RVentures with Doug and Chris: Quick Visits to Seattle and Mount Rainier, Washington and Mount Hood and Bend, Oregon

Those of you who follow Rventures know that there are two things that will influence my travel direction ... a state capitol building and the chance to visit family and friends. For Doug, a hike in the mountains and the call of world class craft breweries will direct his course. I'm happy that we could satisfy both our interests as we headed east from Olympic National Park to enjoy some quick visits and beautiful views in the central part of Washington and Oregon state. Our first quick visit was ...

Olympia, Washington

Olympia, located on the southern tip of the Puget Sound, is the capital of Washington. Our route was so close that we stopped to get a quick picture in front of my twentieth state capitol building. A quick ''say cheese'', and we were on our way to our next stop ...

Seattle, Washington

Driveway boondocking is my favorite form of camping ... especially when we are within smiling distance of dear friends ... OK, after not seeing each other for five years, maybe it was more like hugging distance. Patty was my neighbor when I was growing up and told me that she used to ''beg'' my parents to go out so that she would have the chance to babysit me and my five siblings. I am certain that it wasn't the 50 cents an hour that she earned that excited her ... she is just that special type of friend!

While we caught up on each other's lives, her husband fixed us the ultimate Pacific West Coast feast ... grilled salmon!

Afterwards a neighborhood walk led us to a beautiful view of sunset over Lake Washington and the city. We were grateful to catch up with dear friends and enjoy a peaceful rest in their driveway before we moved on to our next destination ...

Mount Rainier National Park

From two hours away in Seattle, we could see the distant snow-covered peak. Echoing John Muir's sentiments, we too felt drawn to this ''luxuriant and extravagantly beautiful alpine garden'' for some ''mountain-top wanderings'' in Mount Rainier National Park. Our friends equipped us with maps and great hiking suggestions. Arriving at Sunrise Visitor Center, we enjoyed dinner with a view and a sunset hike to a glacial overlook.

Unfortunately, the clouds that are seen over Mount Rainier's peak continued to grow overnight, and we awoke to a dense fog cover the next morning. We decided to follow through with our plans anyway and drove to the visitor center at Paradise on the south end of the park. Two benefits from hiking in the fog:

#1 ... I felt no fear of heights as I had no idea how high we were. Mount Rainier is somewhere in front of Doug!

#2 ... Because we couldn't see any panoramic views in the distance, we paid more attention to the beauty of the colorful wildflowers that lined the sides of the trail right in front of us.

That evening we were able to get a ''first come'' site just down the road at Cougar Rock Campground, and do a quiet hike along the Paradise River to a Carter Falls. The next morning, the sun reappeared, so we repeated our hike up to Panorama Point ... this time with brilliant views as far as the eye could see while still stopping to observe wildlife, glacial ice fields, wildflowers, and waterfalls!

We stopped to see the reflection of Mount Rainier on Reflection Lake before heading to our next destination ...

Mount Hood, Oregon

From the yard of our next Boondockers Welcome host, we could see another familiar mountain in the distance ... Mount Hood.

Doug did his research and decided that Timberline Lodge and Ski Resort at the base of Mount Hood would became our next destination.

Recognize this building? The exterior view of this historic lodge was used in the 1980 classic movie ''The Shining''. With no threat of becoming snowbound ourselves, we were able to enjoy some great hiking. For the more adventurous, mountain biking and skiing/snowboarding were possible if you are willing to climb a little ways up to reach the large patches of glacial ice still present on the mountain. The Pacific Crest Trail passes close by the resort, so we hiked a portion of it, before taking advantage of free overnight parking in the resort's large parking lot.

Looking out over the vast forest lands that surrounded us, we noticed a smoky haze from a distant forest fire starting to spread across the horizon. We hoped that this beautiful area would be safe from those fires as we headed for our next destination ...

Bend, Oregon

Ask a craft beer lover, and they will say that the quality of the local water helps make a great beer. If this is true, the Deschutes River must be delivering some high quality water for the many small craft breweries located in Bend, Oregon. Through the years, this town has gained a reputation as a great craft beer destination.

We settled in among the juniper trees at another Boondockers Welcome host home over Labor Day weekend and found out that it is not only the craft beer that draws people to Bend. There are amazing amounts of hiking and biking trails in Bend and the surrounding area. Rock climbing and whitewater rafting opportunities are also popular and plentiful.

We explored the downtown area and enjoyed a walk along the Deschutes River Trail, before visiting one of Bend's largest and most famous breweries, Deschutes Brewery. While it lived up to its reputation, we found that the two smaller breweries that we visited in the following days, Monkless Belgium Ales and Wild Ride Brewing, were equally enjoyable.

But it was the amazing amount of hiking trails in the surrounding area that makes Bend a favorite ''let's go climb a mountain'' destination. With so many trails leading up to spectacular views in the Bend area, how does one choose?? I let Doug decide, and I think he picked the one who's name alone was guaranteed to freak me out. Misery Ridge Loop Trail (yes ... Misery) at Smith Rock State Park is often picked as the #1 favorite hike in the Bend area. And yes, I was freaked out ... by the shear beauty that surrounded us!

After a slow start (this retired nurse had to come out of retirement to assist an injured hiker), we started up the rocky trail and were treated with scenic vistas at every turn. It was challenging at times, but the panoramic views and interesting rock formations kept us going.

What does this famous park icon look like to you?

''Monkey Face'' is a favorite landmark in the park and is also a popular challenge for the many rock climbers that frequent the park. I'm sure that the views from the top of the monkey's head are spectacular, but I'm not going to put that on my bucket list any time soon!

With temps approaching 90 degrees after our hike, it was time to cool off while trying out another craft brewery, Monkless Belgium Ales. From the patio we could see lots of people floating down the Deschutes River near the Old Mill District. It was fun to see so many people enjoying a nice day on the river while still (sort of) socially distancing.

The wide variety of outdoor activities in the central part of Washington and Oregon made this a good travel choice, especially during these times. Whether taking in great views or sipping great brews, our quick visits made us appreciate all the special people and places that surround us ...