Once back in America we headed down past Seattle and Olympia to Millersylvania State Park. It was a little chilly and getting dark so we did a quick set up with the stove inside the tent (a project we sorted whilst in Mongolia). Upon completion it started to rain a little. Thinking we had timed it perfectly we settled indoors to stay warm and dry. That was until the rain got a little harder, and then harder still. It was also at this time that it became apparent that our tent was in need of re-waterproofing and that we should really always put the extra awning up as a precaution. In the end it was a case of too little too late as Hayden turned Boy Scout and dug a trench to direct the impending puddle away from our door. We arranged various extra poles to prevent pooling of water on the tent roof and settled into bed, needing to huddle closer together as the night progressed in order to avoid the small puddles accumulating at the edges. The morning came and the rain had still not stopped. We decided to pack up as quickly as possible and move on to Portland where we had some indoor accommodation booked. Naturally the rain finally eased as the last soggy item was being loaded into the car, but after a hot shower and change into dry clothes we were on our way.
In Portland we stayed in a really cute room in a gorgeous hundred year old house with our lovely host Jen. Jen directed us to a bar/restaurant for dinner where the southern style chicken was tasty and the beer was $4 for a 40oz glass bottle they serve in a bucket of ice like champagne and later we enjoyed falling asleep to the sound of rain from the comfort of a bed and a real roof.
Despite adding the extra Rocky Mountain Springs in Canada, Maggie was still having some minor issues. We had heard about a Land Rover guru in Springfield (of The Simpsons fame) and after speaking to Ike over the phone, we decided to stop by Pangolin 4×4. At this point it was Friday afternoon and not only did Ike open his shop over the weekend to allow Hayden to work on Maggie (fitting her with free wheeling hubs, which happened to include changing the front half shafts in order to make them fit) but he also assisted in welding various brackets together for a new steering damper, going for test drives and offering valuable advice. On top of this, he and his girlfriend Jenna took us to Mexican for dinner, ice cream for dessert, and bakeries and breweries for lunch! And a walk through an extremely old hazelnut grove, to which I can admit I had never given any thought to how hazelnuts grow, but the straight rows of twisted old tress were impressive.
Monday morning came and we waved goodbye to some more newfound friends and headed for the coast, Ike and Jenna had given us a ‘locals tip’ on where to free camp on the beach. We arrived at the coast and took Maggie for a spin on the sand and watched the tumultuous ocean from high on the Oregon dunes. We found a little nook just back off the beach behind the dunes (not game to actually pitch up on the beach due to crazy tides). We came for one night but stayed for two. Free drift wood providing the necessary fire to dry out our still slightly wet belongings from our watery camping a few days ago.
Once things had dried and our food supplies began to dwindle we had to pack up and leave. We headed south down the beautiful Oregon coastline and found a lovely camping spot looking out over Flora Lake to the sea. Learning from our mistakes we set the awning up to cover the tent just in case of rain. Good choice. Just after getting in to bed the wind howled and the rain lashed from all directions, it literally sounded like someone was throwing buckets of water on the tent. At about 5am we heard an almighty crack as one of the awning ropes snapped. Up we got, raincoats on and wrestled with the elements to tame the wildly flapping awning and secure it back in place. Mother Nature continued to pour buckets on the tent and sometime around 7am I fell back to sleep. Drifting in and out of sleep and constantly hearing the rain, we didn’t dare open the tent door until everything appeared to stop around 9:30am. A sneaky peak out led to grey skies and a huge muddy puddle! Boy Scout Hayden once again jumped on trench digging duty to drain it all away. In a matter of minutes the grey clouds covering the sky rolled back to reveal pristine blue and golden sunshine. Time to get drying again. Fortunately the campsite was not very busy so we were able to spread out and move our wet possessions into full sunlight. All dried out, again, we carried on down the coast along magnificent winding roads overlooking the fierce ocean. Having looked at the weather forecast to discover more storms on their way, we opted for a cheap hotel and made good use of the laundry facilities! Once again, the weather went mental and standing at the window at 4am looking at the torrential rain, I was grateful for the large, cosy bed and solid four walls around me.
Washington and Oregon, you are lovely and your spectacular evergreen trees and natural beauty are a sight like no other, but I think it’s time to get to sunny California.
The green and wet Pacific Northwest
