Into Idaho and the Kahnderosa

We headed out this morning, away from Icicle River RV Park, Leavenworth, and RV park managers who direct you into collisions between your truck and trailer.

Zorah and I headed to the river for one last time after breakfast. Sparkly!

After a few pictures, we headed out of Washington State and into Idaho.

Idaho is not just a big potato farm. It's lush, mountainous, and green. We only stayed one night here, at a park called the Kahnderosa. The sky was getting dark like a heavy rain was coming, and we'd rather be parked for that then not. The camp host assigned us a spot away from the trees. Apparently, cottonwood branches have a tendency to fly off during storms.

When the air cleared, we ventured out into the night, braving mosquitoes to observe the more pleasant local wildlife.

Zorah ended up playing for the rest of the night with a little girl camped not too far away. She left this goodbye note for her friend the next morning since they were already away from their site.

Leavenworth, WA

Leavenworth prides itself on being this Bavarian town nestled in Washington State.

It has old world charm,


buildings that evoke a happier, simpler time,


and some of the ugliest dolls ever to be created.

Icicle River RV Park

Any time we told people in Washington that we were headed east, they told us we had to drive through the Cascades on our way, and to stop in Leavenworth, a Bavarian village incongruously set down in the middle of the state of Washington, USA. So we did.

We checked out of our park and headed east on Route 2. During one stretch of our drive, "Tales from the Vienna Woods" was playing on the radio. I listened to it as I looked out the window at the deep, thick vegetation that bordered both sides of the road. The mossy trees were draped in shadow. No direct sunlight made it through their branches. I was happy to be on the road.

As morning brightened to day, we reached Icicle River RV Park, located on the road approaching this lovely mountain.

The camp hosts were a friendly couple, and the husband offered to help direct Brian as he backed into our spot. As he was "helping" direct us, Brian told him he was worried that if we kept backing up at the angle he was indicating to us, the front corner of the trailer would hit the cab of the truck. "Oh, I'm watching that," the man said. Ten seconds later, crunch! The corner of the trailer hit the back of the truck. Brian told the guy to please leave. When we looked at the corner, it was really no worse than any of the other damage we've done to the truck.

Meanwhile, Zorah was running around the park chasing swallowtail butterflies. For some reason, there were about fifty of them drinking water from a puddle in the middle of the park. The guy had also steered us over them, so there were probably about sixty before we came in.

To back into our space, I got behind the wheel and Brian directed me without further mishaps. We unhitched, unpacked, and rested a bit before heading out to see the town of Leavenworth.

Bainbridge Island

After Archie McPhee we drove over to the Bainbridge Island ferry. There, we lined up behind dozens of cars to board. I think the last time I went on a ferry in a car was over 30 years ago, so it was quite a treat for all involved. It's a strange idea to me to be able to take your land vehicle across the water. Stranger still were the police K-9 units sniffing about the ferry parking lot. I mean, seriously, is the Bainbridge Island ferry or any of its passengers significant to national security? What do I know.

Anyway, we drove onto the ferry, parked, got out, and went upstairs, where Zorah proceeded to blow bubbles on the deck. She had brought them in a special little bag just for that purpose.

Then she and Brian chased each other around the top deck.

We didn't really have any idea of where to go once we got off the ferry, but our waitress at lunch told us if we drove down to a certain road, we would find the beach. You would be surprised at how difficult it can be to find the beach on an island only five miles wide and ten miles long. They try to conceal it with winding suburban roads and beach clubs. We triumphed after about an hour, finding the beach and dock where the high school kids like to hang out after school. how do I know? Because they were all beginning to flock there shortly after we arrived.

Zorah played on the beach for a minute or so, until she heard that the teenagers were jumping off the end of the dock. Not the one pictured above, which was a modest and very six-year-old-friendly two or three feet from the water, but the one below, which was a very sixteen-year-old friendly 10 or 12 feet up.



As Zorah was running down the dock with her towel, she saw two girls in front of her, blocking the way as they slowly strolled to the end. "Excuse me, ladies!" she shouted as she ran by. The girls parted and turned around in surprise as Zorah ran between them.


It took a little while for them to coordinate it, but after about half an hour of Brian gathering up the nerve to jump in to the still icy waters, they did it.

I was glad Brian was there to jump in with her. I don't think I would have. Being a parent you expect to make certain sacrifices for your children, but plunging into near-Arctic waters just isn't one I'm prepared to make.

Mecca

Almost 15 years ago, I somehow discovered a company called Archie McPhee. I'm not sure how, maybe from a banner ad on the internet. Anyway, I fell in love with their weird items -- such as Jesus action figures, Senor Mysterioso, and Squirrel Underpants -- to the point where I even got all my Christmas presents there one year. I was thrilled to find that they actually had a physical location, even if it was in Seattle. So I vowed back then that if I were ever in the area, I would go to the store.

Entering Seattle, thoughts of Archie McPhee loomed large. At the same time, it seemed somewhat ridiculous to make a special trip to the store, which was half an hour away from our campground. But it seemed more ridiculous not to go thirty miles when I had already traveled more than a few hundred. So on our way to the Bainbridge Island ferry, I plotted our route to take us to Archie McPhee.

I think we spent about half an hour in the store, and I was laughing for pretty much the whole time. I think the Stress Weiner set me off.

No regrets, and fond memories as I fulfilled an early adulthood dream. I only wish there were some way Michael could retrieve the Bibo alarm clock and give it to me.

Beach Quest

Today we wanted to find a good beach at which to spend an afternoon. Our strategy: pull up a map of the area on Mapquest and drive around. We found Des Moines Beach Park. It looked like a beach on the map, but when we walked down a path to a pretty expansive beach, we found that it was fenced off, and the only place to lie out in the sun (not our goal in any case) was the grass.

Zorah had fun anyway climbing the rocks that bordered the path on the ocean side. She sang and climbed and crawled all the way back down the path.

We went to the small, rocky beach closer to the parking lot for a little while. But it just didn't seem like a nice place to spend a long time.

We headed back home, stopping first to eat at a mexican restaurant called Azteca. Apparently it was one of a chain. These restaurants are light, airy, and decorated with all sorts of tile and plates. Zorah said it looked like a Mexican palace. She took this picture because she was so impressed with the decor.

Not a very eventful day, but a good one.

Kubota Gardens

As we were approaching Seattle from Portland, I saw the words "Kubota Garden" on one of those attraction signs by the side of the highway. When I googled it, I found that the Kubota Garden is a public park. It was initially the private project of one Mr. Fujitari Kubota, who immigrated here from Japan and in 1927, bought five acres of swampland to convert into a Japanese garden. Eighty-two years later, it is a sprawling, stunning, winding twenty acres.

Even when it was privately owned, it was shared with the public. The serenity of the place is apparent at the first glimpse of the gate. Of course, I then noticed the sign warning visitors not to leave valuables in their cars. After returning to the car to remove the faceplate from our stereo, a week-old replacement for our old one, Zorah and I proceeded to passs through the gate.

Immediately to our right were some artfully placed rocks which Zorah climbed for a while.

We wound down some paths that I think may have been strictly for maintenance of the park rahter than for exploration, when we heard someone coughing the sick, hacking cough of the unsavory. Now traveling in the opposite direction, we came to a stand of pines and saw this bumblebee trying to burrow into the ground. I have never heard of that before, and we were fascinated with watching it. I guess this was the queen bee trying to find a new nest? It seemed like it kept digging.


We went down and up more narrow and windy paths, shaded by huge rhododendrons that had been growing here probably for 80 years or more. Each clearing led to a beautiful surprise, be it a red bridge or one made of stone slabs.






We began walking up a hill and ran into a little girl and her grandmother. They were at the park searching for letterboxes. If you've never heard of them, as I hadn't, they are little boxes people hide on the grounds of parks/points of interest around the world. Clues to their locations are posted on a website. You take a stamp you have made and a notebook with you to find the boxes, in which are contained a notebook and a homemade stamp. Each notebook gets a stamp and a note on who you are and where you're from. Pretty neat. And a little bit of a motivator to go out and explore your world. Zorah and Ellie had fun searching for them.




When Ellie and her grandmother had to go, Zorah and I walked around the park for a little while longer. Being hot and tired, though, we didn't stay for long.

Just long enough to figure out that I can use the timer on my camera fairly successfully.

And to take a picture of this tree with leaves like fans.