Here we are with our newly remodeled Fun Finder Trailer ready to get on the road, Pandemic or no Pandemic. We left Palm Desert and drove one hour to Idyllwild at an elevation of 5,300’. After being locked down since mid-March, it was wildly wonderful to be in the outdoors at last.

First stop — Plymouth, California. Mike and Joanne Baldinelli’s fabulous vineyard with full hookups, fantastic meals by Chef Mike and Assistant Chef Joanne, plenty of wine, and dogs, bulls, frogs, spiders, mice, owls, birds, — paradise to be outdoors and with friends instead of locked at home.

Next stop: Sea Ranch. This was our first opportunity to visit Sea Ranch as local authorities had told owners, visitors and anyone that didn’t live there to STAY AWAY. All the rentals shut down and had to be canceled. We decided do or die, we were going to visit our home. We were the first ones to be in the house since the beginning of the shutdown mid-March.

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From Sea Ranch, we returned to the Baldinelli’s where we had a trailer pad with all utilities. Several day trips included a drive to Sacramento to see friend Sara and Bill’s Aunt Angie who had been hospitalized, and family. Sara took us to a Persian Shahzad Restaurant where we had the run of the entire restaurant. So fun to get together with another human being and good friend and chat all afternoon. Great visit.

Next stop: Silver Lake. Arrived to a completely empty campground the Sunday after July 4th holiday. Our choice site was at the top of Silver Lake West. Bill and Summer joined us with their friend Alicia and her dog. Summer loves cooking and gave us gourmet meals. It was like getting out of prison to be outdoors enjoying the beautiful nature surrounding us.

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We were off! How happy to be On the Road heading north. We managed to snag overnight camps at Redcrest and Klamath; other than that, all we knew was we were heading to Cascade National Park on the Washington/Canadian border. What JOY to be in the redwoods, hiking the trails from Prairie Creek to the ocean and back. PURE HAPPINESS.

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We hit Brookings, Oregon, on our way north on Highway 1 along the coast of Oregon. Happy indeed to meet up with Sun City friends that drove their RV to Brookings for the summer — Gary and Nancy Socha.

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Driving north along the Oregon coast, we stopped for one night at Port Orford and met up with another Sun City friend, Kathy Ashford. We were high on adrenaline to be able to talk to a live human being, and despite cold temperatures, we braved the wind and cold to enjoy dinner outside with Kathy. Our next night found us at Sutton National Forest Campground outside Florence; you can imagine our excitement to get a site with hookups in a first come first serve campground. Hiking in sand dunes really sapped our energy, which was very good to go to bed exhausted and happy in cool weather.

Our next stop was the Astoria Seaside KOA in Hammond, Oregon. Amusing camper across from us set up pink flamingoes and a pink couch and was about the happiest camper I’ve ever experienced. You can see I brought along a puzzle mat which rolls up so we could work on puzzles on the move. Right across from the KOA was Ft. Stevens State Park with a paved bike trail. Every day felt like a dream come true.

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We drove over the Colombia River at Astoria on a historic bridge and followed back roads the rest of the day heading inland towards Mt. Rainer National Park. We were able to get a secluded site for two nights at Shady Firs RV Park.

Using the All Trails app, we discovered a fantastic hike where we were the only folks on the trail all day. We were deep in a forest and hiking back had a peekaboo view of Mt. Rainer. One of the best hikes of the entire summer.

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We left Shady First to drive to Iron Creek Campground in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest— the only reservation I could get close to Mt. Rainer. This was an old growth forest along the Cispus River in Oregon. I’ve never been in a more oppressive camp with moss dripping off all the trees, rare sunlight able to penetrate the tree canopy, no birds singing, no butterflies — I was definitely ready to move on and missed my Sierras.

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Our next stop was Alder Lake Park Campground, Eatonville, WA. We found varied responses to the Pandemic as we traveled and Alder Lake was surely one of the most unusual. This Campground was packed with families and the lake was swarming with groups out for a picnic and swimming and boating; we tried social distancing but to no avail — no matter where we moved, a group would move in front, next to, or around us. I think I saw one lady with a mask.

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We left Alder Lake for the worst drive of the trip; we had to get through, around, past Seattle. We decided to stay at a KOA in Burlington, Washington, before driving to the Cascade National Park. What a great decision — we loved this KOA — and secured a site on the outer edge facing a forest — very private. We ended up spending another four days here when rain threatened our stay in the Cascades, and I rode my bike back and forth to the park Laundromat — I was usually the only one using it.

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Finally, we were about to reach our destination — the North Cascades National Park. I had been able to get a five-night reservation in Newhalem Campground. What a disappointment the first site was. Fortunately, we were able to move to a fantastic campsite in the same campground for the next two nights which we absolutely loved. Then because rain was moving in, we returned to Burlington KOA where we had utilities and heat.

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What an awesome experience the North Cascades National Park was — first for its rugged, natural beauty; second the amazing river and lakes with an eerie turquoise color; third the extremely cold water in the lake and Skagit river — although we were there in August we saw only two brave souls attempting to get in the river and no one swimming in the lake. The terrain is steep. The road into the North Cascades was a narrow, two-lane road with no shoulder and no place to pull over so for us a harrowing drive. A wonderful, old-style campground reminded me of camping in Yosemite with my grandparents. Hiking and exploring was thoroughly rewarding and renewed our battered Covid spirits.

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Arriving back at the Burlington/Anacortes KOA with time to spare, we took a side trip to Anacortes and found this wonderful park with a well marked trail and no one around. At Anacortes, you can catch a ferry that will take you to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, the southern tip of Vancouver Island. Americans were pulling every trick of the trade to get into Canada but we heard most were turned back. We could only wave at our Canadian friends in Victoria and hope someday when this Pandemic is over we might see them again. We had gone as far as we could drive north so it was time to turn around and head back to Northern California.

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This ends the first part of our road trip. Now time to turn around and head south. Go to Road Trip Pandemic Part II.