A Case of the Mondays

At our last writing, we were headed to Olympic National Park in the farthest northwest corner of the Lower 48. This sprawling park is renowned for the fact that it spans three unique ecosystems – lush rain forest, high alpine peaks, and rugged Pacific coast. Our focus on this visit was the craggy coast and we lined up an overnight backpacking excursion. There are few places in the temperate world where you can walk along miles and miles of undeveloped coastline, so we wanted to make the most of it. We made our hike much more interesting than it needed to be by disregarding our tide schedule and trudging out near high tide. This injected lots of exciting opportunities to duck under gigantic driftwood logs and scramble over slippery rocks in alternating time with the lapping waves. It seems the rangers really do know what they are talking about.




















Besides its rocky, unspoiled beauty, this shoreline is also famous for its smothering fog. We got to experience plenty of both. In one of our sunny interludes, as we sat by our campfire on the beach and stared out at the crashing surf, Carolyn announced that she was ready to see something swimming in the ocean. As if on cue, a sea otter munching on clams leisurely paddled past. That evening as the tide went out, we mucked around in the abundant tide pools, prodding anemones, starfish, and crabs at will. At dinner that night, Carolyn sealed her position as Ben’s favorite camping accomplice with four delectable words, “You can finish it.” The sun gave us a spectacular send-off, with an orange sky tickling the sea stacks to the endless sound of pounding breakers.

The next day we headed back towards civilization, camping in the shadow of Hurricane Ridge. Then it was back across the Puget Sound and north to Vancouver. After nearly two months on the road, we were finally going a tiny bit international, eh. All of Ben’s business trips to romantic destinations like Oklahoma City paid themselves off when we cashed in the accumulated hotel points for a few Hilton nights in the city. We enjoyed a lavish two room suite with impossibly white linens and one giant TV per guest. We spent our time walking the bustling streets and riding public transportation, usually overwhelmed by the cacophony around us. We feasted on lots of seafood and produce, including the frugal triumph of an all-you-can-eat sushi lunch for $12. We have come to love Mondays for things like that – all the part-time tourists get back to work and us full-time tourists get back to solitude and lower prices. This summer, having a “case of the Mondays” has gone from being the dreaded illness that rears its ugly head on Sunday afternoons to something to celebrate.

The Pacific Northwest is experiencing record heat this summer. We felt this firsthand on our visit to Whistler, which was baking in 35 degree Celsius heat. We couldn’t remember the conversion formula either, but trust us, it’s hot. The entire area is preparing to host the 2010 Winter Olympics and the crowds have descended early to see the venues. With no more free hotel nights, it didn’t take long for the heat and hordes to chase us back to the States.

Our next stop was North Cascades National Park in Northern Washington where we hiked and camped. Our loop trail was cut short by a fast-approaching thunderstorm that spooked us from the exposed ridgeline and soaked us to the bone before we could retreat to the car. Our campsite didn’t offer much relief. We either camped right under a waterfall with an amazing pyrotechnic accompaniment or we were treated to one incredible thunderstorm. We’re leaning towards the latter, as we found out the next morning that the road we came in was buried by a mudslide in the night. Luckily, we’re now eastbound and tore through the scorched plains of Eastern Washington yesterday. It was mind-numbing driving, so we took out the atlas and played a rousing game of “What would be worse than living in Lake Charles, LA?” Sorry to the 12,500 residents of Williston, ND, but your town is the only place in the Lower 48 deemed worse this time around.

Today we blew through the Idaho panhandle and into Montana, our home for the next week…

P.S. If any of you fine readers see a car with a Delaware license plate, please send them our way. This has been our only remaining plate for a few weeks now and it’s becoming quite vexing.