Washington Cousins and North Cascades National Park

 Early Monday morning, we packed up our gear and set out for the Seattle area to meet up with my cousin Mary in Bellevue.  We planned a casual lunch get together at her lovely home.  It was a beautiful, picture perfect day.  Time flew and I forgot to grab a picture of our visit.  I hate when I do that!

So, then we piled back in the truck, and ambled up the mountain to North Cascades National Park.  By this time, we had visited 2 other National Parks in Washington and thought we had already seen the best there is. Boy, were we wrong!  The mountains were beautiful! We got settled into our lovely campsite and went for a great hike through the woods along the Thunder River trail.  Perfect conditions and great way to stretch our legs and lungs.  

Thunder River

Vic on the wriggling bridge over the River

Enjoying an adult beverage at the end of the day 

Feeling very very small under these huge trees!

Along the trail

Thunder River Lake at our campground

Next, onto Bellingham, where cousin Charlotte and her family live.  We enjoyed a lovely dinner out on their patio over looking the San Juan Islands with perfect weather.  Here, we also needed to tend to the truck and dogs.  We just passed 5000 miles of this trip and “Mother Trucker” was due for her regular maintenance and check up of all her systems to make sure she is up to the challenge of driving up through Canada.  All clear!

Agi and Bodi also needed to check in with the local veterinarian who would certify that they are healthy animals that could travel to Alaska.  They both passed with flying colors (and got tons of treats for their great behavior)!

One more dinner with Charlotte, Husband Dan and daughter Rose at Aslan Brewery in Bellingham.  Yummy Bison burgers and brews!!  Great visit and another fun evening.  We called it an early night and went back to our campsite to get the rig ready to immigrate to Canada early the day morning.

Rose, me, Vic, Dan and Char at Aslan Brewery 

Char and Dan making a classy exit!

Oven roasted chicken with beautiful veggies, sautéed asparagus and steamed rice

Fresh greens, beets and peas from Charlotte and Dan’s garden

These two need to get back in order…

Behaving well gets you treats!

Agi and Bodi getting their check up at Northshore Veterinary Hospital in Bellingham, WA

 

We are all set for the next chapter of this journey.  Good bye, USA 🇺🇸!!