We left our spot at Casa Del Reed (Brian and Becky’s house) actually the first home we’d been in in 18 months, and headed South to Tacoma. Chris had planned a dental visit a month before knowing we would be somewhere in that area. As there weren’t many campgrounds in the area, we decided to pull into Cabela’s for a free overnight to weigh our options and wait for the dental results.

There were “no overnight parking” signs posted everywhere, but we were warned through  various blogs not to ask, just camp. Fortunately it was a Sunday and they had just closed so we opened the slides put down the jacks and moved in for the night with the 5 truckers. Our friend Brian went there a couple of days later and asked to park and they said no.

In other states, Walmart has always been an overnight stop when you run out of options, but Washington has experienced too many people taking advantage of their hospitality and moving in. It’s a shame. We haven’t overnight-ed in a Walmart yet, haven’t had to, but Cabela’s in 2 places has worked so far for us

They even have a dog run and horse coral here.

After Chris’s visit to the dentist that morning we learned that we needed to see a specialist so had to stay, so we found a campground 30 minutes away in Olympia. Not a particularity nice place and obviously permanent home to some and highly over-priced.

So $300 later and just a dental cleaning and a consultant who told Chris everything she knew already, we moved on.

We decided to see the Olympic Peninsula, weather was good and no other plans, only problem was we were in high season and could already see it wouldn’t be easy because of our size, so before we started our jaunt we stopped at the National Park HQ for help. Jennifer promptly made a call and we were booked into the Rest-A-While RV Park.

So here we were, 2 hours up the east coast with a waterfront site no less.

It was  pretty tight quarters but the neighbors were friendly and we had a perfect view of the Hood Canal.

In the morning we watched the seals feasting on the salmon that were swimming through

This is a big area for oysters, mussels and giant octopus which requires some diving, maybe next time.

Some very interesting plants around here

The town of Hoodsport didn’t have a lot to offer for us but just 2 miles inland was Lake Cushman, a beautiful lake with houses dotted around, and a delightful 9 hole golf course

The golf course turned out to be great except we wondered about the 4-some in front who were 4 guys with 4 carts and the first drive was less than 100 yards.

Someone had designed this from an old tree stump.

Turned out to be great afternoon, with 2 brother-in-laws from Washington who live around here and winter in Yuma. They were highly entertaining in their quest to win the round, and  look forward to meeting them in Yuma in the winter.

We moved on to Sequim (pronounced skwim) and the Dungeness Spit and Wildlife Refuge Area

We went the Dungeness Rec Park, which was a first come served policy, and luckily we scored a site.

It was a bit of a tight squeeze between the trees but we made it

Just down the road was the Dungeness Split, and at 5 miles long it’s the longest in the US. You can walk the split but the bay is a natural refuge for the sea creatures who want to take a rest and is prohibited for everyone else.

We had 2 families of deer that visited daily and weren’t shy at all.

The town of Sequim is quite active, full of lavender growers and homes with outrageously gorgeous landscaping, it must be the climate.

The weather took a turn and became cold and wet, but the farmers market came together.

And the entertainment were getting ready to perform.

We found a lovely little spot for coffee, Suzon’s, which was full of antiques and croissants.

We ended the day with a beautiful sunset, the first we’d seen  in a long time, facing the San Juan Islands.

Time to move on to the west side of the Olympic Peninsula.