Well, I think it's time to continue our travels. We went to Glacier National Park and considered crossing into Canada. We debated just driving across the border by car because they tend to give you a hard time with your motorhome, at least they did us when we crossed when the children were still teens.  They asked us to pull over , get out and let them search our motorhome. They allowed me to stay in but went through every drawer, every storage compartment, every cabinet, etc. When Butch asked why that was necessary they said we were the first people from AL who were not carrying a gun. Guess the state's reputation preceded us!!. It was funny later but not while it was happening, they asked us if we had a gun and when we answered no they did a complete search. LOL  Anyway we decided to just continue West through the upper part of Idaho and crossed the river into Newport, Washington. We stayed there two weeks and had the opportunity to visit several areas of interest. We actually spent a total of six weeks in Washington and one of the most interesting sites we visited was the Dry Falls.The falls were formed after the ice age when MT flooded and ice and rocks were pushed west to form the dam. Later erosion pushed the dam back and created the valley below. We visited this area while we were in the O'Sullivan dam area .



We left there to visit Seattle and stayed in a small town where we were able to attend church and visit the County Fair. We rode the Ferry across to Seattle and spent two nights there in a hotel. We visited the Space Needle and had dinner at the top. The view of Seattle is extraordinary from there and we took many pictures from there. Butch enjoyed seeing the football and baseball stadiums from there but he wasn't too excited about eating as we rotated around . It was worth it all to be able to view the entire seattle skyline. We then went to the markets and got a kick out of seeing them throw fish when someone wanted to buy one. We had seen that on TV before so were careful not to ask for any fish. We also visited Puget Sound and enjoyed that too. We also visited Mt. Ranier and it was beautiful still covered with a lot of snow and glaciers. No mountains around AL like that. LOL

We then traveled the coast into Oregon. Never expected to find a place that we both fell in love with. The rocky coast line and the Pacific Ocean crashing into the rocks so far below was breathtaking. We actually had thoughts of what it would be like to be able to live in that area but apparently we were truly blessed in Washington and Oregon. The states that get so much rain had gorgeous weather while we were there. We went along the coast and at one campground a man told us where we might be able to see some whales. The whales migrate from Mexico and California up the coast to Alaska and we were blessed to see a few that were still hanging around in October. To see those huge creatures break the surface and blow and roll over in the ocean is a picture I don't ever want to forget. I am not sure if Cassie can put those pictures on this newsletter since most were videos but I am sure she will try once she sees them.


Butch's sister Louise and her daughter and son-in-law live in Sandy, Oregon and David and his wife live in Portland. We were able to get together and share dinner on the coast in an area where the beaches are more similar to the Gulf. The only problem with that area is it is also in danger of Tsunami  . I know, sounded strange to me but they have been blessed that they have not been hit by  Tsunami since 1700.

We visited the area where Lewis and Clark expedition surveyed the distance from Missouri to the Pacific.  They made friends with the Indians who finally shared with them how to reach the Big Waters - the Pacific. They built some cabins to survive the bitter cold weather and when they headed back east they gave the settlement to the Indians. Don't remember learning that in history class in high school. While in Oregon we visited Mt. Hood and the surrounding area. There is a place in Sandy where Butch's sister lives where you can see Mt. Hood in the distance. I had seen pictures of Mt. Hood with the cloud tops in a circle around it but never thought I would get to take a picture of it that way. The day we left Oregon I took a picture of it like that so hope you will enjoy it. 

Time to rest from this for awhile so will continue again when I feel like trying to let you view our travels through our eyes. Until then, be blessed and there are many albums of pictures on my facebook page.