One last family fling

 

Before we left town, we headed to downtown Seattle for one last family fling. We headed to Pier 55, and boarded our ship for our hour-long harbor cruise. Again, the weather was perfect, and the views of the ship yards and downtown Seattle were spectacular!

Right next to Pier 55 is The Frankfurter – recommended highly by the narrator of our harbor cruise. Nick had been saying over and over how he wanted to get a Seattle Dog while he was in town. The locals didn’t seem to know what we were talking about, and we learned that the locals refer to them more as Seattle Style Crème Cheese Dogs. They are a hearty skin on dog smothered with crème cheese, and all kinds of grilled peppers and onions – yum!

We headed back to Pike Place Market to grab some lunch, and so Nick and Val could see the infamous gum wall. We learned that Pike Place is the oldest continuously operating farmers market in the US, having started in 1907.However, the gum wall is a far more recent addition. Thousands of visitors have deposited gum wads all over this wall. As we left, we learned that the market is happy to supply you with needed materials – a gumball machine stands at the foot of the alley!

We learned that the very first Starbucks coffee shop opened across the street from Pike Place Market. It was 1970 and the beginning of history. You can get some coffee at pretty much every food venue in Pike Place Market, and you can get it pretty much immediately. But if you would rather stand in a line that winds halfway down the street, you can get a cup of coffee from the first Starbuck ever.

Next, we made our way to Pier 59 and the Seattle Aquarium. There we defied CDC recommendations and mingled in large crowds indoors – we were masked of course, but the CDC still frowns on our actions. The Aquarium was well done, and we got to see lots of marine life. The best were the animals we had seen so predominantly when we were in Siberia, like Puffins and Guillemots – it really brought back some really nice memories.

Well, our week with the family had to end sometime, and we will make our way back to Vegas. However, the images of Seattle will be planted in our minds for some time to come.

Talk to you soon.

The fun goes on

Nick and Val had never been to Mount Rainier National Park, so we decided a road trip was in order. I thought that I had understood that seeing Mount Rainier was as rare as seeing Denali, but it turns out I was incorrect. On just about every day, we have been here we have gotten some misty views of the peak. But today was spectacular – absolutely clear as a bell!

Crystal Mountain Ski Resort is just outside the National Park. However, from the top of the ski runs, you get an awesome view of the National Park and the mountain. Fortunately, they have a gondola that services the ski hill in the winter that they open to tourists in the summer. We could not have picked a better day even if we were clairvoyant.

When we stopped in Yakima Washington to visit the Woman’s friend Annie, we had stayed in an RV park in Naches WA. Naches is where the Schneider Springs Fire has erupted, and is currently engulfing over 4,000 acres, although Annie and Rocky in Yakima are out of harms way. But from the top of Crystal Mountain, we could see why the reports we are hearing daily is that the fire is uncontained.

When driving from Yakima to Redmond we went through Chinook Pass, specifically because we knew that the Pacific Crest Trail wandered through that pass, and there was a parking lot at the pass. Sadly, we went through on a weekend and there was no chance of parking a motorhome with a towed vehicle. Luckily the pass was only about 10 miles from the entrance road to Crystal Mountain, so we made a side trip to give the Woman her needed PCT boost of adrenaline.

We rented a car so we could get all of us in and made a road trip to Leavenworth Washington. Founded in 1892 as a result of the construction of the Great Northern Railroad. Originally a lumber town, it turned to tourism in the 60’s and essentially recreated a Bavarian Alps village. We walked all over town, took in the Alpine structures, visited a few shops and had Bratwurst and Bavarian beer for lunch. Fun was had by all!

On the way back to Redmond we went through Stevens Pass.

Googling the drive and things to see, the Woman had learned that the PCT passed through the town. So, we did the only logical thing – found a couple of underpasses that crossed the highway and began our search. It didn’t take long at all to find the trail on the North side of the highway, but I have to admit we never did find the trail on the South side.

Not too far further along US Highway 2 we came upon an information sign for Deception Falls. We didn’t know how far it would be to hike to, but figured we would give it a go. It turned out that you could hear the falls from the parking lot, and the stroll to get there was only a few hundred yards. The falls, made by Deception Creek, weren’t the most impressive falls we’ve seen by a bunch, but for next to no invested effort, they were a pleasant addition to our road trip!

Talk to you soon.

More family time

Just for the fun of it, we grabbed a ferry to Vashon Island. It was only a short ferry ride, but the experience was what we were interested in. We had big hopes of seeing some whales on the way, but didn’t even see any dolphins. But the breeze was nice, and the views of Puget Sound were awesome, even if the trip was uneventful.

We cruised the island and marveled at the real estate prices – immense! We hit a few shops, and then we stumbled on a light house we had never been to. Point Robinson Lighthouse was built in 1884 to help the ever-growing maritime traffic in Puget Sound. We had seen this before, but it was cool to see that you could stay overnight at the lighthouse keeper’s house. There were actually 2 units here you could stay in.

Karen and Albert are moving to a more suburban setting in the Seattle area, the town of Mukilteo. We stopped by to look at her new apartment complex, and grab some lunch at a very well-known and highly popular restaurant on the water, Ivars. Only a block from the restaurant stood the Mukilteo Light. Built in 1905 it served much the same purpose as the Point Robinson Lighthouse.

That night we headed to T Mobile Park to watch the Seattle Mariners play the Tampa Bay Rays. The Park was fabulous except that it was packed – here’s us in front of Ken Griffey Jr. Sadly, I learned about the new extra innings rule recently implemented by MLB. If teams are tied at the end of the 9^th inning, each team goes into the 10^th inning with one of their men on 2^nd base. This is the stupidest rule I have ever heard of – baseball is dead to me!

Talk to you soon.

Family time!

We took advantage of spending family time with Karen and Albert. Nick and Valerie took a week off from work and flew to Seattle to join us in fun and games. Our first stop for fun and games was the infamous Seattle Space Needle. We hopped right into the elevator and headed right up to the observation deck.

Built as an attraction for the 1962 World’s Fair held in Seattle, this 605-foot observation deck was state of the art at the time it was built. The space age theme is everywhere in the structure, as Yuri Gagarin had just successfully been the first human in space in April 12, 1961. Since then, many much taller structures have been built, many of which we have visited. It turns out that now, even the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas is taller than the Space Needle.

We then headed to the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum. Born in Tacoma in 1941, Dale Chihuly became world famous as a glass sculptor, and ultimately chose to locate his biggest collection of work in his home state. Although many might think he had a special relationship with Las Vegas due to all his works located there, his heart was always housed in Washington.

We next hit the Museum of Pop Culture. The Museum is housed in one of the buildings originally built for the World’s Fair, and contains displays focused on popular cultural exhibits. There were lots of guitars played by famous bands and individual artists. We breezed through an exhibit of dresses and clothing from famous Disney films, which Karen totally loved. It was nice that Chris Cornell, guitarist and lead vocalist for Soundgarden and Audioslave, gave us a warm welcome at the entrance.

We hopped on the Seattle Monorail, also built for the 1962 World’s Fair, and wended our way to Pike Place. Although all of us except Nick and Val have been here before, you can never get to much of this multilevel building full of interesting shops and restaurants. Only here can you see 50-pound salmon flying through the air as the are thrown by the guys working the iced display cases to the sellers working the crowds. Somewhere new to all of us was lunch at Lowell’s. Opened in 1957, great food is coupled with outstanding views of Puget Sound and all the activities going on there.

Despite what we have always believed, apparently it isn’t totally impossible to catch a glimpse of Mount Rainier. It seemed like most everywhere we went today – including from the top of the Space Needle – we caught some really clear and beautiful views of the mountain. While hidden much of the time by clouds, Karen tells us that views like these are not as rare as I had believed.

Talk to you soon.

More PCT

We found that in Bellevue Washington, we would be less than an hour’s drive to Snoqualmie Pass. At the Pass, the Pacific Crest Trail crosses a ski resort. So, as always, the Woman wanted to head there and knock off a bit. When we got there, we found the entrance to the PCT heading North.

I

t was right under an I-90 overpass – knowing hikers had to get under the freeway somewhere, it was an easy guess where it would be. However, several inches of water and mud sent us to the trail heading South, which was nowhere to be found. We dodged our way around equipment clearing the last of the snow from the roads and made our way up a gravel road. Huzzah! At the end of the gravel, we found it – and it was mostly dry – bonus! So, we knocked off another 2-3 miles of it. It was a grand day!

When we leave Kona in the RV to do a little sight-seeing, the first thing he does as we leave is jump up into the passenger seat and watch us as we leave. While we have never set up a camera to prove it, we think he just sits there staring out the window until we return. We think that, because each time we drive up to the coach on our return, there he is staring at us from the passenger seat!

Talk to you soon.

Famous local resident

When the Woman was searching things of interest in the Seattle area, she learned that Jimi Hendrix was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Renton, one of the many suburbs of Seattle. Born in the Seattle area, he was buried in this cemetery because his mother, Zenora Rose, was buried here as well.

Being only about 10 miles away (half hour drive in Seattle traffic) we headed to see his memorial. It was huge! The Purple Haze influence was everywhere. A massive guitar was the centerpiece, surrounded by stone etchings of Jimi Hendrix playing his beloved music. It was a fun visit we would recommend if you’re ever in the area.

Talk to you soon.

More Lewis and Clark

Near Hermiston we discovered Hat Rock State Park. On the Columbia River, the nearby formations were documented in the logs of the Corps of Discovery Expedition. The formations are basalt, basically cooled and hardened lava from volcanoes that were active centuries ago. As the basalt is so much harder than the material that formed the volcano cones, the cones have eroded away just leaving the basalt columns.

Mentioned in Lewis and Clark’s journals, hat rock is a particularly unique basalt formation. The fashionable headwear for men at the time was a beaver skin hat. With a broad brim, the center of the hat was not unlike the look of a formal top hat. Lewis and Clark penned the name “Hat Rock”, and it stuck.

The actual Oregon Trail passed very nearby Hat Rock State Park. We

stumbled upon it several times as we made our way across northern Oregon on our way to Yakima Washington. At many of the stops we were able to see the actual ruts made by the wagon trains as they made their way West to their new life. It was weird to stand in the actual ruts, and see them stretch as far as the eye could see in both directions. 

Nearby we visited perhaps the best example of unbelievably successful web-based advertising. The City of Echo Oregon was founded around 1880. On the Umatilla River, it would eventually become the primary route for the Oregon Trail, brining thousands of eager Americans to the Western lands opened by Lewis and Clark. The Lower Crossing Camp where wagon trains crossed the Umatilla River was at Echo, where Fort Henrietta was built to protect the pioneers on the Trail.

The town of Echo is on the National Register of Historic Places. A dozen buildings in the town are also on the National Register. However, when we were there, there was one café that was open, and no other retail businesses whatsoever. We walked around the entire town, read all the informational signs on the historic buildings, and visited the site where Oregon Trail travelers crossed the river. In all, that maybe took a half hour. But, if you Google the City of Echo, you would expect it to be just an awesome place to visit – nice work!

Talk to you soon.