We have to drop the van in Seattle early on Sunday so rather than risk getting stuck at the border we head into Washington State a couple of days early.
We stay at a campsite quite unlike any other we’ve ever been to. No camping for a start! The owner/manager, Reg, bought the land 7 years ago and is slowly transforming it into something very special. Using materials almost entirely reclaimed from derelict houses/farms/boats etc. he has built 3 quirky little cabins, a washroom and is almost finished a large communal dining/bar shack.
As well as being one of those infuriating blokes who can turn his hand to anything he’s quite the raconteur and entertains us with some hair-raising tales of when he lived in Colombia in the late ‘90’s. He paints a very different picture to one we experienced when we were in the country 3 months ago. Violent, unpredictable and very dangerous - yet through his youthful eyes, hugely thrilling and exciting. Fascinating stuff.
There’s some good hiking in this northern corner of the state and today we take the trail to a disused gold mine.
Reg later tells us it’s disused because there was never any gold in the first place. It was an elaborate hoax that involved fake gold dust being blasted into the mine walls with a shotgun to fool unwitting investors.
A lovely walk though with a superb view at end of the rolling Washington countryside.
No photo of Reg I’m afraid, but here’s Arlo the resident hound.
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