May 15: We both needed an easy day after our washer fiasco, so we decided to stick around the area and went to explore the mountains on this rainy day. The morning was just beautiful at the campground. The sun was out and the wind was mild. We stuck around and made some breakfast before heading out. On the way through the park, we came upon a mom and baby deer. The baby was so cute and frisky! We continued on our way and soon ended up at the Olympic NP Visitors Center to get our magnet, finally, lol. Sean decided to add to the Wildlife Observations listed out by the visitors. I'm sure you can pick out what he wrote. We noticed on the weather report at the Visitors Center that it was forecasted for snow on Hurricane Ridge Rd, the route we are planning to go. We were thinking it would probably move on by the time we got up there, but were surprised to find the rain turn into sleet and soon to snow! We were getting to a 4000' elevation and very foggy. According to the truck, it was 37 degrees and the snow was not sticking, but there were snow drifts that hadn't melted all over. We couldn't see very far because of the fog/low clouds. We attempted to hike the trail, but it was socked in and impassable with just hiking boots. We figured we did the best we could and high tailed it out of there. Next stop was Madison Falls. Sean decided we would take a shortcut and it worked out very well. We eventually found Elwha River and followed that a short way to Madison Falls Trail. There were some deer meandering around a meadow before the trail and we spent a moment drinking in the beautiful surroundings and wildlife. The short trail led us to a very intimate waterfall. We watched an older man walk down to the bottom of the waterfall with his cane, with minor difficulty, and proceeded to take selfies for a few minutes while his wife talked about his selfie fetish with the few of us waiting back at the trail. Finally, he finished whatever he was doing and I was able to snap a picture of the waterfall. We headed back and it continued to rain, so we quickly walked the pups and I read my book while Sean spied on ships passing by.
May 17: Today is travel day across the US/Canadian border! Fort Flagler State Park, WA to West Vancouver, BC, Canada. This will require the us and our vehicles (motorhome included) to take a ferry to Coupeville. Although this wasn't cheap, it was the best time saving route. The ferry ride didn't last long (maybe 30 minutes), but was neat to experience. Sean made a video from his dash cam posted below. We were able to hook to truck up to tow shortly after disembarking from the ferry and then on our way with the next stop being the last Costco in the US before the border to fuel the motorhome up and take advantage of the "cheap" US fuel prices, then we stopped at a rest area for lunch. Our plan was to eat the rest of the fresh groceries we have left in the fridge before the border crossing. Apparently the border crossing agents frown upon having fresh fruits/veggies/meat etc for personal consumption. The first time we attempted this crossing near Peace Arch in 2013, we were lucky enough to not be searched. Sean and I both had the feeling we would be searched this time. We waited our turn in the vehicle line and then shortly we were called forward. The agent walked to the back of the motorhome and presumably was writing down license plate numbers. He then came back and started asking us the standard questions: where are you planning to go, do you have any fresh/raw food on board, do you have any animals on board, do you have any weapons with you, where are you from... Sean replies "Texas". The agent is of course intrigued by this answer and proceeds to drill Sean about whether or not he has a gun in the vehicles. Sean answers "no sir". The agent answers with "you are planning to camp in the wilderness without any protection? What if a bear attacks you? Are you sure you don't have any guns with you?" Again Sean answers "no sir". He then asks if we own any guns and Sean answers yes to this, and gets another borage of questions about where they are and Sean answers they aren't with us. At this point, the agent is filling out a yellow slip and this was something we hadn't encountered before, so we knew then he would direct us to be searched. We follow the directions to pull forward and park and to exit the vehicle with the dogs. Different agents meet us and direct us to put the pups in kennels outside and to enter the building. Poor pups stayed in kennels outside and did not like it. We had to go inside the building and questioned and searched for weapons, and then they asked Sean for the keys to the motorhome. He cautioned them that he needs to be present to help open slides or disconnecting the truck if they deem it necessary. The agent inside acknowledged his wishes and proceeded to go outside to have a look around. Within about 10 minutes she was back inside and said we were free to go. We grabbed the pups, who were more than happy to be let free, and entered the motorhome. We looked for any sign that she had opened anything, but she covered her tracks well. We sped out of there and back on our journey to an RV park in West Vancouver. We hit some traffic once on Trans Canadian Highway 1 close to a tunnel and then started pouring rain. We soon found out that the reason for the backup was a lady in a U-Haul getting arrested... Soon, the GPS told us to exit and we went down a very steep hill followed by a very busy area and then we were going under a parking garage entrance with a measurement of 4.5 meters. Sean and I looked at each other a moment and shrugged shoulders at each other because we had no idea how many feet that was, lol. We fit, thankfully. We then were on the road we needed to turn in to the RV park, and soon found out the turn into the park and I knew instantly Sean wouldn't be able to make the turn with the truck attached and was proved correct. He pulled as far as he could, but the truck was still sticking into the road a bit. We hurriedly unhooked the truck and he was able to back out of the jam. We got checked in and settled in our tiny site, then took the pups with a much needed walk. We ended up following a path close to the park that led us to a very tall bridge that overlooked the bay. We decided to head back and fix leftover enchiladas and rice for dinner.
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