There are many beautiful sights along the way. Mostly grassy hillsides, but not much is green this time of year. The most breathtaking sight along the way was Rimrock Lake. This lake is actually a reservoir that was created, I believe, in the 1920's. I am not sure exactly how long it is, but a google search stated that it is 2,500 + acres of water. This lake is a great family retreat for camping, weekend fun, and fishing. However, we usually go to clear lake, which is a smaller lake just North of it.
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| Clear Lake |
Both Rimrock and Clear Lake have great camping grounds that families of all ages and numbers can enjoy.
Clear Creek Falls is the next pretty sight, however, I was unable to take any pictures of it as the road was full of bends and blind corners and my husband's driving scares me on winding roads.
Dog Lake was just as pretty. The snow line was still on the banks of the lake.
Mount Ranier was barely visible through the clouds, but from what you could see, it was beautiful. As we are passing different places, I am acting as tour guide and telling the kids what everything is. As we passed Mt. Ranier, I told the kids that Mt. Ranier is actually a volcano. Instantly, my mind flashes to my daughter's puzzles that depict volcanoes as mountains that only spit fire and lava, she begins to freak out. All I can hear for the rest of the trip is "No want volcano. Mommy, no volcano".
Finally, after almost hitting a dead deer on the side of the road, me leaning over my husband (thank you for loving me, even though I am more trouble than I am worth) to get pictures of thing we have seen a million times, and my 2 year old screaming about a volcano, we reached Packwood.
Let the frustrations begin:
Here, you will find everything under the sun. Food and drink vendors have placed their stalls selling everything from Chinese food to elephant ears. People are everywhere and every camping site and R.V. Park is filled for 30 miles around (just estimating here).
After paying $5.00 to park for the day at a local beauty salon and getting everyone to use the outhouses (gross) we were off to browse.
On the way in, I found my dad's truck parked in the first parking lot, I called him and we agreed to meet up. However, Packwood is the one and only place my Verizon phone does not get the greatest service. I had to try 3 times before getting a signal to even call my dad.
There are many different types of people that come here, and honestly, I enjoy people watching more than the browsing of people's old junk. I got a few pictures, but about 30 minutes into it, I forgot that I had my camera (as it was safely hidden in the stroller). But the ones I did get, I love.
People....
People...
Everywhere!!
However, my favorite picture was of this little dog. We have large dogs (see my about me page) and was absolutely infatuated with this little one. The owner told me I could take his picture. (thank you kindly sir...still adorable dog!!) He also told me that it was chilly when they got up that morning and the dog needed pants just as we do.
He showed up at 7am! We arrived around noon, but he was still in good spirits, despite losing a six dollar window decal.
All in all, we had a good day. The boys each got a grab bag of stones and fossils (supposedly), The oldest boy got a new pair of fox riding boots for the dirt bikes, the youngest boy got a gameboy game, 2 hotwheels cars, a playstation 2 game and they each got a snow cone. We also bought some home made terryaki jerky and pepperoni bit from one of the vendors. They were awesome! My daughter, who recently potty trained, did great! We packed the little potty chair and she used it in the privacy of our van and we had no accidents.
The day was a great family day, and we all had fun.
Some other shots from the drive:
By the time we got home, all three kids had fallen asleep. Several hours of walking eventually took it's toll on me too. I lied down on the floor to play blocks with my daughter, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up in bed and it was morning.
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