WASHINGTON STATE, USA

Well here we are in the States again. Flew via LA which is very dry at the moment. Amazing how such a huge city can be built in the desert. Lucky they have Hoover Dam for water. Seems a bit of a sore point in some circles in California that so much of the water from the Hoover is gobbled up by LA. Anyway it's a little different in Washington state although the eastern parts have been very dry as well. Arrived in Seattle around 4 pm and after picking up the car headed south on the I 5 toward Centralia. Was drizzling rain and of course we would have to set out at peak hour so was very heavy traffic. Got dark around 6 so we only went as far a DuPont and pulled into a hotel. Certainly escaped the heat of Bowen as it was 11 degrees when we arrived. Cool but not too bad really. Dinner was a brief walk up the road - pizza + a nice local beer for John and the cider I had was lovely as well.


John's beer of the day. Nice.
 

Also couldn't resist this drop which I'm told was also very nice.

One of the things we love about over here is the easy availability of cheap meals in nice places as well as getting to try all the new beers and ciders etc. Contrary to popular belief the yanks do know how to make nice beers. The wait staff are always really pleasant as they need their tips to earn a reasonable income and they are usually very interested to have a chat when they hear you're from Australia.

 

The contrast in countryside is immediately evident. Flying out of LA we could see just how dry it was and there aren't any trees much around there. Then into Seattle and there are trees everywhere even if they don't have any leaves at this time of the year.

 

Our first night away and cyclone Dylan forms off the Queensland coast and heads straight for Bowen. Spent quite some time on the net next morning trying to find out how things were going. Managed to speak to a friend on Facebook around 1 am Qld time but she was in Mackay. Also seeing photos and trying to predict where it was going and whether there would be a storm surge gave us plenty to think about as our lovely dog Leo was still at home in the care of a neighbour.

 

Once we found out that everything was fine back in Aus, we headed south from Du Pont to Centralia where there is quite a large precinct of Direct Factory Outlets. We both grabbed some cheap shoes and of course some clothes for our granddaughter Hope then it was just down the road to Chehalis to get a phone to use over here as mine was locked. Wasn’t too bad as a Samsung phone almost exactly the same as mine cost $15 (yes that’s right – mine was $80 in Aus) and a 5oo minute, unlimited text monthly plan was only $35 so we were happy with that. We went AT&T but Verizon also has very good coverage here on the west coast.



We were a bit taken aback by the sight of beggars sitting on almost every intersection as we came off the I5. They all have signs asking for a handout. Things still aren't that great over here.

Next stop was our hotel for two days at Packwood.  On the way we stopped off to take a look at a lovely house we had seen in 2008 in the little town of Randel. I looks a bit different from it's summer photo when it was surrounded by beautiful flower beds, but is still lovely.

Summer

 



Winter



John found the Hotel Packwood on Tripadvisor and it is a lovely, quaint little place. It has lots of history and according to Nigel, our Kiwi friend who lives here, it was originally the local brother. There was no snow there when we stayed but they do get snow that far down as the picture below shows.

 

Anyway we loved our stay in Packwood. First thing we saw as we drove up were several elk just grazing in the yard. Apparently there is a herd which lives around the town in the winter obviously because there is still some grass around the place.

 

Marilyn, the owner of the hotel is a lovely lady. The rooms are a little small but they are clean and cosy and at $45-$55 a night they are great value. I think for skiers it would be a better price than you would pay at most of the other establishments.

 

Our room at the Packwood.

The cosy parlour.

I christened this guy Fred. He is carved from Western Red Cedar
and in fact most of the hotel is made from this beautiful timber.

 

This old building at the back of the hotel is abandoned but still full of character.

Our first night in Packwood was spent down at the Blue Birch Saloon where we were lucky enough to witness the weekly Thursday night poker tournament. The locals were really friendly and we had a lovely night with both locals and a group of skiers who were up from Seattle.

Sean, second left works the chairlift at White Pass. Say hi to him when you visit.

After breakfast at Cruisers across the road we headed up to White Pass to check out the ski fields. As we approached the snow-line we were immediately taken by the beauty of the snow on the trees and up on the mountainsides. Our trip up was slow as it was punctuated by several photo stops. The locals at the ski field advised us to try the snow-shoeing or cross-country skiing so we decided to return next morning for the 10 am lessons.

 

 

 

It was an early night after an enormous pizza at Cruisers, as we had had too much fun (and wine) the night before.

 

We were up bright and early next morning, more than a little excited about trying our hand at skiing etc. The weather again was perfect – no wind or rain and the sun peeking out from time to time. Apparently, the snow has taken a long time to arrive this year, but has been coming down steadily for the past few weeks. Talking to a regular visitor who comes to ski, we found out that the snow at White Pass is as good as the best powder fields in Utah, which apparently are most popular. We had noticed that the snow was really soft the day before. Anyway we were lucky enough to get an ex national cross country skiing coach called Dick as our teacher. He actually designed the cross country circuit here years ago. I reckon he would have been in his eighties but he certainly didn’t show it on the snow. Our efforts weren’t too bad. We both managed to be able to get ourselves around ok but unfortunately John got too adventurous too soon and ended up coming a cropper on a steeper slope. Hurt something and was in a lot of pain so we called it a day a bit early.

John in the carpark with White Pass ski fields in the background.

 

The start of the cross-country circuits.

 

Before the fall!!!!!

Behind me is the frozen lake around which the cross-country circuit runs.

Beautiful Rimrock Lake on the way down to Yakima.

Part of the lake had started to freeze over.

From White Pass we headed down the mountains to the east through Naches, a big fruit growing area, to Yakima, where our friends Donna Sue and Jack live. Donna Sue had rung around for us and recommended the Comfort Suites where we got a nice little discount by saying we had AARP membership (American  Association of Retirees and Pensioners). Apparently it is OK to do so if you are a foreign retiree they are happy to give you the same discounts as the locals – obviously they knew we weren’t American and they didn’t mind. We had stayed in Comfort Suites several times on our previous trip and they are definitely “comfortable”. Prices seem to vary but are usually between $90 - $120 before any discounts.

We decided to take a drive around Yakima and take in the sights but it didn't take long for us to realise that there is not a lot to see or do in Yakima in the winter. The surrounding area is obviously a huge fruit growing area and of course all the action there would be in summer. Anyway with directions from our mate Jack, we managed to find the old opera house - a beautiful old building that is now used as a theatre.

Across the road was an impressive historical display in the square although it was somewhat spoilt by the presence of a guy in a wheelchair/sleeping bag. We thought that he had slept there all night but later discovered that he would have spent the night in a nearby shelter but they have to leave in the morning. It was still upsetting to think that someone in a wheelchair had nowhere else to go. It was VERY cold. This older part of town is certainly pretty dismal and apparently inhabited by several gangs.

Anyway the local museum was closed as it was Sunday so we headed out to Donna Sue and Jack's place and had a lovely night watching the Super Bowl (which was a huge hit of course because the Seattle Seahawks had a convincing win over the Denver Broncos). We met some lovely people and Annie (Donna and Jack's beautiful little Chow puppy) and had a fantastic night. It was topped off when it started snowing.

Real snowflakes - our first fall of snow.

 

The snow kept coming on and off all night and the next day, so we experienced what it was like to be in a real snowfall. We headed south-east after a lovely lunch with the gang, crossing the mighty Columbia River at Biggs Junction into Oregon.

Met this young dedicated Hawks fan at lunch on Monday!

Yes that's John in t-shirt and thongs just checking out the snow.

Passed this yard absolutely chockers with hundreds
of old car bodies on near Toppenish, east of Yakima.

The snow covered countryside between Yakima and Goldendale were beautiful.

Apple orchards were covered in snow.
There were even some apples still hanging on the trees.

My first sighting of a bald eagle. I was a bit excited.

 

COLLINSVILLE & EUNGELLA, CENTRAL QUEENSLAND

After a week or two in Bowen our friends Neil and Sue arrived from South Australia. They bought our first Bushtracker so of course we had to take them to see around our neighbourhood. First we headed toward Collinsville and then on to Bowen River. Before we got to the pub we stopped to check out Strathmore homestead which was a very grand place in its heyday but is a bit sad these days. The property was once very big into breeding horses but is now mainly cattle, although we did see a large herd of deer which surprised us.

Strathmore homestead today.



The deer are well camouflaged. Can you see them?



Our next stop was Bowen River Hotel where we enjoyed taking a look through all the memorabilia before a lovely lunch on the verandah, accompanied by the local butcher birds.

The historic Bowen River Pub, built from raw cut timber slabs.

Chris, Hope and John

Inside the pub.

John and I had been up this way a couple of times before so we knew the best spot on the river to camp. We spent two great days there fishing, bird watching and enjoying the beautiful weather etc.

Our lovely camp on the Bowen River.

John keeps an eye open for crocs. They frequent these waters.

What ya doing Poppy?

Catchin' fish darlin'!

The next part of our trip took us back past Strathmore and on to Collinsville and roads which were completely new to us. We headed south on the Mt Coolon Road then turned east just past Birralee and headed through the hinterland toward Eungella. There are several river crossings with potential good camps but most were somewhat washed out from the recent rains. We eventually found a lovely little spot after we had turned off the Nebo road and followed the water pipeline toward Eungella Dam. Again, it was lovely to be able to sit out in the bush beside a campfire and enjoy the company of good friends.

The countryside west of Eungella - rolling green hills after a good rainy season.

Continuing on toward Eungella it was only a short time before we arrived at Eungella Dam. The campground here is very extensive and includes toilets and a cold shower. The fees are very cheap and the fishing must be OK as several other groups arrived on the Friday with tinnies etc. obviously looking forward to a weekend on the water. We spent two nights at the Dam, where there were heaps of water birds to be seen as well as some friendly local livestock. It was a good base from which to drive in to Broken River and Eungella for an initial look around.

Eungella Dam

Hope and her best mate.

 

Another visitor enjoyed bread, carrots etc.

Do I really have to wear this  Hope?

At Broken River Neil and I got distracted from the platypus viewing by the abundance of birds so we missed the appearance of a platypus who hung around on the surface for several minutes. Fortunately, Sue, John and Hope all got to see it so we were pretty chuffed.

 

A fig at Broken River has almost engulfed its host tree.

Broken River tortoise.

We then took a drive into Eungella itself and had a drink at the Chalet, taking in the magnificent views down the Pioneer Valley.

The view from Eungella Chalet.

From the Dam we towed the vans into Eungella and set up at the local caravan park which sits right on the top of the escarpment. The views here are probably some of the most spectacular you will find from the window of your van.

Eungella Caravan Park - not a place to be wandering around in the dark!

There were beautiful fungi in abundance up here.

 

Unfortunately, the weather was not too kind, with scuds of rain passing through but we still enjoyed a drive along Dalrymple Road to another family friend’s place. Again the birdlife was abundant and the scenery impressive.

Pioneer Valley from Dalrymple Road.

That afternoon Neil, Sue and I took a stroll on the rainforest walk from the Sky Window car park back to Eungella village. There weren’t too many birds to be seen inside the forest, although we could hear whipbirds, wampoo pigeons and lots of others calling all around us. Unfortunately we didn’t get a glimpse of the elusive Eungella honeyeater, but we did get to see lots of others at Broken River in particular.

Fig trees and fungi seen on our rainforest walk.

 

We walked across to the Chalet that night for dinner which was nothing special but pleasant enough. Next day, after a visit to the local markets,  we headed down the eastern escarpment and along the Pioneer Valley to Pinnacle where we treated ourselves to one of the famous Pinnacle Pub pies.

Chris, Hope, John Neil and Sue at Pinnacle Pub.

The Pinnacle Pie - yum!!

We also visited a very interesting little second-hand shop in Gargett which has an amazing range of old and not so old second-hand goods for sale. We continued on toward Calen, intending to stay at a lovely little spot called Boulder Creek. John and I had spent a night here after we picked Hope up. It was very disappointing however to discover the campground chocker-block full with other vans etc. – a result no doubt of this spot being listed in the Camps book. While the book is very useful, it is also causing lots of the camps to be “loved to death”. We continued on and had a look at the campground where the locally famous Winter Moon Festival is held but it wasn’t really appealing to us so we drove on to Calen and after showing Neil and Sue through the wonderful old general store at Calen (a must if you like looking in shops which stock absolutely everything from Volley tennis shoes to the classic old hand-style beef mincers). They have stock there in the original boxes which date back to the fifties.

From Calen, Neil and Sue continued north and we went south across the bridge over the St Helens river and booked into the caravan park at Kolijo for a couple of days so that we could take Hope home without towing the van for miles more. It is a particularly pleasant caravan park and the facilities were very good for $25 a night. This little add on trip was really great for us as we got to see some really lovely parts of our own backyard which we hadn’t seen before and with great company to boot. Thanks Neil and Sue!

 

SCENIC RIM - SOUTH-EAST QUEENSLAND

We entered Queensland via Warwick and took the Cunninghm Highway to the Gorge Campground near Aratula. This campground is very cheap but quite pleasant. The amenities are very basic with cold showers unless you want to light the ‘donkey’ heater, but there is plenty of room and it is quiet. It was nice to be able to have a campfire too as the nights were getting cooler.

John & Leo enjoy the fire at the Gorge Campground, Aratula.

The views as you head toward the coast are quite spectacular.

 

From Aratula we continued on to Boonah amd Beaudesert then on to Canungra where we decided to stay at James Sharp Park, which is 4 klms south, beside the Coomera River on Beechmont Road. This is a lovely spacious park with very clean toilets and excellent fire pits etc. There are no showers but the river is fine for a dip. There are heaps of birds around as well. If you want to be closer to town there are very good facilities at the Canungra Recreation Ground as well.

James Sharp Park, Canungra

The Scenic Rim encompasses the mountains, plateaus and peaks to the west and south of Brisbane. Our first trip was a drive up to Mount Tamborine. The view from the mountain is spectacular and there are some very interesting little stores, markets and restaurants in the village. We decided to take a look at the Botanic Gardens. While they aren’t huge they have an impressive array of flowering shrubs such as camellias, magnolias, azaleas and rhododendrons. I imagine they would be really beautiful in the spring. There is also a lovely Japanese garden. We really enjoyed our stroll here.

Looking west from the Rotary Lookout at Mt Tamborine.

The Botanic Gardens at Mt Tamborine.

 

Next we drove back to Curtis Falls which are on Cedar Creek, and right in the middle of town. The walk down to the falls is really lovely and full of lovely big trees which are home to lots of birdlife. The falls themselves aren’t huge but very pretty. Further down the creek are Cedar Creek Falls which are much more spectacular. The Mountain is surrounded by National Parks so there are plenty of lovely walks as well as various lookouts.



There are some impressive trees along the walk to Curtis Falls.



 

Scrub turkey nest - Curtis Falls track.

Curtis Falls - Mt Tamborine

Although we didn’t have time to visit there, I would have been interested to visit “Our Lady Help of Christians Shrine” in the Marion Valley. At the shrine there are a number of Chapels which are used by various groups throughout the year for religious ceremonies. The shrine is on Beechmont Road, not far from the campground, and if you drive further on through Beechmont, you can also visit Binna Burra Mountain Lodge or you could go back through Canungra and head out to O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat, one of the original holiday lodges built in the area and an iconic place in the Rim.

These are just a few of the many places of interest in the Rim. The countryside is beautiful and green and diverse and provides both economy and up-market attractions. This would also be a great spot to use as a base if you wanted to visit the Gold Coast, as it is only a short drive away. We will certainly revisit the area.