A Work in Progress

The Puget sound is the second largest estuary in the United States, behind the Chesapeake Bay.  Within the Puget Sound are the San Juan Islands.  We took a ferry from Anacortes to Orcas Island, an upiside-down U shaped island, where we would be camping for the next four days.    Washington state has the largest ferry system in the US.  I think it's pretty awesome. Mostly because I love to travel by boat.  The only problem with the system is that there is no reservation system.  Therfore, when we arrived with an hour to spare before our boat, we were quite surprised to actually miss it because there were already so many people waiting.  Therefore we got to hang out at the ferry port for, well, quite some time.  Eventually we did get on a boat and even found our campsite at Moran State Park and set up before dark.  In the morning, we took the ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.  This is a cute port town full of artists and...

The entire purpose of the trip out west wasn't to visit Astoria, Oregon, home of the Goonies, but it was a pretty important part.  But, I'm getting ahead of myself.  We drove west and turned onto the pacific coast highway, before us, over a cliff was my first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean.  We stopped on the first turnout and immediately saw a bald eagle.  This was just a prelude to the beauty before us.  From the wildflowers to the strange rock formations jutting out of the ocean, this was a beautiful sight.  The weather was perfect and there were stacks of waves forming on the bright blue water.  Okay, maybe I'm not good at describing it. So, here's a picture.  We then headed south to Oswold West state park to dip our toes in (as dipping anything more would have led to immediate hypothermia) at Smuggler's Cove.  It's a short walk through towering evergreens to the beach which boggled my East coast mind where the prelude to the ocean is...

On May 18th 1980, Mt. St. Helen's erupted in a spectacular show of mother nature's power.  A 5.1 magnitude earthquake sent the north face of the mountain flying.  The initial blast burned the landscape 14 miles away.  From there, a hot, turbulent flow of mud and debris traveled down the mountain at 300 miles and hour, destroying everything in its path.  (please read that in a dramatic, movie trailer narrator type of voice.) It's pretty scary to think about, but also one of most fascinating places I've been.  Sadly, we did not see the mountain itself due to clouds, (even though it is 1300 feet smaller than it was on May 17th 1980). After coasting back toward sea level, we visited Multnomah Falls 30 minutes outside of Portland, Oregon.  These falls are literally yards from the highway and a popular destination for travelers.  At 582 feet, they are the second tallest year round falls in the United States.   It's a little over a mile to see t...

I owe you this post.  Landed w/semi self portrait. 

The Freemont Troll.

Beautiful Buchart Gardens.  I know I said 'no more flowers' but this is really a picture of a bee.

Insert Mt. Rainier here.

On Friday we went to Seattle where I didn't see Frasier or a heartsick Tom Hanks, but I did ride a monorail, see a great fish market, and watch the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. Seattle is a bustling city of over 620,000.  What I know it best for is that their EMS has the reputation for the fastest response times and best cardiac arrest survival rates in the country.   But enough of that nerdery. The monorail took us on a thrilling one mile ride to the Space Needle.  This Seattle classic is a must do, if only for it's camp value.  Built for the 1962 world's fair, I don't think much has changed since then, except for gift shop expansion.  It's a 40 second elevator ride to the top, and the view from 605 feet is great from the city center to the far reaches of Puget sound. Back on the ground, we visited the Chihuly Glass Garden which was stunning and fascinating.  It is a whole museum of his instillations as well as a garden that joins glass ...

I am relaxing in my friends apartment after four days of camping.  I've dried off my sleeping bag, started some laundry, and taken a 56 hour shower, so now I'll take some time to write about this trip. My dear friends moved to Tacoma this year, and I am visiting them to fulfil my promise to annoy them wherever the Army life takes them.  They'll be moving (sort of) back east this summer, so I am striking while the Pacific Northwest iron is hot. I arrived in Tacoma and was immediately introduced to Pacific NW life.  My friend took me to their farmshare where they pick up fresh fruit, veg, and eggs once a week.  There is plenty of kale.  We had a great lunch and I had my first of many craft brews. In the late afternoon we went to Point Defiance Park , which is an unbelievable municipal park full of beach, ancient trees, well kept gardens, as well as an aquarium and a zoo.  Municipal. Park.  It's lovely.  The next day, I explored Tacoma by hitti...

A misty view up to Mt. Constitution on Orcas Island.

Frog!

It's tough to choose today, so here's a kick-ass bald eagle and a waterfall.

View from Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.

On a ferry to the San Juan Islands.

I know I said 'no more flowers' but hey, it's pretty.

I didn't get arrested: this is the jail from the beginning of "The Goonies."

The incredible oregon coast from Ecola State Park. (and a starfish)

For today, here's Mt. St Helens. Well, 65% of the time. After spending some time learning about this active volcano, I didn't mind the clouds, as at least it wasn't erupting. Slightly lower than 3000 feet, the weather was much better at Multnomah Falls.

These boots and I.

Turns out, you can't swing a cat in Seattle without knocking over some Chihuly glass either. Thank goodness, because it is all awesome. Also, they have a wonderful market.