This post will cover stops 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 as I explore the Pacific Northwest. We’ll try to fix the issues with my car, do some Twilight toursim of Forks, Washington (16 years after the first movie came out), and visit one of America’s two temperate rainforests!
Missoula, Montana
We start a little outside the Pacific Northwest, in Missoula, Montana. I only made a short pitstop in Missoula, and it stuck out as a place I could’ve spent much longer.
I got some barbeque, which was absolutely delicious, and I briefly walked around their downtown. You see, I had basically all my earthly possessions in my car, and more than a few of them were visible in my cabin. As such, I felt some pressure to get out quickly before anything was stolen. But, extra points to Missoula for not breaking my windows in the short time I was there!
The most striking thing to me was the number of families and pedestrians out and about; it really felt like a place you could take the whole family.
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
When people have asked me for my favorite place I’ve visited, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho has always been at the top of my list. Before arriving, I had figured that Idaho was just the flat place where they grow potatoes, so you can imagine my surprise and delight to find a quaint, quiet, and peaceful lakeside town
Upon seeing the riverfront houses, I stepped aside to look up more information. They looked so beautiful and serene, I wanted to know more about the people who lived there.
However, before I could get through the first paragraph on Wikipedia, a man passed by me on the trail, followed by an adorable Bernese Mountain Dog. He saw my screen full of text, and asked “Whatcha reading about?”
I explained I was a vistor, enamored with the beautiful vistas, and I wanted to learn more about the town.
He invited me to follow him on the trail, and we chatted about what to do in Coeur d’Alene.
He asked me what I do, and I said I’m a software engineer. He asked me if I use AI, and said I’ve certainly used it, but I didn’t find it to be a replacement for human ingenuity.
I asked about his profession, and he said he was an author. You see, his daughter had recently passed away. In response to this immense grief, he practiced Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), which is a type of therapy that helps manage intense emotions.
Drawing from his personal experiences, he had written a book to help people learn about DBT. He called it “DBT With Sherlock Holmes” and released it on Amazon under the pen name “Nelson Grey”. He said “People are loving it!”
As we hiked, he advised me to check out downtown Coeur d’Alene. He also advised me not to visit Seattle as a solo traveller, as it’s “gone downhill in recent years” and the “Seattle Freeze” makes people much less friendly. We passed by another man on the trail, who my new friend started a conversation with, and who seconded the recommendations of downtown Coeur d’Alene and avoiding Seattle.
I was impressed by Mr. Grey’s wit and good humor. I asked him if he met a lot of people on trails, and he said “Yeah, I’m shy. I’ll talk to anyone.”
As we finished the trail, I remarked on the encounter. What a friendly, funny, witty guy, who had taken his immense personal struggle and turned it into a resource for others to draw from. I purchased his book on Amazon, and set out to read it when I got back.
In the meantime, I had my sights set on downtown Coeur d’Alene.
Ft. Sherman’s playground is a prime example of a playground built by Leather’s and Associates, which gave me wonderful nostalgia for the similar playground in Cincinnati, Ohio that I used to visit as a kid.
And, I have to say that the parks and recreation department of Coeur d’Alene did an amazing job. It was peaceful, safe, visually interesting, and family-friendly.
I have to say I was impressed by how safe I felt walking around at night. There was a bustling nightlife, and plenty of eyes on the street. Everyone felt relaxed and friendly in a way I don’t usually associate with cities.
I really enjoyed being in “The Shops”, even though everything was closed, because the doors were open and people were using it as a “third space” to just hang out. I’m not used to seeing happy indoor spaces that you can go to both after hours and without expectation of payment. This only furthered my desire to move to Coeur d’Alene.
I stopped to get some Gelato by the Lake, which was absolutely delicious.
Overall, I left Coeur d’Alene with a feeling of whimsy and peace, combined with an appreciation for what it’s like to live in a place where everyone seems to be friendly.
It’s probably too good to be true, and I wonder how I’d feel if I spent more time there, but at least for this short time it was very pleasant.
DBT with Sherlock Holmes
Like any good Sherlock Holmes novel, this story has a twist.
Flash forward to the end of my trip, and Nelson Grey’s book is waiting for me at home.
However, as I read the first few pages, I’m struck by how frequent the line breaks are. I read further, and I’m struck by how frequent the em-dashes are. I read further. I see a picture.
The book is entirely AI generated; Every paragraph and picture is obviously made by generative AI.
The wonderful part of a mystery novel is the sense of mystery, but every page makes it clearer that there’s no overarching storylines that stretch farther than an LLM’s context window. I don’t think there’s a chapter more than 4 pages long. As someone who has spent a good portion of my trip working through over a hundred hours of Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn, I’d come to expect well written, high concept stories as the norm.
To open a book to LLM drivel felt like whiplash. In person, I felt genuinely compelled to see what the author had to say. And, he’s a grieving father. I feel deep sorrow and sympathy for his experience. But reading his book, I’m left saddened by the thought he felt like ChatGPT could do better than him. He obviously felt the need to turn his perspective into a work of art, but I wish to experience a work of art that could help me connect with him, rather than with ChatGPT.
Enumclaw, Washington
Originally, I had planned to spend my time in Enumclaw hiking Mt. Rainier. Unfortunately, I made a poorly planned gamble when I booked my lodgings months in advance. I chose a campsite that could only conveniently access Mt. Rainier via Chinook Pass SR 410. I booked my stay for May 18-21. This year, the pass opened on May 23.
However, while this would normally have been a moderate bummer, it was soon eclipsed by the massive bummer of necessary car repairs.
This also ensured any ventures to Seattle seemed off the table.
Car Repair
As such, I made a stop at Cascade Automotive, Inc.
If you remember from the last few chapters, my car’s fuel solenoid was intermittently failing, and once led to a complete loss of power before the trip.
After investigating a lot of options, they seemed to be the only shop that was available near where I was staying.
I left my car with them, and spent the day exploring the area as they worked on my car. I found that the area had some very nice parks and libraries, so I spent some time chilling in the library reading old books.
By the end of the day, the called and said that they had finished fixing her up!
To be honest, this was a real bummer. But, let this be a reminder to always budget for emergencies during travel!
In the end, I believe this resolved my issue. My thought was that while it was unfortunate to give up a day and $1k to wait for the mechanic, it avoided the potential of getting stranded on the side of the road again (like before my trip), getting towed, and still waiting for a mechanic.
Foothills Historical Museum
Looking to learn more about the area, I made a stop by the Foothills Historical Museum.
The historical society is run by a bunch of folks from the area, who care about preserving the memories of their communities.
One of the people I met was John Hilding, who is an artist from the Seattle area. He is known for designing the Bacon & Eggs skatepark, which I had seen previously on Social Media. It’s very neat to meet the man behind the artwork, and I appreciate his continued dedication to preserving community memories via the museum.
Campsite Snapshot
Here’s two last photos of my campsite. Notice how different the foliage looks compared to my next stop in Quinault.
Oh, and I thought this log at my campsite really looked like a Skeksis from The Dark Crystal.
Quinault, Washington
By this point, we’re now firmly in Rainforest territory. I had no idea that America had a temperate rainforest so far north, and I was astounded by the verdant foliage. Take a look!
In the end, I thought Lake Quinault was strikingly beautiful. I feel like the seamless transition between rainforest hike and lakeside view is difficult to find outside the Olympic Peninsula, which highlights how unique and beautiful this area is.
I also really liked the view from my campsite:
Colonel Bob Trail / Mulkey Shelter
I did an ~8 mile hike, to Mulkey Shelter and back. It was a very enjoyable hike, of moderate difficulty (occasional climbing over falling trees), and I thought it was a great way to see the Olympic Peninsula up close.
It seems that based on some general research, a tree fell and hit Mulkey Shelter between 2017 and 2022.
Forks, Washington
It’s a Twilight reference
I figured I couldn’t pass by Forks, Washington without doing some Twilight-related tourism, 17 years after the first movie came out. I made a stop by Sully’s Drive-In which has a selection of Twilight-themed menu items. I decided to get the Bella Burger and Twilight Punch (plus an unrelated side of mozzarella sticks).
You can tell I don’t often take pictures of food, as it didn’t occur to me until now that I could’ve unwrapped the burger before taking a picture.
Anyway, I also got to see Bella’s Truck, although it does worry me a little how much both the trucks have rusted over time.
A trail with an ocean view
This was my first time getting to touch the Pacific ocean!
Ocean Review: wow that’s pretty big
Oregon
As I followed Route 101 into Oregon, I could feel the sense of civilization returning. The blur of verdant trees turned into the gray of tarmac and commercial real-estate.
In general, I’m not the biggest fan of car-centric development and single-use zoning. I really prefer either pure nature or walkable, mixed use neighborhoods. But, for my time on the Olympic Peninsula, I found myself so immersed in nature that I felt detached from society. Any places to shop were always far away and only had a limited selection of perishables.
Thus, as I entered a Fred Meyer grocery store in Oregon, I couldn’t stop thinking of Boris Yeltsin being astonished by American grocery stores. In his 1989 visit, the Soviet Union politician Boris Yeltsin visits a normal grocery store. He’s so taken aback by the quantities and varieties of food available to the average American citizen that it fundamentally shifts his worldview to be more positive towards America.
I’ve always thought of this story as a reminder that the abundance of an American supermarket is special, and should not be taken for granted. However, this was the first time I’ve truly empathized with Yeltsin, as I had just accidentally spent the past ~5 days in a food desert. The USDA has a map of food deserts, and I’ve put a big red dot on where I’d been staying for the past few days, and a pink dot on my first stop in Oregon:
When planning this trip, I had such a long list of things that I could need that I decided to just play it by feel and buy things when necessary, rather than pre-emptively purchasing all possiblities. This definitely helped me save both money and packing space, but it also meant that I felt the limited selection of a food desert all the more accutely. As I entered Oregon, my cooler was empty and I was living off canned meals and ramen. I’ve never been so thankful to go to a normal grocery store.
Warrenton, Oregon
After stopping by a food truck, a Fred Meyer grocery store, and a laundromat, I visited the Wreck of the Peter Iredale at Fort Stevens State Park. The shipwreck was surrounded by kids, and as such is not depicted below, but the beach was a nice contrast to the hard gray beaches I visited in Washington.
Portland, Oregon
When researching Portland, I found frequent reports of car break-ins, which were particularly threatening to me as someone living out of my car. As such, I planned to leave all my stuff in my tent, so that I could visit Portland with a completely clean car.
So, with that I arrived at my hike-to campsite, confident that the hills were enough of a pain to deter any potential thief. I decided to start my visit in Orenco, about 14 miles outside Portland, and take public transit into the city. I felt like using public transit enabled a lot of personal freedom. Using Portland’s network of busses and trains enabled me to wander freely, without the stress of navigating traffic or searching for parking.
Powell’s City of Books
Powell’s City of Books is the world’s largest independent bookstore, and is a cultural waypoint for navigating Portland. As it aligns with my interests, Powell’s was on my radar well before I started my trip. As such, it was delightful every time a local would give directions relative to Powell’s bookstore. Both in-person and online, I recieved directions like “You should check out $PLACE! It’s only $X blocks north and $Y blocks west of Powell’s!”
I don’t think I really captured the spirit in my photos, so I’ll take a moment to emphasize that Powell’s is huge. It spans the full city block and is four stories tall. The entire place is filled with books, love, and care, and many shelves are adorned with handwritten employee book recommendations. It even has a cafe!
I totally recommend visiting if you’re in Portland.
Food Truck
I stopped by a chinese food truck for lunch, and I felt it further exemplified the wonderful focus on independent businesses in the Pacific Northwest. I ordered #18 (General Tso’s Chicken) and was touched to see the business owner then use the chart on the wall to look up the number in Chinese. This supports the general rule that if a food truck chef only speaks the language of they cuisine they serve, the food is going to be delicious.
I’ll also note that there is a large homeless population in downtown Portland.
I enjoyed my meal, so I walked over and put a tip in the jar for the food truck. In doing so, I passed a homeless man while visibly holding cash, which was a clear mistake in hindsight. In seeing that (1) I had cash and (2) I wasn’t giving it to him, he grew agitated, started yelling threats at me, and followed me for at least a block or two before I got on a train and lost him.
International Rose Test Garden
The MAX train stops in Washington Park, which is home to the Portland Zoo, the International Rose Test Garden, the Portland Japanese Garden, and more.
I walked along the trails to the Portland Japanese Garden, and found there was an hour wait to enter. In the meantime, I explored the nearby International Rose Test Garden.
The last photo there is of the nearby public restroom. I’d expected the attractions like the garden to be beautiful, but I was even more impressed that all of the public infrastructure is similarly crafted with care; even the restrooms!
Portland Japanese Garden
The Portland Japanese Garden is indended to be a place of peaceful reflection, inspiring harmony with nature appreciation for cultural authenticity.
Notably, the Portland Japanese Garden has very nice view of the downtown Portland skyline, but I spent so much time living in the moment and peacefully enjoying the vista that I forgot to take any pictures of it. In a way, that might be more of a testament to the garden’s peaceful nature than any picture I could take.
Union Creek, Rouge River
I’d like to take a moment to underscore the continuing impact of the Civilian Conservation Corps, created by FDR’s New Deal, enacted from 1933 to 1942. The full history is told by better sources than me, but I appreciate that many of the campsites and national parks I visited were either completely created by or signficiantly influenced by the CCC.
This campsite in particular used to be a CCC site for forest and construction work in the area. Overall, I’ve been impressed by how well CCC projects are holding up after almost 100 years.
I think the community kitchen is a prime example of CCC construction — using natural, local materials with a focus on durability and building to last.
If you’re interested in learning more about the results of the New Deal, you can follow these links to learn more about this site or the effects in general.
In the end, I was convinced by the advertisement above to visit Beckie’s Cafe. I guess there’s no advertisement like historical records.
Crater Lake
Visiting America’s sixth national park, I could hear my transmission working overtime as I climbed about 3,700 ft in elevation to reach Crater Lake. While there was no snow to be seen at the base, I was taken aback to find snowdrifts easily 8 feet tall at the peak.
Looking at the lake, we see how the caldera rim acts as a wind break, ensuring that the water in the center of Mount Mazama’s volcanic depression is beautifully placid, producing stunning reflections.
I didn’t get a chance to see it at night, but I’ve been blown away by photos of crater lake reflecting the Milky Way. You can see Vieparlafoi’s “Eternity” or some reddit posts for examples of such photos.
Conclusion
And with that, I find myself leaving the Pacific Northwest.
I was blown away by the peaceful charm of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. I endured some misfortune in Enumclaw, Washington. I was astonished by the beauty of the rainforests and ocean views in the Olympic Peninsula. I enjoyed the eclectic culture and urban design of Portland, Oregon. And I finished it off with a history lesson on the CCC and a spectacular view of Crater Lake.
As such, I head into California excited to not only visit more parks and nature, but also visit friends and family in San Francisco.
See you in the next chapter!
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