For those who don’t travel much, PNW is the Pacific NorthWest. I’m on my fourth visit to the PNW, third in an RV. Sometime last year, I spotted a campground ad looking for help over the summer and, after some discussion, Mary and I applied for and got the jobs. It looked like fairly easy duty and enough time off to explore the area.

Well, next time, I should probably check Google maps a little better. The initial plan was to spend a lot more time hiking in Olympic National Park. It looked very doable last year but now that we’re here, the driving times are somewhat excessive. This week we planned a trip to the Hoh Rain Forest to get my free veteran’s pass and hike a couple of short trails. Well, besides a 2 hour drive to get there it was the middle of the day and the line of cars to get to the visitor’s center was one and a half hours long. So we turned around and drove another hour plus to the Port Angeles visitor’s center where we were in and out in about 3 minutes. Bonus: Asian Buffet in Port Angeles and a short waterfall hike nearby.

For several months I’ve been reading about the heat wave covering much of the country. Here on the Pacific Coast of Central Washington, we haven’t had that problem. It’s rarely hit the 70s during the day and much chillier at night. At the end of July, the heat pump and a space heater still get daily use. But at least we’re not paying for electric.

And an unexpected bonus. Washington is well known for its apple orchards. A few years ago I became acquainted with a variety called Super Cosmic Crisp. In most parts of the country they’re very expensive. Around here I’ve been able to find them on sale at different stores for $0.99 a pound!! For those of you who haven’t tried them, they’re just as sweet as Honey Crisp but much denser. A good sized Cosmic Crisp can almost be a meal by itself.

And now I have to edit because I forgot all about my bicycle rides. First, it’s great not dealing with high temps while riding. Second, it’s way better than road riding in Texas. Down there I always, always, always had to worry about loose dogs charging me. I had to work on my balance down there so I could keep riding and swing a bicycle lock cable at the same time. Here in Washington the few barking dogs I’ve encountered have been behind fences and closed gates. Maybe as a byproduct of that, there are lots of deer roaming the streets in town (bucks, does and fawns). Today I unexpectedly spooked a black bear. He was very close to the road edge and either heard or saw me approaching. As I passed him he was heading further into the brush, very loudly and quickly.