I Travel And Stuff

After the fiasco at the food co-op, we drove the winding road down to Neah Bay. On the ocean most of the way. Reminded me of driving on the north shore of Oahu.

Got flipped off once along the way too. The van is slow and I get passed all the time. But in the year and a half that I’ve had the car, this is the first time I saw the bird. You can do with that what you will.

Neah Bay is the town all the way on the northwestern tip of the peninsula. The town itself is not doing great it doesn’t look like.

This area is a Native American reservation belonging to the Makah tribe. In order to stay in the area, you need to buy a recreation permit. Twenty dollars for the year isn’t so bad. But I doubt I will be coming back again. At least not anytime soon.

We found a campground south of town close to the beach and the location was great. Spent two days there. We could just walk onto the beach 500 feet away through a small forest. A good way to take a break mid-day and get some sun. Showers too.

We did two hikes in this area. The first was the Cape Flattery Hike, which is the most northwestern point in the lower 48 states. The walk is fairly short – maybe 3/4 of a mile. It’s pretty well-trafficked – a fair amount of people were there mid-week.

You don’t really get great views of the coastline until you’re about to the end. And when we got there this couple was getting married on the platform (what’s with all the engagements and weddings??) so it was quite a small place for everyone.

It was a nice view, especially of the island in the distance. But we took the walk late in the afternoon so the sun was in our faces the entire time. It was hard to see some things clearly with the lighting.

Shi Shi Beach was a longer hike (pronounced Shi Shi). About 2.5 miles through the forest until you got to the beach. Fairly flat there – until you get to the cliff you have to climb down.

Then you have a few miles to walk to the southern end of the beach. There were really cool rock formations here. But we didn’t make it down there in time. The walk was too long and we didn’t want to be rushing back. So we took in the views from a distance.

We had time to check out the tide pools on the northern end of the beach instead. Amanda was pretty stoked about this. Reminds her of home.

We would find better tide pools further down the coast but we still got to see some anemones which were pretty awesome. They are like aquatic venus fly traps. I had never seen any in person before.

We also got to see a purple starfish which was pretty cool. First official beach hike of the trip and got to see two very unique sea creatures. So overall a success.

It’s Monday and you know what that means? We have to find a place to work from. Problem is, there aren’t many places that fit the bill on the Olympic Peninsula. WiFi is a scarce resource here and cell service is unreliable. There is a small town on the northern coast but it was a coin flip.

We left early in the morning from Fairholme and stopped in Clallam Bay. I found a small food co-op that, according to reviews online, offered the coveted WiFi. But they don’t open until 10 AM. So we rolled up and figured w could work from the parking lot until they opened.

But soon after, this older gentleman came out to meet us. He was hard of hearing and it took us a few tries to get our point across. But eventually, we did and he told us to come inside. He was going to open up early just for us. Lucky us.

Amanda went inside and I took a small walk by the beach and made a few phone calls. Maybe it took me an hour or so.

As soon as I walked in the door and sat down Amanda gave me the “you’re not going to believe this shit” type of look. As soon as the owners stepped away she told me what happened while I was gone.

Naturally, Amanda and the older couple got to talking before Amanda got into her work. Them being so nice to open early and all that. They were carrying on and out of nowhere the older woman stopped Amanda. Said she couldn’t hear her that well.

Amanda apologized and started talking more loudly, assuming, as anyone would, that the lady was hard of hearing. But the lady said she could hear just fine. It’s just she had an issue listening to people who weren’t speaking their “personal truth”.

She shook that slap-in-the-face off and started working. What else could she do? She couldn’t leave. There was no other place to go.

Sometime afterward (but before I returned), the older man, just out of the blue, told her that sugar is terrible for ADHD. Amanda suffers from ADHD but she didn’t mention that to them. It’s like he knew without being told. At this point, it’s safe to say that Amanda was a little freaked out.

So I started talking to the old man, if only so that he wouldn’t talk to Amanda anymore. He mentioned that he and his wife were into meditation. So I told him I was as well. He asked me to sit down so he could show me something. You have my attention.

He got out three things: a book, a piece of canvas cloth, and a small fabric bag. He unfolded the canvas and it had what looked like some type of pie chart drawn on it. A circle separated into twenty or so slices. Each slice had a name. “Friendship” or “Happiness” or “Sex” to name a few.

He told me to think of a question I was looking for an answer to. But I wasn’t to tell him. Just needed to have in clearly in my mind. Then he told me to reach into the bag and pick out a stone.

The stones were about the size of a nickel. With a marking on one side. I threw it onto the canvas as you would throw dice.

Now, where and how it landed would mean determine what passage in the book you would need to read from. It was like a ouija board or some type of fortune telling.

To be fair, the passage I read hit the mark. Not completely so but it was a solid answer to my question. I tried for a second time, as I didn’t want to offend our host, but the passage was totally off. It seemed like the responses you would get from a psychic. Vague enough to apply to a variety of situations.

Amanda had a few meetings to get through in the afternoon so I chatted with the couple when they weren’t busy to keep them off Amanda’s back. I even helped them out with a few chores around the store. Kind of like a thank you for allowing us to post up for the day.

It was the first day of honest work that I’ve had since April and it was a fun change of pace to be fair. They even gave me a jar of honey for the effort. Pretty good deal if you ask me. But once Amanda was done for the day we couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Don’t think we’ll be coming back any time soon.

We spent the next few days in the Heart O’ The Hills campground. About twenty minutes north of Port Angeles on the road up to Hurricane Ridge. The campsite was situated in the middle of the forest and there was a nice trail off one of the loops. It was the only hike available to us in the area because Hurricane Ridge road was closed now.

The trail itself was easy. Relatively flat and 4 miles long one way. The first two miles are through an old groove forest. Gigantic trees and wild mushrooms of all types. A fair amount of fallen trees. Their large root systems are exposed for all to see. It was really quiet and peaceful.

The forest thins out after this and the trail becomes muddy as you approach the river. I hiked it both days. The first day alone while Amanda rested. On the second day, we walked it together. Came across a mother changing her baby right in the middle of the trail. That was a fun surprise.

The weather was relatively nice on both days. Probably around 70 degrees with a little bit of overcast. But the forest is so thick. Not much sunlight can get through to the forest floor. Even during the middle of the day, it feels like the early evening.

And the evenings are frigid in the forest. We put together a fire both nights to stay warm. It had been a while so it was a nice change of pace. We were able to hang the hammock close to the fire. A relaxing time.

We stopped in Port Angeles on the way out of town and took a little walk around. I was expecting there to be more. I assume most people enter the park from this area. But just a few restaurants and gift shops.

We did find a really great information center though. This lady was so helpful and gave us a ton of information about the sealife that frequents the area and things to do as we head toward the Pacific coast. They even had samples of real baleen (the thick bristles in a whale’s mouth) which we were able to touch.

That afternoon we took an hour’s drive down we moved to Crescent Lake. We did a small hike through the rainforest here. There is a small peninsula where the foliage is the thickest. It was really quite enjoyable.

The moss and lichen hang off the trees – it looks like something out of Lord of the Rings. The forest floor is covered with ferns. It reminded me of some of the hikes I took in New Zealand. Hard to take pictures of the rainforest though. It’s a bit dark and the photos don’t really get across what you’re actually seeing.

It’s quite a strange site really. At least for me. You have the moss and the ferns. The forest itself is so lush and green and full. And most of the trees are pines and firs. Some maples. But it’s an odd site. When you think rainforest you don’t think pine trees.

We left the AirBnB in the early afternoon and headed south to Edmonds. We were able to catch the ferry there across the bay to Kingston. Saved us about three hours of driving so I was thankful for that. Especially after the fiasco of fixing the car the day before.

The ferry ride went rather smoothly. Only about thirty minutes into Kingston and then another hour drive to Sequim Bay State Park.

It wasn’t the nicest park that we’d been to. Close to the road and you could hear the traffic passing by during the day but it wasn’t all that bad during the evening. Pretty empty so we had a lot of privacy. Hot showers too. There was a small hiking trail and a boat ramp with a dock overlooking the bay close by to the campsite.

We met this man the first night we were there by the dock. He had this small dog and Amanda instantly chatted him up. His name was Madison and he was on a road trip around the United States. In a minivan with little to no amenities outside of a bed. Made me grateful for the Chevy and all the (basic) amenities we have.

He had just started (he was from Seattle) and he was just hanging out on the peninsula for the time being. The fires in eastern Washington, Idaho, and Montana prevented him from traveling east as he had originally planned.

We talked for a bit and shared our stories. We had a good deal in common. Worked corporate for years and just wasn’t enjoying his setup. So he decided to shake things up a bit. It’s fun to see other people going after it and not following the beaten path.

Our original plan was to hang out at the state park for a few days and then head over to the Hurrican Ridge area of the park. But the road was closed for the season starting on Friday. The day we planned to go. I hadn’t realized it before doing a bit more research. Our only option was to go on Thursday afternoon.

The drive was just purely uphill. You start at sea level and you have to drive 5,000 feet to the visitors center. The clouds and the mist hung in the valleys and the visibility was non-existent on the way up. Kind of like that movie “The Mist”. Really sad ending though.

Anyway, when we got up there the visibility was a bit better but it was still very cloudy. It was difficult to see the entire range in the distance, which is what you come for. We stopped in the visitors center but there wasn’t much information available. Just some small blurbs about the history of the area and the people who helped push for its national park stays.

The lack of information was kind of disappointing. I like stopping into the visitors centers and soaking up what they have to offer. This was a constant theme in Olympic National Park. I thought they could have done a lot more with the exhibits.

We walked along the ridge for a little bit instead of doing the 2-mile trek up to Hurricane Hill. We decided that the workout wasn’t worth it at that point. We weren’t going to be able to see much more from that vantage point.

The views in the northern direction were pretty cool. The tops of small mountains would poke out above the clouds here and there. Overall a bit disappointing to come on a day when the weather didn’t cooperate. Especially after our experience with the fires in North Cascades. But we didn’t really have much of an option.

After our journey into North Cascades National Park Amanda and I decided to stay at an AirBnB in Mount Vernon for a few days. A small cottage on a farm not too far from town. We needed a few days to rest up before heading across the bay to Olympic National Park. Get some laundry done and get everything in order.

But some time to relax was not in the cards. On the way back from North Cascades I noticed that my oil pressure gauge stopped working. It was reading zero pressure. No Check Engine or Oil lights came on though. I was a bit confused by that because I figured a warning light would be triggered if the sensor had failed.

The engine sounded fine and the temperature gauge was still showing normal temperatures. I was fairly certain that the gauge itself was the issue and that the engine was still being supplied with the necessary amount of lubrication.

But I didn’t want to just leave it like that and make assumptions. If I was wrong and the oil pressure wasn’t what it was supposed to be then the engine would have some serious problems. We had a long way to drive. And we were heading to a place that didn’t have many service options available.

So I started calling around to different mechanics to see if they could help me out. But all of them told me the same thing. They were booked out for weeks and wouldn’t be able to help me.

That’s the thing when you’re on the road. Unless you have a catastrophic failure and need to get towed somewhere no one is going to have the time to help you. It’s frustrating and it’s a bit scary, to be honest. So I started trying to figure out how I was going to fix it myself.

It seemed simple enough. I just needed to unscrew the sensor and replace it with a new one. The issue was getting to the sensor in the first place. It wasn’t easily accessible from the top of the engine bay. So the options were taking a wheel off and contorting my body to get to the sensor or removing the passenger seat and the paneling that separates the cab from the engine.

I decided on the second option. Figured if I was going to do this I might as well be able to see what I am working on.

The chair and the paneling actually were fairly simple to remove and it gave me access to the entire backside of the engine bay. It’s amazing actually. The entire engine sits six inches from my legs the entire time I’m driving and I don’t feel any of the heat coming off of it. The insulation works fairly well.

I removed the old sensor and replaced it first. The car equivalent to blowing into the Nintendo cartridge and sticking it back in. I figured it was worth a shot. Started up the car and the gauge did move. All the way to the high end and then back down to zero again. Fine, it didn’t work but at least I now knew the gauge itself was working.

Good thing was that the Autozone in town had the part I needed. So I drove over there and picked it up. I had to wait for the car to cool down so I was just sitting there in the van for 45 minutes waiting to install the new part. The place looked like a bomb had gone off. It was pretty nerve-racking.

I started up the car after making the repair and the gauge didn’t budge at first. I was disappointed. But then the gauge ticked up and it showed the oil pressure was in the normal range. A sigh of relief. If the repair didn’t work my only option was to drive back to Colorado without knowing what my oil pressure was. A gamble for sure.

The experience was certainly a tense one but it’s made me more confident in making minor repairs and doing maintenance myself. I won’t be opening up the engine any time soon but I’m seeing that a car is more like a computer than I originally realized.

You can replace these periphery parts and it’s mostly just a plug-and-play. As long as you take your time and are careful to replace things the way you originally found them. I am thinking I will take on the spark plugs once I get back to Colorado. Maybe the brakes too.

We spent the day on Friday hanging out in Mount Vernon and then left in the early afternoon for the national park. About an hour and a half drive east of town.

Bad news though. There were several large forest fires in the northwest section of the park. That coupled with the fires south of the park and the fires happening in Idaho made for a lot of smoke and haze.

We were driving along the road and the view, from what I heard, is supposed to be unbelievable. But all we could see were grey skies. We could barely see the hills in front of us. Now and then you would see a mountain if you were close enough.

It was cool and scary at the same time. As we continued on up the road the air quality got a bit better. But it was still pretty hazy at the campsite in Newhalem where we spent the next couple of days.

We had a lazy day on Saturday morning. The air quality was still bad. Our plan was to do a hike near the campsite at Diablo Lake but it just didn’t seem worth it considering the conditions. The visibility was non-existent and doing any strenuous exercise wouldn’t be a good idea.

We went over to the ranger station and spoke with them for a bit. The air quality was better by Washington Pass – about a 45-minute drive away. We made the trip even though it was going on one o’clock. If only to get a breath of fresh(er) air.

We got there and the air quality was noticeably better. It was still hazy but it didn’t seem so apocalyptic in this area. There were a few hikes available to us. We decided on the smaller walk to Rainy Lake. Trying to do the larger hike might have put us in an odd position because we were getting a late start. And I didn’t want to drive down that winding road in the dark.

The hike was really short and the path was paved the entire way. The lake was nice but there was only a small platform that didn’t come close to fitting everyone there comfortably.

There was a small trail leading off the platform and we took it a short way where we found a few logs to sit on and have some privacy. It didn’t really quench our thirst for adventure but it was better than sitting at the campsite in the smoke.

The next day we drove back to the same area and did the Maple Pass hike. The air quality wasn’t great still but good enough that we felt we could do the hike without any issues. The hike was about eight miles long and we climbed over two-thousand feet.

About three miles in you get to a flat area where you can take in the views of the nearby mountains and the glaciers. We had a snack here and rested a bit before continuing on to the high point of the hike. Still a bit of elevation gain from this point. The smoke caused Amanda some issues so we took a few more stops than normal. Which I was fine with.

The views from the top were quite stunning, even though the visibility was poor. You still got a good view of the lake in the valley and the mountain range beyond. We were hoping we would be able to climb above the haze but that didn’t really materialize. We had a rest and ate a sandwich and headed back down the mountain.

The hike was a proper loop and the second half of the hike was steep as all hell. Part of me was happy we decided to climb counterclockwise because the climb up this way would be pretty damn hard. But going down a steep hill isn’t much fun either. Pretty hard on the joints.

That evening I was hanging out in the hammock and reading my book. I picked up Cloud Atlas which I’m really enjoying thus far. I was very relaxed and was completely lost in my reading. Then all of a sudden I heard this shrieking sound. At first, I thought it was a human yelling in pain or horror.

There were some follow-up noises afterward and I realized then that it must have been an owl or some other type of bird. I was freaked out, to say the least. I ran back to the van and checked in with Amanda. Did you hear that? She was pretty shook as well. Felt bad for her. She was trying to meditate when it all happened.

All in all, it wasn’t what I imagined our trip to the park would look like. But that’s the thing out here, especially in the late summer. You can’t control when the weather changes or where the forest fires will occur.

We made the best of it and that’s all you can do. Of course, I was disappointed but I will be back here one day. The best way to explore this park is to properly backpack it anyway.

We hung out in Mount Vernon, a small town just north of Camano Island, on Tuesday and then cruised down the road towards Deception Pass State Park. There aren’t many dispersed campsites in this area so to the developed campgrounds we go.

To be fair, this was an area that I had marked down for a visit. It’s just your prototypical Pacific Northwest coastal scenery here. Pine trees, rocky shores, and the smell of salt water.

We spent two days here and it was mostly pretty chill. No major hikes or anything. I think the idea was to conserve some energy. The plan was to move toward North Cascades National Park after this. And that was the place we wanted to spend our energy hiking and taking everything in.

The great thing about the campsite was the easy access to the beachfront. That first afternoon we went to the north side beach and just walked around and looked for some more rocks. The rocks here were more colorful and varied than on the beaches on Camano Island. We tried skipping some rocks too. There is definitely room for improvement there.

On the way back to the campsite we met this couple. Probably similar in age to Amanda and I. They approached us and asked me to take a few photos of them. They just got engaged moments before. It reminded me a lot of my experience while on the Kepler Trek a few years back.

The next day we went to Oak Harbor, a town south of the state park, and we hung out at the waterfront park there. I met this older lady and we chatted for a while. We talked politics for a bit. There was definitely a wide gap between us but the conversation was respectful and thought-provoking.

She got emotional toward the end of it. It’d been a long time since she had a conversation like that with someone that didn’t necessarily agree with her. She seemed upset about the state of things in the country. The divide between the sides, the lack of conversation and compromise. All that stuff. I don’t blame her.

That evening we made an early dinner and made it towards the west beach and watched the sunset. It was beautiful.

Matt left early on Sunday morning and Amanda and I spent the afternoon in Seattle. We hit up the rock climbing gym and I was able to get up a V3-rated climb. I was fairly pleased with myself. That is the toughest climb I have done so far.

We ran some errands in the northern part of town and we drove another hour or so toward Smokey Point. It’s densely populated here and camping wasn’t easily accomplished. We found a trailhead east of town and that was enough for us.

Monday was Labor Day so we had an extra day to bounce around and check out a few things. We went up to Camano Island. There were a few public beaches there and we walked the beach and got some fresh air.

Some of the trees that are washed up onto the beach here are absolutely enormous. A consistent theme here in the Pacific Northwest. It’s amazing how the water can carry trees this large. The beach is littered all over with logs and other tree parts. It’s definitely a unique look. Every so often you will find a little shelter or teepee that people have built using the logs.

We spent a lot of time looking for rocks as we walked around. The beach was filled with small pebbles of all different colors. Little treasures. Every fifteen steps or so we’d stop and point out a cool rock we had found to each other. It felt like being a kid again.

We drove around the island for a bit and checked out a few other parks. There was this really small one. It literally was twenty feet by fifty feet. A fairly decent size for an apartment. One picnic table. The view was alright, though there was a bit of vegetation blocking the view of the bay.

We met this man there and he asked about us and our travels. He told us all about the cross-country road trip he and his friend took in the seventies. It was fun to exchange stories and see how things have changed. Or haven’t changed.

The last beach we went to was by far my favorite. Great views of the Cascade Mountains in the distance. We could see Mount Baker clearly from the beach. Very few people too. And the service was good there. So I was able to post up until around dinner time and bang out a few fantasy football drafts. Priorities, ya know?

We left the park on Friday and made the drive back to Seattle. We stopped along the way in Tacoma to scoop up Amanda. The drive back took about three hours and I was pretty exhausted after doing a few tough hikes in the park.

The original plan was to find an AirBnB for the three of us. But it was Labor Day weekend and anything close to the city was kind of out of our price range. I was able to find a private room in one of the hostels and it worked out fine for us. Not the best hostel I ever stayed in but the location was good and it was clean.

When I went to check in the lady at the front desk told me that all guests would need to show proof of vaccination. Which concerned me because I wasn’t sure if Amanda and Matt had proof on them. It worked out thankfully. But I was surprised these measures are still in. I thought we were over this.

That evening was pretty chill. Amanda had a friend in Seattle she wanted to see and she went off and did her own thing. Matt and I got some laundry done and we went down the block to grab ramen. Matt’s treat. It was delicious. I needed the electrolytes and nutrition badly after a non-stop few days.

The next morning we got out early and headed towards Pikes Place Market. We moseyed around there for a bit and took in all the place had to offer. Saw the guys throwing the fish around, passed by (but didn’t stop in – the line was absurdly long) the original Starbucks, and paid a visit to the Gum Wall.

The gum wall is interesting in an absurdly disgusting kind of way. You walk into the alleyway and you’re just hit in the face with this smell of fruit and spearmint. Needless to say, we didn’t add anything to the wall.

From there we walked down to the ferry and took the short ride to Brainbridge Island. I hadn’t remembered coming to Brainbridge on my original trip to Seattle but as soon as I walked out of the ferry I remembered being there before. It was a nice spot to chill for the afternoon.

They have one main street there and we just cruised around and poked our heads into a few stores. We had lunch in one of the outdoor food areas afterward. And of course, I had to get some coffee ice cream. We took our treats down to the waterfront park and relaxed there until we took the ferry back. Just the prototypical PNW bay views.

That evening we decided to go out for a seafood dinner. We were on the ocean afterall. We went up towards Union Lake and found a low-key spot right on the water. The dinner was fairly good. I got the fish and chips (always a good way to judge a seafood restaurant in my opinion). They used rockfish instead of cod though. It was a bit less buttery than usual. I definitely prefer the cod.

In other news, the Seattle downtown seems to have fallen apart. On our way to dinner, we walked through the main downtown area called Pioneer Square. There weren’t any businesses in the area. Everything seemed to be either boarded up or there were “For Lease” signs in the windows. It’d be comparable to walking down 34th Street in Manhattan and all the stores being out of business.

But the real concern was the homeless issue. We walked past one corner with a small park and there must have been fifteen or twenty people hanging out, drinking and smoking and doing whatever else. Throughout our trip there we encountered quite a few people that were mentally ill and unable to take care of themselves.

I mean I’m from NYC so the homeless and mentally ill are not new to me. It’s an almost daily scene on the subway. But here you felt that you were outnumbered at times, depending on what side of the street you decided to walk down. I was a bit unnerved to be honest.

When I was in Seattle about five years ago I remember there being a bit of a homeless issue. But I don’t remember it being this bad. I’d like to look into why the situation has deteriorated and what the city is doing to combat it.

These people deserve to be helped and put in a better position to succeed and get something out of life. But at the same time, they can’t be allowed to take over certain areas of the city and create dangerous situations for others. It’s sad no matter which way you look at it.

After finishing up at Mount Rainier Amanda and I started making our way to Seattle. Matt was flying in from Phoenix on Tuesday evening. Not much to note here. Amanda got her work done and I got a few things ready for when Matt arrived.

We stayed at a Days Inn on Tuesday evening. Amanda and I needed a bit of rest and a shower. And Matt was coming in late so heading straight to the park wasn’t really an option. The first room we checked into was kind of a mess. But we got the room changed and it was good enough for us for the evening.

On Wednesday morning we drove into Tacoma and dropped Amanda off there. She wasn’t coming into the park with us and instead was renting an AirBnB for a couple of days. She had to get some work done and we figured it’d be best for Matt and me to go back into the park by ourselves.

We ran some errands and then started driving toward the park. We stopped off at Alder Lake Park and did a bit of fishing. Didn’t catch anything but the lake and the views of Rainier were great. I also learned about the differences between poison ivy and blackberry vine. They look super similar. Some useful knowledge there.

We got into the park in the mid-afternoon and checked into the campsite. Not the best site to be fair. A bit small and the parking area was on a decline. But we moved a few things around and we made it work.

There is a short hike right near the campground and we decided to go for it in the late afternoon. You cross the river and then it is about a mile walk to a waterfall.

The river was flowing pretty hard and we had to cross over this makeshift bridge constructed from an old log. If you fell in you were done for. You could see how large the river swells in the spring when the snow runs off. The water must be so powerful. Logs are just thrown all over the place.

The next day was the big day. We drove over to the west side of the park and we completed the trek up to the Gobbler’s Knob fire lookout. It was about 12 miles total and roughly 2,500 feet in elevation gain. So it was a fairly large hike. Matt did great considering that he had only a few days to adjust to the elevation.

The view from the lookout was stunning and it was cool to just check out the fire lookout. They used it to spot forest fires before airplanes were common. Two rangers would stay up there and take turns spotting.

We met a man on the way down and we had a conversation with him about the mind and consciousness. He is a neuroscientist and the conversation was very interesting. I didn’t agree with everything that he had to say but I definitely learned a few things and gained a different perspective. That’s what conversation is all about.

Friday was our last day in the park and Matt and I did the Skyline Trail. It’s by far the best trail in the park so I didn’t mind doing it twice. There must have been a forest fire in the area because the sky was very hazy and we couldn’t see very far from the viewpoints. But still a fun experience for Matt.