Drove though Portland to just south of Tacoma, Washington to Joint Base Lewis/McChord. Camp sites is right on a American Lake, which is appropriate since there are several bald eagles here. Yesterday, while kayaking on the lake, we say one bald eagle catch a fish from the lake and another bald eagle try to take it away in-flight. Pretty cool.

The services here are great. We have an outdoor adventure center that is well stocked and provides all sorts of info on outdoor activities. They even have scuba gear/certification at great prices. The sale table had all sorts of concealed carry holsters and several 30-round clips for AK-47s; interesting? Tonight, we are going to a class on how to get back into our kayaks should we, by chance, fall out. We have "sit-in" kayaks and getting back in can be an adventure in itself. The base is huge. They have tank routes all over the base; you might even be able to go to Burger King in your tank. Huge Base Exchange and Commissary (food store). I can't remember being called "Sir" so often. Great discipline and respect taught here. Have not gone to McChord (the Air Force Base yet). I went to the barber shop at the Post Exchange at Fort Lewis (Army) and asked for a medium trim; ended up with the shortest haircut I have had in 45 years. I fit in here though. Lots of personnel in good physical condition; allays my concern about the overall condition of our younger population and their ability to protect our nation.

The Outdoor Adventures Center provided a great kayak safety lesson. We had an Olympic-size pool that is normally used by Army Special Operations personnel at our disposal. We learned how to help a partner get back into their kayak and how to get into your kayak if you are alone. We discovered that we need some additional safety items like a paddle float, floating rope, and a water pump. We have a planned kayak trip in Puget Sound scheduled for Friday. Should be interesting. Pretty call water though and very little current.

Mt. Rainier National Park - Lisa and I drove to Mt. Rainier National Park today and it was well work the time and effort. We managed another of those very nice days with puffy clouds in the area that were not obscuring the view of the mountain. It is an absolutely fabulous site to see. Rising over 14,000 feet in height, it is quite majestic. We drove to a location called Paradise (5,400 feet above mean sea level) which has a visitors center, food service dining area, and much more. Views were great of the glacier-covered peak and it surrounding mountains. The temperature was a chilly 45 degrees with about 25 knots of wind blowing; the chill factor had to be in the mid 30s or worse. Lisa was pretty cold, but acquiesced to my suggestion that we have our picnic at a picnic table with a great view of the mountain, but exposed to the chilling winds; that was a pretty short picnic! Check out the photos and video of the trip, and go see Mt Rainier if you ever get the opportunity.

Lisa worked in the morning of June 20th so I went for a 26 mile bike ride. I was able to ride the full 26 miles on Ft. Lewis North and the Ft. Lewis Main. Cars are few, but very respectful on base. Speed limits are low and followed carefully; pretty nice for a bike rider. I feel that if a military member hits a bike rider, they will be in "big" trouble. No need for that.

Afternoon of June 20th - Lisa organized a trip to Tacoma and Point Defiance. Point Defiance is at the very tip of the peninsula where Tacoma is located. It contains a zoo, walking trails, and access to Puget Sound at Owens Beach. We had a great walk along the beach and we saw lots of harbor seals. We then walked back towards Tacoma to the terminal for the Vaschon Island Ferry. That was as far as we could go towards town, so we walked back to our truck. We then drove to Ruston Beach, which is a very expensive waterfront walk with high-priced condos and food restaurants. It was a very nice walk. We ended up walking just over six miles. After our walk, we went to Macalusos Italian Restaurant. Lisa order vegetarian risoto and I had a fantastic alfredo Macaluso. The alfredo had chicken, mushrooms, and Itallian sausage. Yummy!

Olympic Peninsula National Park - We set aside a full day to visit the Olympic National Forest that is locate on the peninsula to the west of Seattle and extending all the way to the coast. It is a massive park. It is bordered on three sides by Highway 101 with Highway 12 on the southern border. The park is like a square with each side about 100 miles lone. It would take all day just to drive around it. Also, you cannot access the insides of the park except by hiking. There are no roads that transit the entire park; you drive around the perimeter and then drive in a little ways (abouyt 15 miles) and then hike. No motor vehicles on the trails and no bicycles. The goal is to keep the wilderness a wilderness. We drove in about six miles on a paved road and then about nine miles on a dirt road to begin our hike to "Pony Bridge." This was a 2.5 mile hike each way with the the hike to the bridge being almost all climbing. We had a nice picnic lunch at the bridge and then returned to our truck. It is a rain forest that gets between 130 and 150 inches of rain each year; mostly between November and April. Lots of ferns and lots of moss covering the trees. At times, we hiked under a covered canopy of trees and among a forest of ferns; kind of like in the movie Avitar. A great hike. We then went to eh coast and drove north to Ruby Beach. The overcast made everything look "black and white." The mountains in the center of the park rise to just over 8,000 feet. A full 6,000 feet less than Mr. Rainier.