Shafer Historical Museum

In 1919 Simon and Joyce Shafer moved to the Methow Valley where Simon found work as a hired hand and soon saved enough money to buy ownership in the Winthrop Meat Market. Simon expanded the meat market into a general merchandise store and began accepting tools, heirlooms, and other treasures in trade for his goods. By 1948 his collection had become so large that he decided to start a museum For that purpose he bought the Waring Castle, an unusually long log home built by Guy Waring who founded  the town of Winthrop.  

      

 

For almost 30 years the Shaffer family ran the museum all the while adding buildings and artifacts. In 1976 the Shaffer children donated everything to the Okanogan County Historical Society. The museum continues to grow as more buildings and artifacts are donated.

 

Paved paths connect the buildings. Most of  the buildings have ramps so they are fairly accessible. The large mining and farming equipment is located in lots surfaced with loose gravel which is very difficult to push through. 

Parking is on the street with plenty of room for RVs.  Museum  48.47698, -120.18193

  

Klipchuck Campground

Although this campground is only 700' higher in elevation than the Early Winters Campground, which is located a few miles east, it's a least 7 degrees cooler and much prettier with towering evergreens shading the campsites. Amenities include vault toilets, tables, and fire rings. Campsites fees are paid by scanning a QR code using the Recreation.gov mobile app and the Scan and Pay feature or by mailing a check. There isn't a fee box and cell service is spotty so come prepared. 

We camped in the host site which was unoccupied. It has a post with a number so that it can be used by other people when there isn't a host. The parking pad is wide and fairly level but the table and fire ring are down a slope. 

 We didn't see any campsites that are designated as accessible but many are usable. The trails are not accessible. Campground   48.59736, -120.51426

 

Deception Pass State Park

 After we left the rain forest it was time to make our annual trip back to our unofficial home base. Our daughter and son-in-law had a few more days of vacation so they tagged along. We got the only available sites -113 and 114 - at Deception pass, probably because they are considered a double site. They must be reserved together and each has a separate reservation fee.

Site 113 and 114 are fairly short and slightly uphill.The tables have long overhangs and the ground is hard packed - not accessible but usable. 

We only stayed the night so we didn't check out the park or the accessible sites. The Dunes Interpretive Trail is designated as accessible.  Campground  48.40028, -122.66194

 

Trails on Sol Duc Hot Springs Road

 There are two short trails on Hot Springs Road - Salmon Cascades and Ancient Groves Nature Trail Loop. Both have descriptions on the Physical/Mobility Accessibility section of the park website. The section is a little misleading. The text reads: "Knowing that people have all different kinds of needs and abilities, the following trails have been evaluated in detail, by and for people with disabilities. You know best what is accessible to you, so read on to find details about what the surface of the trail is like, its width, slope, what parking options are nearby, and detailed descriptions of each part of the trail and any features that may affect your experience." But there's no way to know what type of disability the person or persons evaluating the trails have. 

The Salmon Cascades Trail is very short with a wide, hard packed dirt surface. It leads to a wooden deck that overlooks the cascades - no salmon running at this time of year.  Out 25' RV just fit in the pull-in parking spaces so there's no room for large RVs.

 Nothing about the Ancient Groves Nature Trail Loop is accessible. The first obstacle is a jumble of large roots and it doesn't get any better from there. We pushed on until we came to a very narrow, steep section with a drop off on one side and a hill on the other side. I thought that we would be okay if we just got past this section but it was too scary and dangerous and we ended up backing down. (I forgot to take a picture.) Parking is parallel to the road and long enough for any RV but may fill.  Sol Duc   48.02296, -123.92362

Sol Duc Campground

The campground is just a short distance from the Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort which has four pools with different temperatures. Two of them are wheelchair accessible but, not being hot spring fans, we did not try them. However our daughter, son-in-law, my sister, and brother-in-law who joined us at the campground and cabins had a great time soaking multiple times. A half mile long trail goes from the campground to the resort. It's not wheelchair accessible due to steps and rough ground.

We camped in Loop B site 62 which is fairly flat and has a slight slope to the table. Many of the sites in Loop B are small and have tables that are not easily accessed. 

Loop A has one sites designated as accessible but we did not check it out. Campground  47.96504, -123.85299

 

Olympic Discovery Trail and Spruce Rail Trail

The Olympic Discovery Trail is 135 miles long, running along the northern edge of the Olympic Peninsula from La Push to Port Townsend. The last time we camped at Fairholme Campground we followed Camp David Jr Road to a parking area for the trail. Camp David Road is narrow and the parking area is small - not good for RVs. This time we parked in a pull out along US 101- much better and large enough for any vehicle.

The trail is accessed by a steep road from the parking lot. There's an accessible parking space at the end of the road to avoid the steep part. From the parking space a short connector trail goes to the actual trail where there's a choice to go to the left on the  Olympic Discovery Trail or right on the Olympic Discovery/ Spruce Rail Trail. 

 The left trail has rolling hills and most wheelchair users will need assistance. We walked/rolled about 1.2 miles before turning around. Open areas allow flowers and berries to grow. 

The right trail goes gently uphill through a second growth forest with an under-story of ferns. We went about a mile on this section before turning around. Discovery Trail  48.07511, -123.95393

Allens Bar Campground

 Allens Bar is not really a campground. It's a large gravel (rock) bar along the Hoh River. The bar is public land but the access road is private so campers pay $5.00 a day to use the road. There are no amenities and tent camping is prohibited but we did see tent campers. 

 We camped with a couple of friends close to the trees and even though it looks crowded we had plenty of room. Very quiet except for one generator.

 The coveted spots are along the river. Use care because the ground becomes soft and silty to the south. We did not check the northern end of the bar.

Due to the rocks this is a very inaccessible site.  Camp  47.79829, -124.26041

 

South of Mount St Helens

We visited the north side of Mount St Helens in 2016. The destructive power of the 1980 volcanic eruption was still very evident and the area will take decades to recover. We decided to visit the south side this time. The heat from eruption that blasted out the north side of the mountain caused a glacier on the south side to melt. A huge flood of mud and rocks raced down the mountain at 100 miles an hour. It filled the stream beds and knocked down trees but the destruction was minor compared to the north side. 

We followed Forest Road 83 until it ended at the Lava Canyon Trailhead parking lot. Along the way we passed over a stream bed that is filled with debris from the mudflow. 

We stopped at the Lahar (mudflow) Viewpoint and walked/rolled along a short path with interpretive signs. The path is rough so wheelchair users may need assistance. 

The trail at Lava Canyon goes downhill for about 1/3 mile, losing about 65 feet in elevation, until it reaches an overlook of the Muddy River. This is the end of the paved and accessible section. The trail is in good condition with a few rough spots and has switchbacks to lessen the grade.  

We had been planning to stay at Marble Mountain Sno-Park but the main parking lot was gated so we went the other side of FR 83 and spent a very quiet night in the overflow lot.

 All of the parking lots are large enough for most vehicles but some time after the sno-park (heading east) but before Lahar Viewpoint there's a pile of gravel across the road with a sign indicating that high clearance is need to go farther. We have enough clearance so we drove over the gravel and on to Lava Canyon but didn't find the reason for the gravel or the sign. Low clearance vehicles will probably not make it over the gravel pile.  Forest Road 83  46.12993, -122.16985