North West BS Thread

Sometimes I buy stuff and then forget why I wanted it...

Complete Olicamp stove kit. I think I got this Christmas 4-5 years ago, ran it once to test out and then never used again. Doing a major purge of my garage and I don't need to keep it. Canister is about 1/2 full.

Free to an active member here in the PNW. I'll be in Vancouver/Portland next weekend and doing some shopping Saturday morning (2/11) and can arrange a meet-up. PM me...

 

I hear Anacortes is nice. But never been there. But it would put you close to the San Juan islands.

How long you planning on staying? Seattle is nice for a day or two. Pikes place, space needle, and woodland park zoo would be my recommendation.

 

Paging @Green Thunder (he’s local)

for gateway to the San Juans, Anacortes or Bellingham would be where to go. La Conner is nice and out of the hustle and bustle a bit.

like Tim said, in Seattle I’d hit Pike Street (and associated things around there), space needle and the EMP museum or whatever it’s called now, and the zoo. Also head out to west Seattle and catch sunset at alkai beach.

if you’ve got time, cruise out and see the Olympic national park, head up to hurricane ridge. It’s not a bunch of 14’ers like CO, but it’s still beautiful.

heading East/home, it’s a longer route but highway 20 through the North Cascades is stunning. The east side you can drop down into wenatchee and backtrack a little ways up to Leavenworth or keep trucking east. @NWPirate is in that general area too (not far from Wenatchee)

N. Idaho is also beautiful in the summer - Coeur d’ Alene just off I-90 is always busy. Silverwood theme park is just north of there, lots of camping and lakes to check out. Or head down into Lewiston where Tim is at and check out Hells Canyon

 

Yeah, Anacortes is pretty cool. It's mostly just the ferry hub. Mt. Vernon is also a good area to stay while checking out the islands.

Check out Coupeville on Whidbey Island, you drive over an amazing bridge to get on the island.

Definitely take the ferry out for a day trip to Friday Harbor/ Roche Harbor. I would say later summer would be better weather than earlier. The big city trash hasn't infiltrated that far north, yet.

 

If driving, recommend taking white pass coming or going. Beautiful drive with views of Mt Rainer.

 

+1 for N. Cascades highway, it's amazing. Plus, it puts you right into a cool little western town called Winthrop.

 

Gimmie until this evening to reply. Need to be on a normal keyboard to put my thoughts down. Not a two-thumb phone ninja.

 

Okay, so there is so much to talk about that I just focus on the basics. If you want more details or ideas to fill in the blanks, hit me up.

Regarding Seattle, the worst always gets the attention. There are a lot of problems in that city and surrounding areas, but it's not all that bad. I get if you don't want do deal with it and I don't blame you. Honestly, this state is amazing without that dumpster fire. Skip and and you won't miss anything.

If the theme is Whales and Water, then head North out of town and don't look back. Some of my thoughts:

• The San Juan Islands are beautiful in the summer. Lopez is super low key, San Juan is nice but I haven't been there in decades. Orcas is where we go. The ferry ride from the mainland (departs Anacortes) is stunning. You don't kayak these waters for fun. It's longer than you think and can get very busy. There's an inter-island ferry between the islands that people love to take, but I've never done it. It's been a few years since I was there, but we have stayed at https://www.westbeachresort.com/ the past few trips. The cabins are rustic, but clean and functional. Some of the cabins are right on the water, each with their own fire pit. The office has beer on tap...I'll see if I can dig up a pic. It's a very cool area and a good base for exploring the islands. Get a reservation for the ferry. Lots of whale watching in this region
• Whidbey Island is one of our favorites. There are two main ways onto the island. First is a short ferry from the South end and the North end is Deception Pass...that's the pic that @NWPirate posted above. It is as stunning as the picture looks. Lots of fun towns with great food on Whidbey. There's a ferry from Fort Casey to Port Townsend that's a great walking "tourist" type of town. Fort Casey is a WWI fort that still has some huge guns that were installed for coastal defense (check the googles). If you really like military stuff, there's an area called Keystone just East of the ferry dock that's right on the water. Whidbey Island Navel Base has a "carrier" mock-up landing strip just north of Keystone and F-18s do practice flights once a week (Tuesday or Thur....cannot remember). My folks rented a home there for a month a few years ago and loved it. The planes come in off the water, full roar and low enough you can see the pilots. Apparently shakes the house.
• Highway 20 runs E-W from Anacortes and is a breathtaking drive once you start to climb into the mountains.

So, if it was me...I'd get a house on Whidbey for a few days. Take the ferry over from Mukilteo (south end) and explore the island. Do a walk-on to Port Townsend for the day and just go wherever the mood takes you. Then drive North over Deception Pass and take a ferry from Anacortes to the San Juans. Do your thing there for a few days and then pick up Hwy 20 right in Anacortes and head East. Winthrop is a fun town on the other side of the mountains. But the real fun place is Mazama. It's a one-store town that's a hub of anything outdoors in the area. Lots of fun hiking and other things in the area. From there I'd cruise South to Hwy 2 and go East into ID.

 

Another vote for Whidbey Island. My in-laws built their retirement home there. Along with Coupeville, Langley is worth a stop.

 

Okay folks. My Toyota care ends at the end of the month so I need to start changing my oil again. I am embarrassed to say the last time I changed my own oil was prior to kids when I had my Jeep back in about 2007.

Going to start gathering the items I need specifically for the Tundra.

-Factory filters.
-Replacement aluminum housing, swap inner tube from plastic housing.
-Fumoto valve or Valvomax valve plus necessary tubes for draining.

Questions:
Does the filter housing require a certain size socket?
Anyone have strong opinions of the Fumoto versus the Valvomax?

 

If you really want to have some pucker - head up from Mazama to Hart's Pass - it is the highest point you can get to by vehicle in the state of WA. Nothing like Pike's Peak or anything, but at the same time it's quite the road to get there. Though I don't think I'd do it in a full size 1 ton pickup...there's some hairy narrow spots on that road with a LONG ways straight down on one side of you. That said, that area is absolutely breathtaking.

 

get this

Motivx Tools Oil Filter Wrench, Drain Tool, and Advanced Engine Oil Funnel Set for Toyota & Lexus 2.0L - 5.7L Engines With Cartridge Style Systems

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0791MWXDC

Oil filter housing "socket"
oil filter housing drain
oil fill thread-in funnel

 

@ColoradoTJ some pics...

View from West Beach Resort


Coastal Guns at Fort Casey


This is Deception Pass State Park (North/mainland side)


This is from the house my parents rented in Keystone beach


Diablo Lake from Hwy 20

 

Thank you! I remember seeing this on the forum in the past.

 

Portions of the road are single lane (barely), switch back blind turns with angry Subaru drivers. It's a blast

Altitude is about 6,000ft. The top is a cool fire watch tower and lots of hiking. Plus a 360 degree view of this:

 

Yes - that 1/2 mile stretch is fun.

I want to go back there in my '21. Last time I was in my 2008.

The PCT passes through there - that was the pick-up spot when my wife and her friend did the final leg to Canada in 2020 (and couldn't enter the country, so had to backtrack 30 miles to Hart's Pass for pick-up). Hiking north about 6 miles from the lookout tower along the PCT is some amazing views.

 

Yep, same kit I've got, works like a charm!

 

Never heard of Valvomax...so no comment there. Used Fumotos for 20 years and never had one fail. Never heard of one failing either. The link @RainMan_PNW gave you is the money. That's got the socket needed to remove the filter base and it just takes a standard 1/2' socket insert.

 

Hart's Pass, love it!
We used to ride sleds up from Mazama and frequently had to cut trail through the avalanches.
Zero room for error on a single sled trail.

Did a little edit below. Having kids, not a chance I would do this now.

 

It’s probably pretty far out of the way for you but I hear there’s a cool blacksmithing shop in NW Oregon where you can get a live demo and a free meal with a cold brew.

 

Really? I didn’t think we honored any out of state permits. Or at least not from states that were not your home state. Interesting