August 1, 2026

Arrived during a torrential downpour of rain (it's Washington)! Stepped out of truck right into puddles - hooking up water/sewer/power while getting pounded on was great fun:( .   Rainy and windy all night long and our dog Gracie was scared.  Next day was superb weather and we found an awesome walking path right behind our campground that paralleled the great Pacific Ocean.  Incredible views.  

Oceana Thousand Trails, Ocean City, WA (June 10 - 12, 2026)

Another incredible campground right on the Pacific Ocean along the Washington coastline. Incredible weather for the few days. Perfect walking directly from RV to the shoreline.  We spotted Bald Eagles, deer and the constant seagull on long walks. Gracie was enjoying her time on the beach. We really meant to drive to Olympic National Park for a whole day, but the drive would have been 2 hours each way.  Maybe some other time. 

Paradise Resort Thousand Trails, Silver Lake, Washington (June 12 - 15, 2026)

This had to be the hilliest campground we stayed at yet.  It felt like you were going mountain climbing just to take the dog out for a quick walk. Very pretty, but sites were tight together. Found a great rail trail not far away at Willapa State Park (50 miles long). Beautiful day - Dana met a few local ladies she ran with for 4 miles while Jim did his thing. We were able to find a Winco for much needed bulk food supplies and hit the local Costco. 

We spent the entire next day at Mount Rainier National Park and it was spectacular.  We were blown away at how beautiful the park is, the great hiking trails and the incredible views.  Highly recommend. Reflection Lake (center below) was incredible with views of the 14,410 volcano of Mount Rainer covered in glaciers.. 

Lake Pleasant RV Park, Bothell, WA (June 15 - 17, 2026)

This was an oasis in the big city (or suburbs) of Seattle. Very convenient with all the modern conveniences.  Allowed us to use the local Amazon lockers to stock up on a few things. We paid a few extra bucks to be right on the lake -- oh was that a mistake -- our site was a highway of geese entering and leaving the lake as well as making their deposit next to our camper as they strode past 20 at a time. We were able to final wash the RV and truck as it had been at least a month of road grime. Conveniently, our gym (Planet Fitness) was across the street for workouts. We met with our friends from Arizona (Adi and Anat) at their beautiful home in Redmond.  Anat cooked an amazing dinner and we talked for hours.  We are planning to see them later in the summer in Montana where we will RV together and explore Glacier NP. 

The next day we were off to explore downtown Seattle. Rather that taking our land yacht of a truck and struggling to find parking, we hopped on the city light rail train that took us exactly where we wanted to go.  It had been 20 years since we'd been to Seattle. We explored Pikes Market, had some decent clam chowder at a restaurant on the pier, and felt the electricity of the World Cup watch parties on the bay.  A fantastic day.

Cap Sante Marina RV Park, Anacortes, WA (June 17 - 23, 2026)

Very nice 2 year old RV park run by the city that was clean and neat. Great location with a Marina with many boats/ships of all sizes and types. Nice 3.5 mile path for exercise across the Puget Sound. Saw a few seals on our morning runs. We joined Jim's sister Anne Marie and her husband Cliff as they were camping there a few sites down from us. They were soon heading out to a work camping volunteer assignment -- this is where they provide a free campsite in exchange for work - chill assignment for them as it was given tours of the local lighthouse.  

We checked out some tide pools at one beach and had some incredibly smoked clam chowder soup for lunch at a local restaurant that was so good that we bought a quart to take home. The four of us took our bicycles on the ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. Good day pedaling around and lunch at the wharf was decent. Fun time hanging out with Anne Marie and Cliff.

Birch Bay Thousand Trails, Blaine WA (June 23 - 27, 2026)

We were supposed to stay longer at this campground, but it was kind of run down and not very nice so we cut our stay short. Many walks and runs along the coast that got us away from the campground for a few hours in Birch Bay State Park. Took a one day excursion into Canada to go to Granville Island (Vancouver) which was pretty cool. Awesome market with all kinds of fruits, veggies and lunch choices. The World Cup soccer tournament was going on and team Canada was playing. There was a big watch party on the island with a few hundred Canadians in attendance. You could tell when Canada scored as the crowd went nuts. We changed internet providers as our TMobile 5G box was not going to work there for the next few weeks.  Went with satellite on Starlink network.  Works well, but pretty pricey monthly fee for roamers like us. The positive is it'll work everywhere in the US with a clear view of the sky unlike the areas that are too remote for mobile coverage. 

Burnaby Cariboo RV Park, Burnaby, British Columbia (June 27 - 30, 2026)

Crossed over the border with the RV into Canada.  Stayed at a nice park a short drive away from downtown Vancouver. Nice place but roads were narrow making backing into to our site a real challenge. The downside was a cargo train, that ran at odd hours, was directly behind our RV.  Incredible nature trails and tons of trails right across the street that we used everyday. Nice indoor pool and hot tub that we used daily. We had a great lunch with friends Martin and Leonora (Mesa, AZ friends and Jim and Martin were on the tennis team together). Great catching up with them. Unfortunately, our plans to go to Vancouver Island and the city of Victoria and Butchart Gardens didn't work out.  Between the drive to the ferry, the boat ride over, touring and getting back - it would have been over 12 hours and our dog vetoed those plans. Maybe next year as we definitely want to explore the Canadian Rockies more. Funny sign in RV office below. Jim found an outdoor rubberized track of 3.5 miles for his daily jaunts around a golf course. 

Cultus Lake Thousand Trails, Lindell Beach, British Columbia (June 30 - July 2, 2026)

Silver Sage RV Park, Kamloops, British Columbia (July 2 - 3, 2026)

This place was a dump.  Sometimes the campground review site RV Life is way off - this is one of those times. It was in a light industrial area and there were many long term run-down campers.  Luckily it was just for 1 overnight. The next morning we found a great sports park on the small McArthur Island with a 3 mile path. Good start to the day and interesting decent sized Marmot's living the good life on the island. 

Whispering Spruce RV, Golden, British Columbia (July 3 - 5, 2026)

Really starting to get into the Canadian Rocky mountains heading to this nice campground. 

We took an incredible day trip to Lake Louise in Alberta. The lake is a stunning turquoise color we've never seen in a lake before and set off around enormous mountain snow covered mountains. The crowds at the Lake covered with red canoes were too much. Walking a short distance thinned the herds. We did an aggressive 8 mile hike with 1,275 feet of elevation gain. One of the most incredible hikes of our lives. We passed some rock climbers heading up a sheer wall, saw guys with ski's/snowboards strapped to their backs hiking to the snowline for a July ski run, hiked the 6 Glacier trail with amazing views of the glaciers, walked over earlier snow avalanches as we slipped our way across. The hike culminated at the top of the trail "Tea Room" (more like a shack) where we enjoyed a light lunch with an incredible view. Jim ordered the curry lentil soup (not very good) with Earl Grey tea, while Dana had amazing dish of 3 bean chili. Jim strategically walked well in front of Dana on the way down the mountain due to her menu choice.  What an amazing day!  Highly recommend. Dana wore a "4th of July" shirt and got many well wishes from Canadians. Met many fellow vacationing hikers (Austrians, Italians, etc.) for good conversations. 

Went into downtown Golden for a pizza dinner and grocery shopping the next day. Jim went for a run at the confluence of the Columbia and Kicking Horse rivers. 

Mt. Kidd RV Park, Kananaskis, Alberta (July 5 - 9, 2026)

Incredibly beautiful campground in the woods at the base of massive Canadian Rockies. Upon check in at the RV office, the woman warned us that a few days before a mama grizzly bear and her two cubs were seen walking amongst the RV's. Upon the shear panic and fear she saw in our eyes, she assured us this doesn't happen often and if you make noise, they'll leave you alone.  Her insights meant to calm us missed the mark, for Jim, and didn't accomplish the intended relief. She said it would be fine to run with bear spray in hand (no headphones). After seeing so many young children running around the campground unattended by parents, we got over the fear and did walks and morning runs (all while clutching bear spray). 

We took a day trip up to the city of Canmore (30 miles away).  After working out, we decided to go to the city run indoor pool with waterslide, hot tub, etc. We joined the hundreds of children under age 12 for waterslide fun:). Really cool downtown scene in Canmore with art galleries, and nice shops - grabbed lunch after. Really fun day. 

On another day we did a full day to the city of Banff.  We were not impressed as it felt like a tourist trap.  Absolutely no parking as they forget to provide in city planning. After seeing the 20th t-shirt and souvenir shop, we found a farmers market which was cool to hang out at.  Then we took a long walk along the Bow River with waterfall up to the famous Fairmont Springs Hotel.  Beautiful and massive (like a castle) and great views from the huge patio. This was the highlight of Banff.

Okotoks Lions Campground, Calgary, Alberta (July 9 - 12, 2026) 

Cool campground right on the Sheep River with plenty of deer around. Awesome walking trails all along the river and Gracie enjoyed her morning swims. We spent one day in downtown Calgary seeing the sights. Walked the famous Stephen Avenue, saw the space needle, enjoyed the architecture and watched some music and line dancers. Nice clean city that was impressive. The next day we went to the Calgary Stampede which is the largest rodeo in the world. Pretty impressive to watch all the events and people. 

We really enjoyed our 16 days in Canada and wished we stayed longer.  Next time we will take the RV on the ferry boat over to Vancouver Island and explore there for a week.  We would love to spend more time in the Canadian Rockies as they are so beautiful. 

North American RV Park and Yurt Village - Coram, MT (July 12 - 14, 2026)

Crossed the border and back in the USA! We arrived at the South part of Glacier National Park to meet our friends Adi and Anat from Seattle (he was on Jim's tennis team in Mesa, Arizona) while Dana and Anat played cards and board games together last winter. It was nice to camp with friends as they brought their 5th wheel. Campground was fine, but location to Glacier was great. We all traveled together to the park and followed the "Going to the Sun" road trip. We hiked to Hidden Lake and crossed several avalanche areas that were starting to melt. We spotted big horned sheep in the distance and had mountain goats walking right past us on the path. 

Glacier views are incredible - it is truly one of the US's most beautiful national park. It is so massive that the park is close in size to the state of Rhode Island.  The ranger told us that in the higher mountains where the glaciers are usually get 80 FEET of snow each year. 

KOA of St Mary -  St Mary, MT (July 14-16, 2026)

Travel with our friends to the east side of Glacier National Park. Our site include a large patio with table and chairs, Adirondack chairs, BBQ grill and fireplace. Incredible setting with the Glacier covered mountains in sight. The four of us set off for the morning to explore and hike this side of the park. We took a beautiful hike to St Mary Falls and Virginia Falls. We stopped for a bite to eat at "Lunch Creek" with it's waterfall in the background. 

After lunch we drove to "Many Glaciers" and went to the historic hotel on the back deck overlooking the a lake. We went on another trail hike when were heard a man shout at us to STOP. A bull moose came running down through the woods within 20 feet of us - quite scary but amazing to witness. We followed the moose down the hill to the lake where he plunged in and went directly toward a female moose. She wasn't interested in him and let him know through loud howls. She was watching her two calf moose offspring on the shoreline. Amazing to see.  After a long hike, we hopped in the truck to head back when 10 people were gathering around the road.  We got out and watched a mama black bear with her 2 cubs just below us.  What a perfect way to end our exploration in Glacier NP.

Rollins Restaurant and RV Park - Rollins, MT (July 16 -18, 2026, 2026)

Last campground with our friends Adi and Anat before going our separate ways. Small place but the views from our campground of this massive lake, with 161 miles of shoreline, were spectacular (below shot is sunrise from our RV). Upon arrival, the 4 of us went down to the lake for relaxing.  Dana and Anat took the paddleboards out in "kayak mode" and had a good time while Jim and Adi relaxed on shore in some chairs. That evening we had a campfire and did the old 'Smores dessert while toasting our toes. 

Dana and I took off and drove 40 minutes to explore the city of Whitefish Montana.  Jim's friend Ray suggested the visit and it was well worth the drive. Very cool and quaint downtown with lots of art galleries and upscale shops.  We each grabbed a Montana T-shirt to remind us of the fun we had. 

North Quest RV and Casino - Airway Heights, WA (July 18 - 19, 2026)

Boardman RV and Marina - Boardman, OR (July 19 - 20, 2026)

Roamers Rest RV Park - Tualatin, OR (July 20 - 24)

Nice city campground with great walking path to a park with a dog run a short mile away. Gracie was a fan of the wild blackberry bushes on the path and Dana rewarded them both everyday.

We came to Portland to visit Jim's good buddy Bill Gaffney and his wife Jennifer.  They've been friends since 8th grade and we enjoying spending time with him and his wife. They hosted a fantastic dinner party at their home with 4 other couples and the 12 of us had a great evening.  The following day we got a one day pass at the Nike employee store for highly discounted gear.  We may have helped a one day Nike stock price bump based on the number of running shoes we bought. 

On our final night, we went out to dinner with Bill and Jennifer to a cute converted old gas station with multiple food trucks.  Great visit and hope to see them in Arizona next winter. 

Bend/Sunriver Thousand Trails Campground - Bend, OR (July 24 - 28)

Luckily we arrived when the smoke from the Oregon wildfires had cleared. Really peaceful place to relax for 4 days in the woods. Graice got lots of ball time with Dana did her workout in the dog park in between throws.  Dana used the swimming pool a few times. Other than a day in the small town of Sunriver, we just relaxed, played games and took dog walks.  

Crater Lake RV Park - Prospect, OR (July 28 - 30)

Really cute place to stay for a couple nights and a short 40 minute drive to Crater Lake National Park. Dana and Gracie took multiple trail hikes on the river next to the RV park. It had been 20-is years since we visited the park when the kids were young. It is incredibly beautiful to experience and the depth of the blue color of the water is spectacular.  We took a long hike along the crater rim. Met some interesting folks along the way.  A younger couple in their mid-30s were hiking the 2,800 mile Pacific Crest Trail and took a 7 mile detour to see Crater Lake. They left in early April from the US/Mexico border and it has been 109 days since they started. They still have another 2 months of hiking to make it to Canada. Pretty inspiring and a fun conversation learning all the details and how they execute the hike. 

Lassen RV Park - McArthur, CA (July 30 - August 1)

Back to California.  Cool little campground in very rural part of the state. Eclectic artwork scattered throughout the campground. Dana was able to use the swimming pool each day. This was meant to be just a stopover site prior to heading to Lake Tahoe, but it turned out to be a pretty cool place to hangout.