at both or either body of water.

A total of 5,500 feet of beach front property on the Hood Canal is included, as well as 5,500 feet of waterfront on either side of the Dosewallips River that comes cascading down from the Olympics.

A parking lot and picnic area is located next to the Hood Canal on the east side of Highway 101, while the campground and a few small cabins are located to the west.

All of the campsites are grassy and scenic, and all of the cabins are among trees facing west toward the Olympics with a covered front porch from which to enjoy them.

Each cabin is suitable for five guests, with three able to sleep on bunk beds and two on a futon couch. Three have both a living room and bedroom, and outside of each is a picnic table and fire grill.

Some cabins allow pets for a $15 plus tax fee per night.

All are located near shower and bathroom facilities and all have their own electric heat.

Check in time is 4 p.m. and check out is 11 a.m.

The state park is also close to the Olympic National Park with access up the river, featuring a waterfall.

As with all Washington state parks, a Discover Pass is required to park your vehicle at Dosewallips.  They can be obtained for $30 and offer a year's worth of visits to whatever state parks you desire. 

How to get there:

Dosewallips State Park is located at 306966 US-101, Brinnon, WA 98320.

You can get to it by turning onto Highway 101 from either Highway 104 to the north shortly after the Hood Canal Bridge and before you get to Discovery Bay, or from Interstate 5 in Olympia to the south.

Or, if you are coming from the northern Olympic Peninsula like from Sequim or Port Angeles, stay on Highway 101 at the interchange with Highway 104 and head south.

Call (360) 796-4415 for more information or (888) CAMPOUT for reservations.

Photos and text by Tim Clinton.

Newberry makes an impression

 

They are Oregon's other crater lakes, the ones you probably have never even heard of.

Two of them sit at the bottom of the expansive Newberry Caldera in Central Oregon, about 20 miles south of Bend.

Paulina Lake and East Lake are much smaller than Crater Lake, the gem of Crater Lake National Park, but both stand out in their respective settings as they sparkle in the sun reflecting the mostly blue skies above and greenery around them.

Paulina Lake boasts two boat docks, a lodge, and a scenic loop trail around its shores, while East Lake is more forested with its own resort tucked into the southeast corner.

Together they are the centerpiece of the 55,500-acre Newberry National Volcanic Monument created inside the Deschutes National Forest by an act of Congress in 1990.

In between is a small forested and cratered cone with its Little Crater Trail, and to the south is the aptly named Big Obsidian Flow.

Evidence of the area's volcanic past is everywhere.

A huge magma chamber under ground has emptied its contents and everything on top of it collapsed downwards, creating the caldera -- much in the same way Crater Lake was created when Mount Mazama erupted.

Ensuing volcanic activity created Little Crater and Big Obsidian Flow and other area features. The last of the smaller eruptions came in the year 690 AD, but the entire Newberry Volcano is still considered active and closely monitored.

Recreational opportunities now abound, from boating, rafting and fishing on the lakes to hiking the many trails that crisscross and encircle the scene, which is all overlooked by 7,984-foot Paulina Peak to the south.

Paulina Lake has hot springs across the water from the lodge, which is located near the trailhead for Paulina Creek Falls on the southwest corner of the lake.  The Paulina Visitor Center is also located near the road as it enters the area.

Camping is offered at numerous locations, especially near the lakes.

East Lake covers 1,050 acres and is located at 6,400 feet in altitude.  Paulina Lake is somewhat lower at 6,331 feet above sea level and larger at 2.394 square miles.

How to get there:

Paulina Lake Lodge is located at 22440 Paulina-East Lake Rd., La Pine, OR 97739 while the overall Newberry National Volcanic Monument headquarters and the Lava Lands Visitor Center is at 58201 US-97, Bend, OR 97702.  East Lake Resort is at 22430 Paulina Lake Rd., La Pine, OR 97739.

Call (541) 383-5300 for information.

The entrance to the area is an eastward turn off Highway 97 on route 21 between La Pine and Sun River.

Photos of Paulina Lake (top) and East Lake (bottom) and text by Tim Clinton.

 

Wild ride pays off in great views

It's worth the wild ride to get to Windy Ridge on Mt. St. Helens' blown out Northeast side.

The road weaves its way through thick forest as you head south from a turnoff on Washington's Highway 12 near the town of Randle.

Vehicles dip in and out of ruts and potholes galore, as the foursome I was with found out on a late August day.

Barry and I bumped our heads on the ceiling frequently in the back seat, while Nancy and Ethan in the front fared little better on the jolting trek.

A different kind of shock awaits you as you get closer to the mountain, as you suddenly pop out of the forest into a world of much smaller and evenly sized trees.

You are now entering the blast zone carved out when the mountain blew her top during a massive landslide the morning of May 18, 1980.

Life is slowly but surely returning to the area, from alders, firs and alpines to flowers and brush.

Thanks to the smaller size of the trees, the mountain itself comes into view and reappears again and again along with its close neighbors Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier.  Oregon's Mt. Hood even appears for a brief moment.

The path offers vistas from pullouts along the way until at last you come to the wide parking lot at Windy Ridge.

From here you get a view of the Northeast side of the mountain, right into the crater with the lava dome that gradually built up since the 1980 blast.

A switch-backed path goes up a hillside and offers a view over some hills and trees in between the ridge and the mountain, and on one side of the lot you can look down on the log-strewn remains of Spirit Lake.

Once you are done taking in the sights and absorbing the size and scope of the 1980 disaster, it's time to hit the long and winding road out once more.

How to get there:

To get to Windy Ridge, take Highway 12 from either Interstate 5 to the west or from the Yakima side to the east.

Follow the Mt. St. Helens and Windy Ridge signs south from near Randle.

Text and photos by Tim Clinton.

Skagit Valley tulips blooming late

Skagit Valley's annual Tulip Festival may be running the entire month of April as always, but the tulips have not been cooperating.

Colder than normal temperatures for this time of year have set the blooming season back at least one week.

The daffodil fields are still in bloom right now, with the first tulip blossoms not expected to appear until this weekend.

What promises to be a colorful tulip season will not peak until some time in the ensuing weeks.

But four huge farms are more than ready to go for what will be the 40th running of the festival and are taking reservations and selling tickets ahead of time for visits in the Mount Vernon area.

RoozenGaarde and Tulip Town are back in the act along with newcomers Garden Rosalyn and Tulip Valley Farms.

The Skagit Valley tulips come in a wide variety of colors and Catherine Smith, a Korean friend, says that each has a different meaning.

Yellow and red dominate the scenes at the Skagit farms.

"It's hard not to smile when looking at a bouquet of yellow tulips, therefore the flower language of the yellow tulip is happiness and good luck," she said.  "Red tulips mean eternal love and passion, so they are more popular flowers among couples and also used in weddings.  If you are the romantic type and want to win someone's heart, send a beautiful bouquet of red tulips."

How to get there:

Take Mount Vernon exit 225 or 226 off of Interstate 5 some 60 miles north of Seattle and follow the Tulip Festival signs out to the area of the fields.

The festival runs an office that is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily in April located at 311 W. Kincaid Street, Mount Vernon, WA 98273 with a phone number of (360) 428-5959.

More information can be found at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival website at tulipfestival.org, including links to the individual farms for purchasing advance tickets.

Text and photos by Tim Clinton.

Ferries make getting there fun

They say that getting there is half the fun, and that's certainly the case with taking a ferry boat ride to and from Vashon Island.

The ships ply the waters of Puget Sound at all times of day and most of the night from three different terminals, offering a look at the stunning Pacific Northwest scenery.

You can catch one to and from Fauntleroy in West Seattle, Southworth on the other side of the sound on the Kitsap Peninsula, or Point Defiance in Tacoma to the south.

Or you can stay on the boat and skip the island except for a quick docking, going all the way from Fauntleroy to Southworth or vice versa.

The Faultleroy and Southworth ferries make landfall on the northern tip of Vashon Island and the Point Defiance ferry has Tahlequah on the southern end as its destination.

Once aboard you can leave your vehicle and take the stairs to the main passenger cabin.  You can take a seat in one of the booths and watch the Sound go by, or stroll around and go out on the deck at either end of the vessels and feel the breeze as it speeds along.

The Fauntleroy and Southworth runs offer a cafeteria with food and drink on the Issaquah, while the Point Defiance and Tahlequah runs do not aboard the Chetzemoka.

Restrooms are offered on both ships.

The trip back is always included with the cost of going to Vashon Island. That is the case whether you leave for the same destination you came from or from the other end of the island.

That's because there is no other means to get your vehicle on or off the island, so if you are getting off it is correctly assumed that you already paid the fare.

Costs vary depending on vehicle type and length and how old the driver and any passengers are, but are available online at the Washington State Ferries site.  Enter the departure and arrival sites to get a table to calculate from. 

How to get there:

Fauntleroy can be found by taking the West Seattle bridge (Spokane Street) to 35th Ave. SW and turning left to go south to SW Morgan Street, where you take a right.  Go down the hill and take a left at the stop sign on Fauntleroy and follow it down to the terminal.

Southworth is located by turning onto Sedgwick Rd. (Highway 160) off Highway 16 and taking a right on Southworth Dr. just above the terminal.

The Point Defiance terminal is off Highway 16 onto Pearl Street (Highway 163) in Tacoma, where you take a right and head north to its end.

Story and photos by Tim Clinton.

 

Tour the Cascade volcanoes by air

There's more than one way to see the Cascade volcanoes of Oregon and Washington.

You can take days and pick them off one by one in your vehicle.

But there's also the option of seeing them in the span of about an hour by jet on your way to or from California.

Nine of them were clearly visible for those on the right side of Alaska Airlines Flight 1061from Santa Ana's John Wayne airport to SeaTac the afternoon of January 19th -- as they are on many West Coast flights.

In this case the glistening snow covered peaks stood out above a sea of low clouds as viewed from an announced height of 38,000 feet.

Mount McLoughlin near Medford and Ashland led off the parade, and after awhile the Three Sisters came into view.

One was spotted first from the inside seat away from the window, and a lean forward suddenly revealed a second volcanic peak.

In the case of Oregon where there is two that close there must be another, and sure enough a lean back into the seat revealed a third.

After the scene that was too close and big to fit into one photo frame, clouds once again dominated the scene until another peak came into view -- Mount Jefferson.

Shortly thereafter the distinctive pointed peak of Mount Hood popped into view.

Next up in the lineup of nine was somewhat distant Mount Adams in Washington, and it was followed shortly by truncated Mount St. Helens.

This mountain had its peak slide off into a huge explosion on May 18, 1980.

Now it sat peacefully below all coated with snow, with the crater visible as well as two lakes on the exploded north side, Spirit Lake and Coldwater Lake.

Coldwater was created by the events on that fateful day in 1980, while Spirit Lake existed before but was greatly rearranged by them.

Before the blast the now log strewn lake surrounded by mostly barren but recovering hills was a gem sitting among a pristine forest.

 Last but certainly not least to appear was Mount Rainier.

At first it was visible in the distance, but quickly disappeared from view through the windows as the Boeing 737-800 banked down toward SeaTac.

Just as quickly the mighty landmark snapped back into view as the jet liner evened out, this time from a closer and lower vantage point.

The non-volcanic but also snow capped Olympics appeared in the west as the airplane circled around to the north for its landing at SeaTac International.

How to get there:

Book a round trip to a California destination on a hopefully clear enough day and forgo the urge to nap, read or watch a movie and look out the window.

Photos and text by Tim Clinton.

Mt. McLoughlin

Three Sisters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three Sisters

Mt. Jefferson

 

Mt. Hood

Mt. Adams

Mt. St. Helens