Trip through Washington Wine Country

 

Palouse Falls



Teapot Dome Filling Station in , Washington

Grain Elevator

On the way back from Yellowstone we followed the Lewis and Clark route to a fair degree along the Clearwater and then the Snake River.  We made a side trip to Palouse Falls in Eastern Washington.  Very impressive and in the middle of nowhere, it was formed by the cataclysmic breakage of ice dams associated with glaciers.

The Teapot Dome Filling Station was built in Zillah, Washington after the Teapot Dome Scandal in Wyoming during Warren Harding's administration.  Zillah is now a part of the wine trail in Southeastern Washington.

Finally, a grain elevator, somewhere along the way in black and white to be a bit more artsy.  There were a lot of photogenic barns and grain elevators.  I was struck by the grain elevators being larger and closer together than they are in Alberta where I was so taken by the old wooden ones.  Apparently they reap larger crops.

One of these days I'll have to write about the wine country itself....




West Seattle Summer Festival

Last weekend there was anotherWest Seattle Summer Festival event on California street with booths, music (including Casper Babypants on Saturday), and various activites.  The Hi-Yu float was also there.  The festival starts with the pirates landing on Alki Beach as previously reported.  Hi-Yu was started in 1934 - see here for more information.

Pirates Landing at Alki Beach

It was perfect weather today and these folks were waiting for the Seafair Pirates to land at Alki Beach in West Seattle.

 

Sailboat on the Sound

Sailboat in Fauntleroy Cove, taken from the ferry, Mt Ranier in the background...

Port Townsend

A Victorian city by the sea

The Tulips are Blooming

The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival was last weekend.  This is the home of the largest tulip grower in the United States, family owned and descendants of immigrants from Holland.

Spring at Last

Today it is cool and rainy but last week on the UW campus it was all about the Cherry Trees. Note "The Mountain" in the background.

 

In West Seattle the Cherry, Camelia, and Magnolia are blooming

Coal Creek Waterfall

It's not that large, but it is pretty and close to Seattle.  A nice pleasant walk on very good trails.

Lake Union Gasworks and Wooden Boats

It was a beautiful day to take a boat ride on Lake Union in Seattle.  Don't tell anyone we have days like this in winter.  Everyone will want to move here.

If you do get to Seattle, it may be worthwhile taking a trip to South Lake Union and visiting the Center for Wooden Boats.  It's educational and there are free boat rides on Sunday.  We took a ride in an old electric powered boat that lasted about 45 minutes.  Their website is at www.cwb.org.

The photograph is of the old gasworks in Seattle which has been turned into a city park.  Originally barges of coal were brought to a dock just off the picture to the right.  The plant then gasified the coal which was sold for fuel and light.

Boulder River Trail, North Cascades

It was a beautiful day to walk in the North Cascades.  This tree fell across the trail and from the looks of things had been there quite a while.  The trail follows an old logging track and is gentle and easy.  There was a bit of snow that made things slick in places but still a nice day to be out.

The Ballard Locks

People always ask "don't you get tired of the rain in Seattle?" - they have never been here in the Summer.  It is g-l-o-r-i-o-u-s here in the summer.  Don't tell anyone.  It's a secret.

The Ballard locks have an attractive garden beside them and are interesting for engineers as well.  Yesterday was really nice and the boats were lined up to go in and out of Lake Union.  The silver salmon are running now and you can see them from the observation window at the fish ladder that runs beside the locks.  They are catching them below my house also.  Kings are running too.

La Push

Indian nets at the river mouth

David C., fish on in the Hoh River near La Push

David M., steelhead

Franklin Falls

Franklin Falls is at the end of a nice and easy trail near Snoqualmie Pass.  An old wagon trail runs nearby to the right of the picture and Interstate 90 is to the left and above.  There is still melting snow visible left and center.

Alki Point Light

As I think I've written before, the Alki Point Light is our local lighthouse.  The sign in the top photo reads:

There has been a light showing safe anchorage off the point ever since the Denny Party first founded Seattle.  This light house, one of 13 in the PugetSound area, was built and run by the U.S. Light House Service in 1913 as an aid to navigation.  The service was taken over by Coast Guard in 1939, but it wasn't until 1970 that one of the last two two civilian light house keepers retired here at Alki Point.

The second photo is taken from inside the tower back towards the lighthouse keepers houses where a Coast Guard Admiral lives.

Big Four Mountain

Big Four Mountain is in the Northern Cascades and is famous for it's ice caves and avalanches.  The old fireplace in the foreground left is from a hotel that was built in the days of the railroad - this was a mining and logging area.  Today the railroad is gone and in winter the road is gated off because of snow and there is a two mile hike to this point. 

We hiked another mile up to the base of the mountain (don't get too close because of the avalanches).  It was possible to walk today in boots because of the packed trail, but easier in showshoes.  The weather was perfect and there were lots of avalanches to hear and see.

Staircase, Olympia National Park

 This is a beautiful family friendly walk through mossy old growth along an energetic little river.

Potlatch State Park

This state park is located along the south end of the Hood Canal just off the highway not too far from Hoodspoint.

Marymere Falls

The hike to this waterfall in Olympic National Park is a family friendly stroll.

The trail starts at the Storm King Ranger Station.

Merry Christmas

Browns Point Lighthouse

Browns Point is located down the sound near Tacoma.  The lighthouse keeper's cottage looks nice and can be rented.  From 1887 until 1903 a light was hung on a post and maintained by row boat.  In 1903 a wooden lighthouse and the keeper's cottage were built.  The current concrete lighthouse visible to left was put up in 1903.  The boathouse is visible to the right.