Lots to Lava: Olympic-Sized Reunions in Washington State
Olympic National Park and the Mount St. Helens Area offered reunions with friends who feel like family.
Sept. 26 - Oct. 5
Olympic National Park, Mount St. Helens, Columbia River north of Portland
“Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:6
RoBetz Reunion!
A big decision in the macro planning of the road trip was whether to head south or west after Glacier National Park in Montana. By then it would be mid-September and the threat of snow and ice could start closing high-altitude roads. I realized if we didn’t go to Washington State now, the mountain locations we longed to see would become inaccessible.
As soon as we committed to heading west to Washington and Oregon, I realized our late-September timing happened to coincide with our friends’ kids’ two-week fall break. So I reached out to Ben and Huy, who are both from Washington, to see if there was any chance of meeting up.
There was… and we did!
Ben and Huy are some of our first Navy friends from the San Diego days. Ben and Nick were roommates during BUD/S, slogging through hellish months together. Huy and I were both newly married and new to town, trying to carve out new careers in a new place.
Hotties, circa 2010
In those days, the guys were gone ALL. THE. TIME. So, in their absence, Huy and I met up for dinners, shopping, movie nights, happy hours. During the week, we’d email back and forth to make plans and share gossip (between workplace drama and Navy antics, there was plenty).
During our five years in San Diego, Ben and Huy became our Friday night friends—no matter who was gone, we always had someone to spend Friday night with. We planned trips together to rock climb in Joshua Tree and ski at Mammoth Mountain (sadly, ruined by a poorly timed broken hand the week Nick returned from deployment).
At one point, while Nick and Ben were away blowing up things in the desert, Huy and I trained for and ran a half marathon (my one and only because, no thanks). We even (accidentally) were given winner’s medals instead of participation medals for our effort, but that’s another story.
The first Christmas Nick was in Iraq, I didn’t want to go home to Houston, our regular spot, and face all the reminders that he was away. Instead, I spent Christmas Eve at Ben and Huy’s house, waking up there on Christmas morning to breakfast and presents and the refusal to mention the obvious missing piece from friends who understood.
The last week of September, Ben, Huy, Harper and Jackson flew to Seattle, where Huy grew up and still has family. They took the ferry over to the Olympic Peninsula and joined us for a long weekend in Forks, Washington. During our time together, we explored three sections of Olympic National Park, including the one-of-a-kind Hoh River Rain Forest—the only rain forest in North America.
We bundled up to stroll the rocky, windy Pacific Coast.
Official sea to shining sea moment—our family’s first time at an ocean since leaving Virginia Beach in June. Very different views and temperatures!
And enjoyed the warm vibes at Sol Duc Hot Springs.
Kids take a break from the hot springs with a plunge in the cold springs.
All of this we did while dodging rain because it turns out Forks, WA, is the rainiest town in the United States and the reason why the Twilight vampire series was set here—whoops! This led to lots of movie nights, Nintendo gaming sessions, and the dads attempting to catch salmon while standing in both the freezing river and the chilly rain for days.
Rain and all, we enjoyed our time catching up and sprinkling in adventures with dear friends.
Travel note: Olympic National Park is HUGE and unlike many other national parks does NOT have a road running through it connecting all the notable places. Visitors have to drive around to access the park from various in-roads, all of which makes for a lot of out-and-back driving.
To make the most of the park, you really need to backpack through it or stay at places along the way for one to two nights each. We hope to go back some time and visit the Olympic sections we missed.
Wandering Through a Lava Tube
After saying goodbye to the Betzes, we traveled south to the Columbia River area just north of Portland, where some friends have settled.
A fun part of the trip is when a local recommends something awesome that was nowhere on our radar. In North Cascades, we met a young man on the Sahale Glacier hike who was from this area. He told us about the Ape Cave, a lava tube that’s part of Mount Saint Helens and the best hike in the area.
The cave was just under an hour from our campground, so we went to check it out. The hike was just over three miles long all underground climbing over lava debris—equal parts eerie and memorable. Sadly, we discovered there are no apes in the cave. It was named after the Boy Scouts who first explored it in the 1950’s, known as the “Ape Troop.”
Light near the end of the tunnel of the Ape Cave hike
Grapes of Wrath
One of our high school friends who lives in Portland joined us for dinner and a campfire at our campsite on the river. Jonathan ran track and cross-country with Nick.
Before the pandemic, Jonathan was working as a sommelier at a fancy restaurant in Houston. The restaurant closed during the shut down. He lost his job. He got married! He and his wife, who was now working remotely, uprooted from Texas and followed a long-held dream to move to Portland and make wine.
Five years later, Jonathan is the winemaker at Wild Child Winery in Oregon’s Willamette Valley (unexpectedly pronounced “will-AH-met”). He brought several of his wines for Nick and I to sample and wowww. The winery specializes in dry farming with attention toward soil management. I’m sharing the link in case anyone likes great wine and wants to support a small business owner this holiday season and beyond.
Reunited with the Other Roberts
Also in this area are some of our dear friends from Guam—the Roberts family. We got to know Jake and Erin in our neighborhood on base. Nick and Jake frequently traveled together for work. Erin and I started a crossfit workout group together. She and Jake hosted weekly barbecues where everyone brought side dishes and contributed musical talent (or at least lots of enthusiasm) to a thrown-together garage band. Believe me when I say… those were the days!
After Guam, we moved to the East Coast and these Roberts moved to Germany, then the West Coast. We’ve had piecemeal visits here and there over the years, but this was the first time both of our families were all together. Finally, a proper reunion!
We joined them for their middle son’s football game then dinner beside the Columbia River and a tour of their beautiful new home, where they have settled long-term after decades of moving with the Navy.
It was so wonderful to be together and see where their journey has taken them. Somehow their two-year-old boy down the street in Guam is nearing the end of high school.
Also wild was seeing that THEY STILL HAVE THEIR DOG FROM GUAM, MOE! Moe is now 17 and has lived all over the world. I don’t think I know anyone else from our Guam days who still has the same pet. This dog deserves a lifetime achievement award.
With each friend visit in Washington, we wished we’d had more days, more time, more meals together. The threat of snow and ice closing roads to high-elevation destinations pushed us onward faster than we would have liked. After a summer exploring nearly every northern state bordering Canada, yellowing leaves were the unavoidable sign to begin driving south.
As cooler temps continue to close in, I look back on our whirlwind weeks in Washington and can feel the warmth from the hugs and smiles of dear friends who mean the world to us.
Roberts on the Road
Lava tube hike at Mount St. Helens
For those just finding us, hello! Inspired by the Year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25, our family is on a yearlong RV road trip in 2025-2026 to celebrate my husband’s retirement after 20 years in Naval Special Warfare, as well as our 24 years together during the ups and downs of it all.
With our 12-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son in tow, this trip to explore America’s national parks and beautiful places is intended to help our family reflect and reset as civilian life begins.
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