I have just barely recovered from my camping adventures in Utah and Arizona and am getting excited again. Another adventure is waiting around the corner! This time, we embark on a family road trip to the Pacific Northwest to Washington and along the Pacific Ocean to California. The trip’s theme is to explore the unique forests of this region.

We started testing a camper trailer we were about to borrow well before our departure. I have never towed any trailer behind a car anywhere. Let alone a big trailer that could sleep our family of four and weighs nearly 5000 pounds. On top of that, we needed to pack a lot of stuff for a journey that would be about 4000 miles long and last almost two weeks. 

Luckily, my friend, the camper’s owner, was there to help. The first task was to install the brake controller in my truck to adjust the brakes’ strength on the trailer. Then, we needed to ensure good working order of all the necessary camper equipment, such as the water pump, heating, fridge, and so on. Since many things needed fixing, it was clear that some maintenance problems would surely arise during the trip. So, I paid close attention to all the repairs we have been doing.

I thought this was a fantastic opportunity and part of the adventure. Taking my family through the wilderness while fixing and keeping together an older camper. Occasionally, I may even have to chase away a bear or two to protect them! It sounded so romantic.

Okay, everything is packed, and we are ready to go toward our first destination: The North Cascades National Park. We left Denver early in the morning and headed toward Casper, Wyoming. The destination for the day was in Idaho, near the border with Washington. It was easy until we hit the plains of Wyoming with a strong wind. I felt I could not go faster than 50 miles/hour as the trailer started to sway at any attempt to increase the speed. I was beginning to worry that we might not make it to Idaho that day.

Luckily, the wind calmed down in the northern part of Wyoming, and we could go faster. Then we got a flat tire on the trailer. I pulled over and appreciated that the trailer had two independent axles. I called roadside assistance and found a technician nearby. We were back on our journey in about one hour.

We arrived late after dark at our booked KOA campsite in Idaho. The site we requested was supposed to be pull-through, but we got a site where I had to back up with the trailer. I feared this challenge but, surprisingly to me, managed to park without significant problems. Upon inspecting the tires, I realized we needed to fix the reserve wheel ASAP. The rubber on the tires had visible cracks, and I thought the flat tire incident could repeat. So, we called a few tire shops in the vicinity and found one that was more or less along our route and had the tire we needed. A few hours later, we happily drove toward Washington and the North Cascades National Park! It was still light upon our arrival, and I thought the campsite looked fantastic.

Exploring the North Cascades National Park

We settled in the camping spot, parked the trailer, and explored nearby trails into the wilderness. The forests looked magical to us. Creepy moss hung off most tree branches. No wonder they use these visuals in horror movies. Everything was so moist and lush, a stark difference from the dry Colorado.

We entered the Park through a central valley surrounded by very steep and tall peaks. It all looked fantastic. We all thought the view from the top of one of these peaks must be unique. The following day, we picked a hike on one of the mountains. It was a very steep hike, and we reached the top in about five hours with a nice view over the valley and one of the glacial fields on the horizon. Observing the changes in the forest composition with the elevation was so interesting. The size of the trees and the moss was probably changing thanks to differences in moisture and temperature. Going beyond these first peaks deeper into the wilderness must be so cool! With neither equipment nor time, we had to enjoy the views and turn back. Perhaps some other time!   

After making a campfire in the evening, we discussed plans for the next day and decided to visit Seattle along the way to Olympic National Park. We were so close to Canada and Vancouver and tempted to visit there, but we knew we needed to stay realistic and focus on our planned journey.

Seattle and toward the Olympic National Park

We left the Park and drove toward Seattle. The plan was to take a ferry across the canal to the peninsula with the Olympic National Park. We parked the car and the trailer and took a train toward downtown Seattle for a little sightseeing tour and lunch. Walking around a little and visiting a spectacular fish market was pretty but made us hungry. So we stopped by a restaurant serving, not surprisingly, fish. After eating some tasty fish, we returned to the train and the car.

We got onto a ferry called Spokane with no problem and were excited about having a little time to relax on the boat. I thought the Mount Rainier on the horizon next to the skyline of Seattle looked great. I should make a trip to this mountain someday! 

The Olympic National Park

We arrived at our booked camping spot on the northern side of the Olympic National Park. Our campsite was in an “RV court,” and it was great that there were water and electrical hookups. What we did not like as much were about 30 other RVs a few feet from each other. It almost felt like a punishment for people with RVs compared to other camping spots outside the RV court. Those were all embedded in the lush forest in such a way that you almost did not see anyone else! This is where we want to camp, I declared!

Anyway, with charged batteries and filled-up water tanks, we moved to a different campsite the next day. The subsequent 10-mile hike in the forest was amazing. Some majestic spruce trees were everywhere; one could feel diminished and insignificant in these woods. One moment, you walk among the massive trees, and the next, there is a river with a beautiful waterfall.

It was amazing to feel the vastness of the place. We could have kept hiking for another 30 miles to reach Mount Olympus and the central mountain range with glaciers. That would require backpacks and equipment for camping and climbing on ice. Of course, basic ice climbing skills would be needed, too! Once I stopped dreaming, we turned around and went back to our camper.

The next day, we traveled to the western part of the Park, which offered different scenery. We visited a place called the Hoh Rain Forest. The trees here were even more prominent and older, and numerous streams and ponds of water entangled in moss and woods. I have never seen anything like this and was in awe at what nature can do. Such lush green and trees densely covered with moss everywhere brought recollections of how I imagined Mirkwood in Tolkien’s novels.  

The City of Forks and the Pacific Coast 

While driving around the Park, we stopped for coffee at one of the numerous drive-by places in Forks. We thought it must have been a fantastic Washington culture that gave birth to Starbucks. This coffee is SO MUCH BETTER, however!

We hiked along a beach by the Pacific Ocean. We encountered some deja vu feelings thanks to Twilight filming locations. Luckily, there were no vampires or werewolves, and we could enjoy the beautiful scenery of the coast. We met seagulls, numerous cormorants diving for fish, and numerous crabs. If only the ocean were a little warmer, we could bathe!

Along the Pacific Ocean in Oregon and California

Next was a long drive south along the Pacific coast toward Oregon and California. Along the way, my wife was reminded of her love of Nirvana during her teenage years when passing through Kurt Cobain’s birthplace. Then, we chugged along the Pacific coast, slowly watching numerous birds and seals along the rocky beaches. We even visited a cave full of seals!

The stunningly beautiful views along the way were often covered by a dense fog that came and went. We stopped a few times to enjoy the views when possible. Finally, we reached a campsite above a cliff near the ocean. I parked the camper and was getting ready to take off when I noticed one of the camper tires was losing pressure fast. Okay, we know the drill, I thought. I wasn’t as optimistic when I realized the roadside assistance was not available to help us here for some reason. We had to mount the spare tire by ourselves.

Two hours later, with extensive help from fellow RV folks around the camp, we took the wheel off and mounted the reserve. Next, we needed to find a tire shop. We did not want to keep driving without the reserve after having two flats on this trip already!

We got lucky again as one of the technicians in a nearby tire shop agreed to stay overtime and help us swap the tires! It started getting dark once we finished, and there was not much we could do other than have a campfire. It is gratifying that we finished the repairs since it was the 3rd of July, and everything would be closed for the July 4th celebrations! 

Redwoods

We strolled around for some sightseeing the next day. The 4th of July fireworks must have been looking great, too. No one knows, though; it is all covered in the mystery of the fog! Then we took off for California. We intended to camp along the planned path home northeast of the Redwoods as we wanted to leave the trailer behind. This will give us some flexibility with driving and parking in the Redwoods.

The Redwoods are magnificent, and our first trail was stunning as we passed through a very narrow paved road winding around the giant trees. We drove around and hiked through the forests. After choosing a few different areas, we hiked several miles through various trails. I could not have wrapped my head around the size of these trees and their age, spanning centuries and even millennia.

These trees have been around during events we now see only as a history or myths long gone. This thought has concluded our magical journey through the ancient groves of the Pacific West Coast.

Returning Home through Oregon, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming

We started driving early in the morning. Knowing we had to drive almost 1600 miles, we reserved three days for the journey home. It should be feasible to travel a little over 500 miles daily. We noticed posts showing directions toward Crater Lake in Oregon. Tempting, but we should better keep driving.

We reached our first campsite in Nevada when there was still light. The place was a pleasant surprise we did not expect to find in the middle of the desert! It was a well-maintained camp with a lovely pond and a natural hot spring. The water from the hot springs was used in a nearby shower. The showers were in a small bungalow with no electricity, but they were clean, and the warm water was constantly running. We took advantage of this and spent a lovely afternoon at this camp. The bath in the warm water pool and the shower were a bonus!

The next day, we had to drive almost all the way through Utah to a campsite east of Salt Lake City. We had to cross the great plains of the Salt Flats plains. We should have realized beforehand that there are often powerful winds, which made for a very challenging hundred miles to cross. The good thing was that the wind was constant. You could see big semi-trucks with trailers strongly tilted in one direction. The wind would stop briefly every time they passed us, followed by a massive wind whirl, sending our trailer swaying. We could only drive at speeds below 50 mph. Along the way were many reminders of possible dangers. For example, we passed another camper trailer that was less lucky than us and had to stop due to intense wind damage.

We arrived when it was dark already because of the delays. However, it felt good since we did not have any accidents. Only one more day of driving remains through the rest of Utah and then the plains of Wyoming on the Northern side of Colorado. Nothing could stop us now, and we arrived home before dark as planned.