Scott was In South Korea serving his LDS mission in spring 1980 when Mt. St. Helens erupted and as a student of geology, he has always wanted to see it. So we added it to the itinerary of this trip to the Northwest and made it on Day 13. It’s a fairly long drive up Highway 504 to the top of the volcano and Johnston Ridge Observatory. The road runs through this valley that was filled with ash, rocks, and water from the rapidly melting glaciers on the mountain.
We spent the day exploring the corner of Washington and the mouth of the Columbia River. We started the day by going to the North Head lighthouse, which was built in 1898 and has been active to the present. It has a 65 foot tower and the light is 190 feet above sea level. Washington State Parks maintains the structure and the Coast Guard maintains the light. [Read more…] about Southwestern Washington
Day 8 of our trip we headed into Olympic National Park out of Port Angeles, Washington. We stopped first at Madison Falls which was a short trail to a beautiful waterfall in the Elwha Valley portion of the park. [Read more…] about The edge of the US-sort of
We got an early start to catch the 8:15 am ferry from Port Angeles, Washington to Victoria, B.C. The view above is looking back to Port Angeles with the Olympic Mountains in the background. The crossing took over an hour and a half plus Customs so it was quite a trek. I mostly sat and read on the ferry but Scott wandered around, checking it out and taking pictures. The ferry was quite comfortable and you can sit or move around to a variety of areas and seating configurations, plus there’s a galley with food to purchase. It hit some swells right out of Port Angeles, but then settled down to a nice even roll. We had a lovely view coming into Victoria and got quite easily through Customs. We saw the legislature building on the lower right, walked a block to the beautiful Empress Hotel on the lower left, and caught our express tour bus up to Butchart Gardens. It was the first time we really felt like tourists! [Read more…] about Our Visit to Butchart Gardens
So we planned an extended trip wandering around northwestern Washington, the Olympic Peninsula, and the Oregon coast. While looking at maps and routes at home, this conversation took place.
Scott: It looks like we will have to go through Forks, Washington at one point. Isn’t that the vampire town in those books you read?
Sue: Yup. It might be a kick to get a picture of me in front of the town sign. I’ve seen pictures of it-it’s a famous sign now.
Scott: Whatever you want. [Read more…] about Stumbling over “Twilight” without really meaning to