Seattle - Mt. Rainer - 6/11/10 - Day 40 - 6400 Miles

We arrived Seattle Wednesday the 10th via ferry from Bainbridge Island to downtown Seattle. After a few screwy turns from the ferry we made it to the Marriott Courtyard in the heart of town. This hotel opened just 3 hours before we checked in. It was the old Alaska building which they bought and gutted, except for the historical lobby and facade and remodeled in a nice, contemporary style. We were the ninth guests to check in, the first in our room. It was so nice to have everything brand new in the hotel room even though the building itself is 112 years old and served the Klondike gold rushers in more ways then just providing a room.



Peg's cousin Bob, and Bob's delightful wife Barbara, have lived in Seattle for many years and were excited to show us their fair city. You can't beat local residents for tour guides, much better then the part time comedians on those red double-decker tour buses. After showing us the nice neighborhoods where they had lived, they drove us down to Pike's Market, the well known fresh food, fish and flower market, along with other stuff like really good cheese, wine, and an abundance of fresh herbs and spices. You have to remember, this is a city where folks buy organic food, and fresh locally grown vegetables and fruit, cheeses and flowers.



These are Idaho brook trout. Me, the one who never liked fish, so far has had Idaho Brook Trout twice and actually liked it. Goes to show you, even I, in my wise old age, is becoming more flexible and adventurous.




It's obvious, that the display of the food is equally important as the quality.

























Seattle, for sports teams, has had several professional teams, but from what we have seen, nothing has excited them more then their professional soccer team, the Seattle Sounders. The Thursday night we were there, the Sounders were playing the D.C. United, from Washington D.C. The tradition is for fans to march though Pioneer Park to the stadium, wearing their Seattle green, kind of a cross between neon green and chartreuse, shirts, hats, and waving their scarfs. On arrival, a volunteer fan band plays music at Qwest Field to help rally the supporters. Although quite a few local pubs, especially Fado's Irish Pub, had already done a good job of that. The fan turnout is one of the best soccer fan turnouts in the US, unfortunately though, they lost 3 - 0.


This exuberant young lady was selling horns for more noise and posed nicely for this pic.




We left Seattle for Mt. Rainier National Park. I am not sure if she is the tallest mountain in the cascades, but I would have to say she is the queen. Again, I am quoting from a pamphlet given to visitors. "As an active working volcano Mount Rainier stands as a reminder of the beauty and power of nature. The Cascade Range had been volcanically active for millions of years, thanks to its location close to the western edge of the North American tectonic plate. It is relatively young, in geological terms, it formed 500,000 years ago. Like Mount St. Helens and other Cascade volcanoes, Mount Rainier has the potential to erupt again at some unknown time.


We are in the lodge at about 8000 feet and it's another 3500 feet to the top. Special permits are required for hikers who go above the 10,000 foot level because of the many dangers involved. Not all listen though, so injuries and fatalities occur.

This alpine lake is still frozen but the colors are beautiful.




We left Mt. Rainier Park through the west entrance and continued east until we stopped at the charming, clean and beautiful little city of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. It is right on a very large and tranquil lake of the same name and should not be missed by any traveler coming through the Pacific Northwest.





Peg and I agree the three cities we like best so far are Sante Fe NM, Ashland OR and Coeur d'Alene ID. This is based on the cities charm, support of the arts, natural beauty and cleanliness. Of course, you wouldn't want to summer in Sante Fe any more then you would want to winter in Coeur d'Alene. Ashland winters are not too bad, rainy, but the other three seasons are very nice.

We drove on to Livingston, Montana and stayed the night before our visit Yellowstone National Park on the 13th. More about that on the next post.

Astoria and Hood River OR - Washington - Victoria BC

It seems each time I begin a new post I think I have to find something about the places or people in the current post that is better then the previous ones. Can not be done. There are so many beautiful, breathtaking, WOW moments driving around this country that the only differences, are the differences. Not better, not worse, just different. I remember my Mom and Dad had an old Bing Crosby record, made on 78 rpm plastic back in the late 40's or early 50's which said it all about this country and the varied people that make it so great.. Now, of course, I have to see if I can find the name of it, so I will pause for a Google search. Three hours later --- didn't work, on with the post.

This blog begins with our arrival in Astoria, Oregon. Astoria is on the mouth of the Columbia River and is near the terminus of the Lewis and Clark expeditions which took place in 1804-06. It was the findings of these expeditions that convinced Jefferson, and later presidents, of the importance of having this vast expanse between the Mississippi and the Pacific become part of the United States. If this had not been successful, one hundred and eight years later, we would not have filmed the popular movie, "Goonies" in and around Astoria. The weekend Peg and I were there was a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the release of the movie, and judging by the size of the crowds, more people remember this date then the birthday of Thomas Jefferson. Sorry, Tom.



The bridge spanning the mouth of the Columbia River from Astoria, OR to Washington and part of the famous route US 101, The Pacific Coast Highway.


A view of the waterfront in Astoria.


We met friends in Portland, Oregon who live in Hood River, Oregon. Hood River is at the base of Mt. Hood, which spills its ice melt over incredibly beautiful waterfalls along old US 30 as it winds itself along the Columbia River in the Columbia River Gorge. We stopped several times to view these falls.



For comparison, the height of Niagara Falls is a mere 176 feet.




Our friends, John and Marie Stewart, of Hood River with Peg.




There are not enough adjectives, without repeating them, to describe the beauty that abounds in our country. There is so much beauty to see, I wonder why people travel overseas before they see the natural beauty of our country.

On Sunday, John and Marie drove us across the river to several Washington State wineries for some tasting. It's hard to taste wine before noon, but like old soldiers, we answered the call. I have had wine from Syncline vineyards before and fortunately for me, it was on our route. We tasted some very good wine at Syncline and even ordered some to be shipped home next month. For you wine aficionados, try www.synclinewine.com.



We also visited Maryhill Winery, which not only has nice wines and a wonderful tasting room, but an interesting history too. www.maryhillwinery.com.


At one point John pulled over to show this interesting rock formation. Can anyone guess what it is? Remember, it is in the Cascade Mountain range. *


We left Hood River and drove west again along I-84 to pick up I-5 north into Washington. In central Washington we turned west again to pick up the Pacific Coast Highway which would take us north in and around Olympia National Forest. A local tour guide described Washington's Olympic Peninsula as an iconic land of snowcapped peaks, misty forests, bubbling hot springs, crashing surf and quiet coves. I add to that, majestic classical lodges and remote lakes so quite you could hear a fish jump halfway across them.

These 4 photos are of the Lake Quinault Lodge and Lake Quinault in the southern portion of this huge forest.





On our drive through Northern California, Oregon and Washington we saw many, many logging trucks, more then any other single type of trucks. We passed lumber mills with piles of 60 to 70 foot logs stacked on them. Along the Columbia River north of Portland, we saw them stacked in huge neat piles ready to be loaded onto ships. These appeared to be mostly redwood and spruce though I say this because those are the predominant trees of the northwest. I did see signs in several places along side of the road saying the adjoining forest was harvested in 1934,1968, and 2002 inferring there is a managed reforestation program. I hope this is true but I have to add, after seeing so many giant redwood trees, that it does concern me. I hope the U.S. Forest Service is keeping an eye out.

Driving north along the western edge of Olympic National Park we would be in dense forest, only to round a turn and be on a road 200 feet above the shore line. The mountains drop into the sea so quickly that the distance between forest and ocean is sometimes less then a couple of hundred feet.



Lake Crescent, in Olympic National Park, quiet, no boats, one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever seen. A true WOW moment.



Ninety minutes north of this rugged outdoor paradise, across the Strait of Juan de Fuca lies historic downtown Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia. The horse drawn carriages, manicured gardens and parliament building, and of course the elegant Empress Hotel make this a gem in western Canada.





One cannot visit Victoria without visiting the famous Butchart Gardens. The site of the gardens was once a rock quarry when the owner, Robert Butchart, ceased its use in the early 1900's. Through the skillful mixture of rare and exotic shrubs, trees and flowers, often personally collected by the Butcharts during their extensive world travels the famous Sunken Garden was created. Later on, what started a hobby constantly expanded to what we see today.







The finale of our tour of Butchart Gardens was high tea in their lounge. Loose tea steeped at the right temperature for the right time accompanied berry trifles, tea sandwiches and home made sweets. A wonderful way to spend the afternoon.

This first photo is for you, Ali.




A ninety minute ferry ride back to Port Angeles, a quick dinner and a good nights rest before our trip to Seattle on Wednesday the 9th.


* The hole in this rock was made at the time of the last eruption of a near by volcano. The lava encompassed a tree, solidified, then over the years the tree decomposed, rock eroded away and left this empty hole.