Following our usual travel ethos, we followed a reasonable selection of back roads that eventually deposited us at the Boeing Factory car park where we enjoyed a tour of the facility. To be honest it wasn’t overly riveting, a bit like watching paint dry really and a lot of time observing workers making use of their smart phones!

The “Airbus” brand bashing by the tour guide did get a little tiring after a while, but left us in no doubt that he loves being part of Boeing! He was very well versed on the size of the Boeing facility and complex as well with a never ending stream of statistics about the facility. But to be fair, it’s pretty hard to zaz up watching a few pieces of a Boeing passenger jet come together when you only have a small window of time in which to observe the procedure. All in all however it was worth the effort and well organised.

A little more effort is required in securing campsites along the west coast as it’s intermittently dotted with high density population centres that make cheap overnight camping more of a challenge unless you are a Walmart or Casino Camper victim as mentioned in the last post! Since we’d broken the Walmart HooDoo, an overnight casino stop wasn’t much of a stretch.

Tulalip Casino car park proved quite interesting. The following morning as we enjoyed our coffee, we were entertained by the security staff as they did their best to explain the clearly stated rules nicely posted on a large sign at the entry gate to a small group of, shall we say, vagrant travellers. They didn’t seem overly keen to be moved on however!

Whilst a bit of a laugh watching from afar, it’s rather sad but I’m under no illusion, however, that for some it’s a lifestyle choice and not a reflection of the general state of things. Rather, it’s their chosen variant on what we may consider normal.

A detour to Snohomish, known for it’s antique shops, was worth the effort as it was quite a nice little town!

We entered Seattle from the north via an area known as the Gas Works, an old power station that’s been reworked as modern art and public open space.

It was a really nice way to enter the city, as we were able to view the city skyline from across the bay and watch floatplanes arrive and depart right alongside the city centre. We spent a little time in the area as we needed to source a new filter for our Seagull drinking water system and also have Jen’s quite expensive Pacsafe travel bag replaced under warranty and it just so happened that both of these tasks could be completed in the same area!

Along the coast and after a few U-turns on the south side of the city, we visited the Pacific Galleries Antique Mall recommended to us by Alison and David in Calgary.

Renowned for it’s antiques, there were some very cool bits and pieces available within this huge building! Luckily we don’t have a lot of space which rendered our visit one of observation rather than purchasing! Next time maybe…

A late departure from the Antique mall and still being within the confines of suburbia meant our overnight camping options were once again limited and Muckleshoot Casino car park became our home for the night!

I have to admit that it’s a laugh staying in these car parks and watching the weirdo’s that we share the Earth with but not an experience I’d like to consistently indulge in.

We deviated inland from the coast to McMinnville in Oregon to visit the Evergreen Air and Space Museum, now home to Howard Hughes’ “Spruce Goose“ along with many other amazing aircraft and space related displays.

Nick-named the “Spruce Goose” by the antagonistic media of the day (but actually made from Birch); this really is an outstanding looking aircraft. Clean lines and beautifully finished, it truly is a tremendous credit to those craftsman that constructed her under such difficult conditions – both due to the eccentricities of Howard Hughes and the ridicule he was bombarded with by the media, but also the lack of materials available for the construction of this amazing machine which prompted it to be made from wood in the first place.

It really was a little sad to see it hangered permanently – it looks ready to be fuelled and take to the sky- wouldn’t that be a fantastic sight.

Another added bonus for those wishing to visit this Museum is that you’re able to camp in their car park.

Heavy rains made it imperative to make south. We clung to the coast most of the way to San Francisco. Enjoying a mixture of weather conditions! A few pics below of our varied campsites along the way, some of which were surprisingly isolated given the increase in population and infrastructure. There are good opportunities to get off the beaten path here and there with a network of rather dilapidated roads criss-crossing the highway allowing access to excellent coastal areas.

The Humboldt National Forest and Redwood National Park were standouts for us. Our first taste of the huge Redwood trees that so many come to see. Majestic and massive, these really are goliaths of nature not only in size but also in age with some surviving upwards of 2000 years.

Heavy traffic and you know you’re getting close to San Francisco but just before the Golden Gate Bridge you can exit the highway and head into the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

A huge area of walking trails and natural coastal landscape awaits with a smattering of now defunct coastal defence bunkers with westerly views to the Pacific and easterly views back across the famous bridge with the city beyond.

About 10km south of the City we checked into an RV park allowing us a little easier explorations of the area.

Eastward and over the Oakland Bay Bridge! These steel structures really do amaze me with double-decker lanes of traffic and not a gap between the cars day and night. The amount of traffic pulsing in and out of such large suburban centres is really staggering.

Not to mention the ridiculous antics that you witness whenever you are in heavy traffic. There is always one that thinks they are smarter than everyone else and it is not hard to see why multi-car pile-ups occur in such environments.

We’d pushed along a little during our transit to Yosemite in the hope that the Tioga Rd, which travels east west through the park, would still be open. It always closes around the middle of November depending on when the first heavy snow falls begin. A really scenic way to continue travelling east, it also allowed us to visit the Ghost town of Bodie without a rather large detour. As luck would have it the road closed 2 days after our transit!

Now over the Sierra Nevada Range, there is a distinct change in the landscape. Gone is the green and moist feeling encountered west of the mountains as they push against the incoming fronts causing them to release their store of rain. Replaced now by more reds and creams, the desert varnish has reappeared on the sandstone and the flora has taken on that more distinct form of arid shrub with skinny leaves and a more pale appearance.

The other stark change is the collapse in population – from metropolis to lonely backcountry in only a few hundred kms. Continuing on, we found our way to Fish Lake Hot Springs, emerging from what looks like a flood plain between small ranges it’s reached via about 10km of good dirt road.

Maintained by the local community, it’s favored as a camping area by ATV riders and other locals from mining ventures and the like in the area.

The 38-degree water was extremely therapeutic. We soaked in the rudimentary concrete tub plumbed into the natural spring well into the evening. The “Super Moon” provided the natural lighting whilst we watched flocks of small birds take to the sky in swarms before they descended back into the small shrubs around the springs. Eventually they settled in for the night, as did we.

Next up the Extra-Terrestrial Hwy as we wander around Nevada.

Justin.