The Beetle Has Landed

Crossing Puget Sound Friday evening, Sept. 11. The odyssey is over.

The Edmonds/Kingston ferry

Hauling out at Lake Wenatchee, WA

Lake Wenatchee sits just north of Hwy 2 in the Washington Cascades. The lake's known for its high winds but Friday there was just enough to ghost along or practice with the sculling oar. It was the last sail of the trip. Notice the boat is in one piece.

Grand Coulee, WA

Thurs, Sept. 10.........I sailed this morning on Park Lake, one of the lakes of the Grand Coulee in Washington state. It's at the base of Dry Falls - at one time the largest waterfall in the world. 3 1/2 miles wide, 400' high.

You can just make out James Bond in the shadows.

This is the interior of Power Station #3 at the dam. Beneath each of the circular blue covers is a generator. Grand Coulee is the largest producer of electricity in the US.

Spillway of the Grand Coulee Dam

I took the tour Thurs afternoon after leaving Park Lake. The scale of the photo is misleading. Each of the vertical slots in the spillway could accommodate the Beetle or my Ford Rangerette. They're eight feet wide.

Lake Pend Oreille, ID

Tuesday, Sept 8.............Overnighted at Farragut State Park on Lake Pend Oreille, south of Sandpoint, ID. The park is located on the site of the former WWII Farraugt Naval Training Station. Pend Oreille is one of the deepest lakes in the US - about 1100'.

But I chose to stay in Libby.

Tues morning the tire shop said I wouldn't have done any damage driving on the spare. I could have driven to Sandpoint. To Spokane. I could have driven to South America.

Downstream of the falls

Kootenai Falls

Sun, Sept 6............I had another flat tire passing thru Troy, MT, just west of Libby. Which is pretty much just west of nowhere. I decided not to pull the trailer with the smaller spare tire and holed up in Libby until the Les Schwab shop opened after Labor Day. The falls are on the outskirts of town.

Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park

The wind picked up and drove us off the lake. Paula had to return to work so I dropped her off at the airport the following day in Kalispell, MT.

Would somebody hold the tour bus?

Remote untouched wilderness

Paula and I hiked high into the remote alpine country on a secluded trail to photograph this mountain goat.

...here.

Our campsite at Fish Creek. But we're told you can here the orchestra playing at the lodge on a calm evening.

We arrived at the lodge in Glacier on Saturday and walked through the lobby on the way to our room...

Escape from North Dakota

In slowing the trip down we've added a few extra days. Who would have thought 3 nights in North Dakota? We've been in MT the last few days - overnighting in Glascow, Fort Benton and Glacier Park on Fri and Sat. This photo was taken after leaving Hwy 2, detouring south to Fort Benton, Great Falls and back north to Glacier.

Paula at the wheel

A few days ago on Lake Itasca.

Lake Sakakawea on the Missouri River, ND

We spent Tuesday, Sept 2 at Lewis and Clark State Park near Williston, ND. This was the only campground where we arrived early enough to put up the tent during daylight.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park, ND

This is the campsite they assign when you give the reservation agents a hard time.