A year with my sister, a lesson in survival, sanity and/or stupidity: Three States in Three Hours

Just arrived in Montana for a couple of days hiking in Glacier National Park. You guessed it … more snow. Actually, we’ll be lucky to get any hiking in because of the snow but we’ll see what tomorrow brings. You’d think we’d be over this cold, white stuff by now but no. Just kids, really, as per the below example. This was on Mt Rainier in Washington in a place called Paradise.

Let the game begin

Going for goal

Eventually reduced to tennis ball size
and multiples so we had to stop
playing shortly thereafter

We also visited Mt St Helens although couldn’t get up to the snow line for a play there as the roads were closed off. Awww. We did go for a couple of short hikes though – just so you know it isn’t all fun and games.

After playing in the mountains we headed to Tacoma where we stayed for several nights with an old school friend of Jean’s from Napier, Catherine. Catherine arranged for a BBQ our first night there where we got to, meet up again for Jean and meet for the first time for Sue, some lovely people. Jean also has another couple of friends in Seattle that we caught up with at different times. Lovely to see and meet you both Patty & Katie.

Catherine with Sophie & Molly

Not forgetting wee Patches

No photos of anyone else as we were both too busy either talking, eating, drinking or playing with the dogs, of which only Catherine’s 3 out of the 6 that come to party are pictured.

Did a bit of touristing around the Tacoma/Seattle area, visiting Deception Point with its great views over Puget Sound, Mt Vernon where the tulips are flowering and Sequim which hosts Bandy’s Troll Haven.

Puget Sound

Blooming tulips

The Gatekeepers Castle at Bandy's Troll Haven

Comes complete with handsome chaps like this

Left Tacoma in the rain on our journey to Glacier National Park in Montana. Took a slight (by our standards) detour to Leavenworth to visit a Bavarian Themed Town for our lunch stop. Yay for us, the rain stopped while we were visiting. We were both impressed with Leavenworth which even came with a Christmas store of the sort that Sue had seen in Heidelburg and Rothenburg. I was half expecting everyone to be speaking German it was so well done.

Front Street, Leavenworth

Kris Kringl Store, Leavenworth

Couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to visit George, Washington either.

George, Washington

Spent a grand total of 2 hours in Idaho on the way to Montana. Felt a bit bad that we didn’t stop at all while on the Panhandle in this new state– just whizzed straight through - but we’ll be heading south into Idaho for a few nights after Glacier National Park.

Stopped off at Kootenai Falls which is between Troy and Libby on the way to Columbia Falls where we are staying at a very well set up RV Park. Not a long drop at the Falls but impressive in the way the pushed up rock formations look like surf rolling in at the beach. The swing bridge was a bit of fun as well. Lots of sway. At Columbia Falls, Sue volunteered to stay and watch the laundry after she spotted the well-stocked bookshelf. I’m sure clothes don’t normally take 4 hours to dry though.