Through Customs and back in the USA

      We left Vancouver, British Columbia and headed 15 miles south to the US/Canada border to check back in to the US. We were totally surprised how fast we were checked back in to the US. One car in front of us and five minutes later we where were back in the USA - in to the state of Washington. We have always been fortunate to have relatively easy check-ins back in to the US.

      We found an RV park for an extended stay to visit the Seattle area - Tall Chiefs RV Resort in the suburb of Sammamish. Nice resort with lots of trees/forest and quiet.  It was hard to believe that we were in a major metropolitan area until we drove out of the RV resort and on to Hwy. 202 to go somewhere and we found ourselves stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic.  We quickly discovered we needed to plan our trips around the area with extra time and around major traffic periods of travel.

      We spent several days touring the Seattle area - home of the Mariners and the Seahawks, Starbucks Coffee, Pike Place Market, and the Boeing Company. One beautiful stop for us was the Snoqualmie Falls, a 268 Ft. tall waterfall on the Snoqualmie River that is one of Washington's most popular scenic attractions.  The falls is also known for its appearance in the cult television series - Twin Peaks.

      We spent a day visiting downtown Seattle where we visited the well-known Pike Place Market - famous for its fish throwing market employees, beautiful flowers and fresh veggies and fruit. We also walked all along the waterfront  park area and ate lunch (fish of course!) at Ivar's Fish Bar overlooking the harbor.

      We also spent a day visiting the quaint waterfront village of Gig Harbor on the sound. This is a very pretty waterside village with shops and restaurants and many homes with great million dollar views of water and sound area. We ate lunch at the Tides Tavern on the deck in beautiful weather.

     Another day was spent touring the Boeing factory north of Seattle in Everett, WA. We saw three different assembly lines building the 747, 777, and the 787 planes - very impressive.  We  also had a chance to watch several newly built aircraft take off for one of their maiden test flights from the Boeing air field next to the plant. This is the largest manufacturing plant in the world - and they can now build a 747 in three days. WOW!!! We also toured the Future of Flight Museum there.

      After spending time in the Seattle area, we headed 130 miles east on route 101- a Scenic Byway drive  to Sequim, WA. Sequim is known as the lavender capital of the world and it is also located on the doorstep to Olympic National Park. Sequim has the beautiful Cascade Mountains to the south and the Strait of Juan De Fuca to the north along with Vancouver Island.

      We spent three nights in the John Wayne Waterfront RV Resort in Sequim.  The RV resort is named for "The Duke" who owned the property and developed it. It is still owned by the John Wayne family, operated by John Wayne's  grandson. The RV park is located across the street from Sequim Bay and the John Wayne Marina and Park. We also spent two nights in the Sequim Bay State Park Campground.

     Olympic National Park has three distinctly different ecosystems - rugged glacier-capped mountains, more than 70 miles of wild Pacific coast and magnificent strands of old-growth trees and temperate rain forest- a very unique park. There are breathtaking mountain vistas, colorful tide pools and some of the largest remnants of ancient forests remaining in the USA.  

      Our plan is to visit the north and the east side of the park from three different campgrounds. We drove to the main visitor's center at the Port Angeles entrance and drove the Hurricane Ridge area, named for the strong winds that blow through the area. From the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center we could see the glaciers to the south and east and straits to Vancouver Island to the north with beautiful views.

      One day were caught the ferry to Victoria, Vancouver Island for a day trip.  We spent the day touring the 55-acre Butchart Gardens and the Victoria waterfront. The Butchart Gardens are absolutely beautiful - more than 1,000 varieties of flowers- open 365 days a year with the gardens all outside.  The best gardens we have even toured.   One of the top gardens in North America.

      While in Sequim we also visited a lavender farm, toured town, Dungeness Recreation Area and Port Townsend. Tomorrow we are headed East to the coast and the Pacific Ocean for several days.