Washington State

The evergreen state lived up to its name with farmlands, trees, politics, and the sometimes aegon color of the Pacific Ocean.  

As residents of Bellingham, Mount Baker a dormant volcano became our playscape and I found my field of Joy on Whidbey Island, our place of work and respite.  

The state parks and national parks are welcoming and affordable for camping even if families swarmed them like ants in the summer; we enjoyed many of them spring and fall.  

We built friendships and a local life which was hard to leave but we took what we love with us and left the disappointments behind.

Acadia National Park

Getting reservations for any campground in Acadia national park is difficult so we stayed in the state park for two days to start our experience.  After a nice lunch in a pullout near the harbor, we set up camp at the state park.  It was hot and humid, for Maine.  Our corner site was not very level but we made due.  We hopped in the jeep and drove straight to the beach.  The familiar red cabbage head jellyfish were plentiful.  As the sun set we headed home for a night of Ally McBeal, we brought the entire series on DVD.  These are my TV addiction medication.  

After several phone calls, the next day, our mail was located.  Kathy's mom had bundled our mail and sent it to us.  We headed into Ba HaBa or Bar Harbor to pick up mail and found a great Thai tea and coffee shop.  Then we were off to drive Acadia Loop.  Beautiful scenery hidden amongst fog and throngs of people.  We drove all the way up  Cadillac Mountain and got more Acadia stamps for Kathy's book National Parks Book.  Cadillac Mountain was a fog fest!  It rolled it heavy as we approached the crest.  At the top, the fog was thicker than pea soup!  Visibility was less than twenty feet.  The drive down was much slower as we feared cars that had pulled off into turn-outs would pull out in front of us.  

At the bottom, the fog was gone.  Hunger called.  We found the Chartroom, as per our locals recommendation from the Mexican restaurant up north, and feasted on lobster.  

Check out from the State Park was accented with a bike crash.  I backed the Jeep into a tree with the bikes on the back.   Kathy was upset mostly because I bent her rim.  Off to KOA for LP.  The nice guy filling our LP told us fellow work campers about corporate KOA jobs. Apparently, they offer great benefits.  A few minutes down the road, we joined the line for camping registration at Seawall Campground, the western park in Acadia.  

The campground was large and full even with no electricity.  It's alway interesting walking around and looking at other rigs.  The most memorable this time was a small class B. They set up behind us across the narrow road.  When they open the door out jumps two large white dogs.  Yes, two Great Pyraness and two adults in a large van!  

After our snooping around walk, we drove to many of the Acadia sights, Echo Lake, Seal Cove, Bass Harbor lighthouse.  Beauty at every turn but we were somewhat let down.  We decided our mistake was visiting Alaska first.  

We followed another recommendation and had dinner at the Seafood Street Diner.  It was pricy but flavors were spot on.  Upscale progressive dining and cocktails.  We recommend it too!  

On the way home, we stopped and watched the tide come in.  We sat on the rocks for an hour or so.  I enjoyed searching tide pools for starfish and crabs, picking at shiny rocks and watching seagulls of every variety.  We watched ducks swim in the ocean, yes finally, the real Atlantic Ocean.

Our evening entertainment the Ranger Todd show.  The program was about the sounds of the area.  Todd entertained us with his "twin" brother Ted (really just Todd) singing corny renditions of recognizable tunes. The walk home was in the real dark.  With only a disposable flashlight obtained from the Wisconsin Lumberjack competitions, and solar powered path lights we walked cautiously home.

The next day we had errands to do in town.  We found a laundry mat and tried to charge our computers, iPads and iPhones.  We bought groceries at the expensive town market and pharmacy.  Back to the seashore, the pounding surf, and a call with a job offer for next summer in South Dakota working at a motel. We discussed returning to Alaska, for a winter, well Kathy did.

Dinner on the open grate fire pit of steak and hobo potatoes we celebrated our last night in Acadia.  Finally, a flicker of our lights, our house batteries had dropped because we hadn't  used the generator for over five days.  We learned what our new limits of our batteries.  I finished reading Walking My Dog, Jane and decided, Alaska here we come!  Well, not quite yet.  

 

 

 

Ojo Caliente

One of the things I miss from our sticks and bricks home is a bathtub.  I love to light a few candles, throw some lavender Epsom salts into a steaming hot tub and scrunch down into the water until I'm entirely immersed to soak as long as I can stand it.  When we hit the road, Kathy promised me I'd get a bath or at least a swim every few months.  When learning about the geothermal dimensions of New Mexico, I was excited about all the natural hot springs throughout the state.  I researched and found Ojo Caliente in northern New Mexico to be an Internet reviewed favorite.  Ojo Caliente is a spring, a resort, and a New Mexico location. The location is merely a few B&Bs and restaurants and it's not even an incorporated town.

I called Ojo Caliente Spa and resort for reservations since they also have an RV park.  The phone rang to an answering machine so I left several messages but never got a return call.  We took our chances and headed there anyway. We figured we could find another campsite if necessary.  Luckily it wasn't.  Upon our arrival, I asked to speak to the manager about the telephone issue.  He was very apologetic and said weather had been disrupting their service.  He asked if our purpose of visiting was to soak in the hot springs. When we responded yes, he gave us both free passes for the evening.

We drove through a narrow gate and circled around a dirt roadway to our site.  The place was comparatively empty when compared to the resort parking lot we had just driven through.  Our wooded site was close to a small creek and felt very secluded.  After setting up camp and having a light dinner, we ventured out into the chilly air and headed to the springs.

We entered the springs through the hotel lobby.  There are lockers available in the bathrooms for clothes and personal items.  You can rent a lock or bring your own.  The waters have been used for medicinal reasons for centuries and their website will tell you more.  

We changed into our suits and headed out toward the large Kiva pool.  It is filled with spring fed waters containing arsenic and iron.  Next to it was a mineral spring that was advertised as being good for arthritis.  The temperature was 107.  We joined the four others already soaking and it was perfect. We watched as one man began talking to another about aliens and unusual occurrences around the area.  The other man became uncomfortable and left.  When he began talking to us, we decided to go check out the other pools as well.  Although the mud pool was closed, we tried all the others and came back to the Kiva pool for its perfect temperature and wonderful view of the stars.  

Once soaked thoroughly, we went to the sauna.  It was a short lived trip because the man with the inappropriate stories followed us in.  We decided it was time for a shower and to get back to the puppies. The final dog walk of the evening was short lived as the dark seemed ominous in the deserted and quiet campground.

The next morning it was puppy time and we took them on a nice long walk.  We made the campground loop, followed a dirt road away from the campground and happened upon a wonderful national historic site.  The Ojo Caliente round barn was built in 1924.  It was in wonderful condition and reminded me of the round barns in Minnesota.  After exploring the area, Keila and I decided to walk the meditation path.  She didn't quite understand how staying to the path would get you where you wanted to be and pretty much walked wherever she chose.  I found it quite rewarding and can feel the presence of my meditation as I write this nine months after it occurred.

This was a great discovery and I highly recommend a visit.  We certainly plan on returning sooner than later.