Journey to Wallowa with Yvonne: White Pass & Grand Finale

After paying our respects to Yvonne at Wallowa Whitman National Forest, we knew we had to be back at the airport in 3 days. To finish the journey, it had to be Washington. On a whim, we found a serene spot on the Cowlitz River in Toledo, Washington (only one hour away from Portland airport). Unbeknownst to us, the 5-hour drive from Enterprise, Oregon was about to be quite a journey. We started out in the country with long, straight roads for what seemed like forever. But then we stumbled across a gorgeous place - it just caught our eye and we had to stop and check it out.

Waterbrook in Walla Walla Washingtion

It was funny because we were so close to just stopping at McDonald's for lunch, but I kept saying I feel like we will pass a nice local place that will be so much better - and Boom! There it was. The food and wine were truly incredible, and it was the perfect lunch because they were also super accommodating to Hazey sitting with us outside - they brought her a water bowl with some snacks! So now we are on the second half of the journey and enter the woods of Mt. Rainer National Park, and this would be it for the next 3 hours until we reach Toledo. It started off really nice:

Nice and Sunny Day

Then we drove through a cloud...

Spooky!

And then we got this epic view!

Perfection!

This is actually a famous road-trip destination, and a full guide to the area can be found on the White Pass Scenic Byway website (loops, attractions, etc.)

Conner and Hazey + Mt. Rainier

Then we drove through a mountain!

Finally, we arrived at our home in Toldeo, Washington - which we learned upon arrival, is coined "The Gateway to Mt. Saint Helens." The idea here was to have a place to truly relax for the last couple of days, and just see what happens day by day, and this place delivered (despite being next door to an active volcano).

This place on a hot day would be absolutely perfect. We took a small dip in the river here and there, but Fall was coming in quickly, so swimming in the river sourced by the glaciers of Mt. Rainier only lasted so long. Kayaking here would have required two cars (or an Uber) because the current was too strong the paddle any reasonably large distance upstream. It was a gorgeous place, but our thirst for one last adventure was not satisfied after a day of hanging out.

Ironically, the only attraction that didn't require significant driving (we had started getting close to the mile limit on our Turo rental), was only 5 min away from our Airbnb - Skydive Toledo! I have always been 50/50 on skydiving. It seems like a lot of risk with little reward. That being said, we had our guardian angel, Yvonne, with us on this trip, and this skydiving experience was really special. It included a flight (obviously), but this flight circled around and provided views of all the surrounding mountain peaks including Mt. St. Helens, which we did not have time to see, so it was way worth it. So now we are not only skydiving, but we are doing it over a volcano?!

Life is short, fear is the enemy of growth...#WhiteKnuckles

Okay, so it wasn't directly over the volcano, and the whole experience was surprisingly peaceful and felt safe. It wasn't until they open the door to the plane, that's when it hit me (as you can see above).

I felt strangely at peace while literally falling through the sky:

Perfect shot with airplane! Pure joy.

Yvonne was a thrill seeker too. When I was younger I would drag her onto every extreme rollercoaster or thrill ride I could find (only child problems), and she always rallied! The last crazy thing we did together was Zip-lining in Costa Rica. Skydiving was the grand finale of a perfect trip and an example of how taking life day by day is the best way to find peace. Nature can be a powerful source of healing.

Before heading to the airport the following day (our flight was at 8 PM), we took a long walk down Cannon Beach - a super dog-friendly, iconic spot. This was a perfect way to spend our last day in the Pacific Northwest, and it worked well in tuckering-out Hazey before our flight back East.

Thank you so much for reading this story and supporting our journey!

Yvonne will always be our travel angel. Next post(s): 2020 Road-trip from Mass. to Colorado

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