It started on a Tuesday: Roadwork was happening at my house for a few days, and I had to move my van, so I finished loading it up and head to Greenlake to have lunch with Ski. I had a bunch of errands to run, and wouldn’t get to my campsite til dark, so Lincoln and I stayed at a rest stop near Olympia and settled in for the night.
Wed: It was a gorgeous drive!!! The 101 hugs the Hood Canal, so it was just beautiful views of the water for most of my journey into the mountains. As I got close, I started seeing snow on the ground. How exciting! But then…more and more snow and Im thinking, wait, am I literally driving INTO the mountains?!! I get there, pull off into a campsite right next to a river, and head off with Lincoln to explore the area, and it’s absolutely breathtaking!
Only issues were, I had no cell reception, and due to tree cover Starlink would not connect at all. Also, the area I was in was super muddy, and I was afraid I’d end up getting stuck there. So… bright idea! I decided to move to the campsite on the other side of the road, not only is it much drier, and it also has a perfect view of the river and mountains…win win right?!
No….as I pulled into the campsite, I got stuck. After about 3 hours of trying to get unstuck with my traction boards / trying to get and keep my Starlink connection, I ended up texting my son (who was at work) and then a friend who got all the info to call and get roadside out to me.
The ETA kept changing, til finally they were like, new ETA 10-11a tomorrow morning. So..Lincoln and I settled in for the night. I’m awakened by a curious sound, in the van. It’s not Lincoln… WTF is that…. OMG a mouse!!! I jump up, throw the back door open, toss on all the lights, and make noise to scare it out. Got settled down, got my bed made back up, keep all the lights on, and start falling asleep when I hear Lincoln at the foot of my bed crying, and noises coming from the front of the van where he was sleeping…oh great, mouse is up there now….so I let him up into bed with me and we huddled together for safety til finally falling asleep.
Thurs / Fri: Finally, 20hours after getting stuck, the tow truck arrives to winch me out. So, found out I was not just stuck, I was high centered. Never even heard that term before…. I’m learning so much 🥹 He had me out and back on the road in maybe 15 minutes. Thankfully, minimal damage…my steps broke, and the bracket holding my water tank bent, but other than that…everything looks good. Thank goodness!
I got out of there, and head to another spot way down closer to the main road which ended up being so beautiful I wish I’d just stopped there to begin with. But if I had, I wouldn’t have learned so many valuable lessons! 😶 Limited cell, but my Starlink worked there, and it was nice to fire up the furnace, cook some dinner, and settle in for a super peaceful night. And also…no mice!!!
We went for a long walk in the morning. Even though every so often a truck / camper would drive by me, the campsites are so spread out I never actually saw anyone else. I had a great view of the mountains, and Lincoln really seemed to love it too.
Sat-Mon: Went to an Oyster Class at Hama Hama with the fam and it was awesome! Thats going in my next post 😁 Came back and was so happy to see my campsite was still empty, so I pulled in figuring I’d leave Sun. I did not…stayed through til Mon afternoon and then head back to the house. When I walked in, I realized how much I did not miss being here. I didn’t miss my bed, or the amount of space in here, none of it.
I do miss the drive, the views, my campsite, watching how excited Lincoln is over new place to sniff and explore… Heck even the rest stops in WA are nice…I miss all of that! So, just doing laundry, and packing things back up to head back out in a couple days. Yup, I’m just getting started and just as excited as ever to get back out there!
iOverlander | Olympic National Forest
iOverlander | NF-2510 Pullout
