Border Jump

July in Oregon is over and it's time for August in Washington.

In our travels around this fantastic and beautiful country, so often the difference in terrain as we move from one state to the next is remarkable - as though they decided on the border based the change in scenery. Not so in the Northwest - fir trees are fir trees.

We are starting out on the Olympic Peninsula, where the mountains are not the lonely, solo peaks of the main range of the Cascades. Here the coastal land gives way to a cluster of 5000-8000 foot mountains dotted with lakes and rivers that make up the Olympic National Park. Wild beaches and rugged terrain and forests primeval and the gardens of Victoria, BC. Lots to try to see over the next 10 days - especially when part of many weekends has to include time to watch Tiger win another golf tournament.

Our first stop is in a lovely "resort" along the Hood Canal, a fjord-like seaway forming the peninsula's eastern boundary. From here we make our first forays into the national park.