We're in residence at an Army Corp of Engineers' campground in Plymouth, Washington located on the Columbia River and just across the way from Umatilla, Oregon.

We took a drive north and east to ride the Sacagawea Heritage Trail. We parked Miranda in Sacagawea Historical State Park where the trail begins on the southern end. 

I rode counter-clock wise and made a detour off the trail in Kennewick searching (futilely) for coffee beans. My total ride was nearly 35 miles, but the trail length is 23 miles.

Melanie and I recently spent a great few days in Wenatchee, Washington. Why Wenatchee, asked a friend? It's so very different from the coast of Washington, it's a desert, said another.

​Wenatchee touts itself as the Apple Capitol of the World. There are many orchards to be seen and many cold storage warehouses along the Columbia River that runs through Wenatchee and East Wenatchee.

Forbes, in 2021, touted it as a great place to retire and Melanie and I agree (not necessarily about retiring there), it's a really nice mid-sized town about 2 hours east of Seattle through Stevens Pass. Wenatchee has a great feel to it with good food to be had and friendly people. We missed the annual Apple Blossom Festival, but there's always next year.

Forbes also mentioned it's bike friendly and indeed it is. The Apple Capitol Loop Trail and extensions are a wonderful resource and make getting around Wenatchee a breeze.  Melanie and I were able to ride the trail and around town every day we were there. It's not exactly flat in spots, but the hills are not too formidable.

Photos are from my rides on the trail and around town.

Wenatchee Confluence State Park is most definitely one of the finer State Parks in which we've resided. Located at the confluence of the Wenatchee and Columbia Rivers, the park is extremely well-kept, offering cycling, hiking, boating, swimming, and it located on the Apple Capitol Loop Trail which makes access to downtown Wenatchee an extremely easy bike ride away.

The RV sites are well spaced and offer pads for tents too. The sites are full hook up for a very reasonable price.

​Recommended.

We spent a rainy blustery few days at Fort Casey Historical State Park on Puget Sound. I wasn't feeling well, but we did manage to get out for a walk along the coast one fine afternoon. It's a beautiful place that used to be a fort.

No hookups or dump station, but bonus points for being near the ferry that will take you to Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula.

Recommended.

Fort Stevens State Park was our last place to stay in Oregon recently as we migrated north towards Washington State. We truly love traveling the Oregon coastline on 101, much of which is preserved.
We were in residence at another Oregon State Park we've recommended, Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park for three days prior.

The campground is well-kept  and features old-growth forest. There's plenty of hiking and biking opportunities too. Though much of our stay featured grey skies and rain, we enjoyed our stay.

We had a spot in the back of "G" loop which is nicely located near a multi-use trail system in the park. The cell signal in the loop isn't good (Verizon) and we had to relocate to near the Visitor Center so Melanie could work during the day. A small price to pay.

We recently spent three days camped in Burlington Campground near Weott, California, located in Humboldt Redwoods State Park. A couple of years ago we drove briefly through the redwoods on the Avenue of the Giants north of Humboldt, but this is the first time we've spent any time camped in a grove of redwoods. 

I highly recommend the experience. 

Sites in Burlington vary in size. Some are not as level as others. Other campers were mostly tent campers. Melanie and I walked around and made note of other sites that will accommodate a 25 foot van. Those are sites 18,26,27,28. There are surely others that will work, but these are the best. 47 was not level and as you can see from the photo above, Miranda's front wheels are off the ground.

Burlington Campground

Melanie and I drove from Bagby Campground to Yosemite Valley (58.5 miles one way) for a quick day trip. There are closer places to access the park.

Neither of us had ever been to Yosemite National Park. Late winter means many of Yosemite's roads are still closed.  We were fortunate the weather cooperated and allowed us to get out the bikes and take our time peddling around the valley. 

We entered the park just after 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. There were few people about at that time so we made a few stops for photos driving in before finding a great spot to park Miranda along the roadway and just under Yosemite Falls. We had more coffee and breakfast in Miranda allowing the ambient temps to reach the low 50's.

While I don't know how many people might be in the park during the week this time of year, by midday on this Saturday traffic on the roadways inside the park increased substantially. The roads are amply wide so we had no problems using them to ride our bikes. There are also great bike/walkways in the park and we took advantage of them too.

We left headed back to camp around 4:00 p.m.

Note that beginning in May 20, 2022- September 30, 2022 timed entry will be in effect between 6:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. and a reservation is required for entry.

A saunter in Lauritzen Gardens-Omaha Botanical Center, Omaha, Nebraska.

All of the Colorado State Parks we've stayed in have been stellar, Cherry Creek State Park is no exception. There's also a plus, at least for us anyway. The park is located close to the Denver Metro Area and even has a great bike trail that runs through it, the Cherry Creek Regional Trail. Highly recommended.

Because we travel the way we do with Melanie working a part time job and having to be (mostly) connected, we are left with visiting some of the National Parks on the fly. Sometimes we have time enough to take out our bicycles and ride around taking our time and stopping along the way, rarely do we plan a day hike and mostly we are left with driving through and stopping at key spots. 

We were in Moab for four days when our side door step motor began making a really terrible noise. We called the mobile mechanic recommended by the RV park where we were staying. He ordered the replacement motor, but had to leave town for a week. 

We left Moab for the week he was gone and came back for one night to get the motor installed. Once the steps were working again, we decided, before leaving town, to check out Canyonlands National Park.

Here's the drive by.