10/31/16 Seattle and the Olympic Peninsula

For our St. Augustine friends, you might have missed the previous blog, which was posted right after Hurricane Mathew hit St. Augustine.  It is posted below this one.  We hope your hurricane recovery is going well. 

Seattle and Space Needle from Overlook

After we left Mt. Rainer, we spent about a week in and around the Seattle area.  Neither of us has spent much free time in the area, and we were looking forward to an interesting and fun visit.   

We spent a lot of time downtown.  Although going to the Space Needle gave a nice view of downtown…right next door was the FABULOUS Chihuly Glass and Gardens Museum.  If you have been to some of the expensive

Chuhily Glass Garden

resorts in the world (like the Atlantis in Nassau and some Los Vegas casinos), you probably have seen his artistic glass chandeliers. We were awed by the themed displays in room after room of his work.  This is a must see if you ever get to Seattle.  

Flower Stand at Pike Public Market

We loved walking the waterfront and sampling the delicious restaurants along the wharves.  The Pike Public Market was great; lots of fruit, vegetables, and other fresh food vendors with the most fabulous flower stands.  In general, the food here has been fabulous, especially the salmon.  To quote a good friend of ours, “We had the best salmon ever at Ivars”; Bob really wanted to eat there since he loved the salmon there while on a work project over 35 years ago!  We went to see the Seattle Mariners play their last winning game of the season and Linda won the grand prize for the 5^th inning Fan Appreciation drawing:  two tickets to Diamond Club seats directly behind home plate (including unlimited refreshments)…now we have to figure out if we can use them next season (a $500 value) J.  

Underground First Level Store Front After Street Raised

Seattle’s historic waterfront district history is fascinating.  The tide range in Puget Sound is about 10-12 feet, and the oldest part of town was basically built on tidal mud flats.  Houses and business were routinely flooded during higher tides and storms.  The plumbing was a problem, and sometimes toilets “erupted” with seawater and sewage during storms or higher tides.  The city got a second chance to build the city “right” after the Great Seattle Fire in 1889 destroyed the entire central business district of Seattle.  They decided to build the city about one story higher, but it would take 10 years to complete.  Of course, businesses could not wait 10 years to rebuild their business so they continued to conduct business at the lower street level (now the basement) while finally getting the city one story higher (about 15 – 18 feet) -- a tribute to human inventiveness.    

How Street Level Was Raised in Seattle

The businesses rebuilt with stone and brick to prevent future fires; the lower level entrance and windows were very basic in design and style since they would be covered up and below the ground within 10 years.  The “second” stories were the elaborate entrances and windows you see now at street level.  Retaining walls were built at the curbs around each block and water cannons were used to wash mud down the hills which flooded the streets behind the retaining walls and became the ground for the higher lever street.  The last step was to build sidewalks over the old street level, connecting the new street level with the second story of the buildings – now ground level.  We recommend the entertaining Underground Tour to see this very interesting history. 

Snoqualmie Falls

We also spent some time outside of downtown.  Snoqualmie Falls is gorgeous and another example of hydroelectric power use in Washington.  The 100-year+ old US Army Corps of Engineers Ballard Locks was interesting; during the summer months, up to 100 pleasure boats can be moved between Lake Washington and Lake Union and Puget Sound with each lock opening.  It’s hard to believe so many boats are owned here, with so few months to enjoy them!  The fish ladders at the locks were full of salmon migrating upstream for the annual fall spawning….fun to watch through the underwater glass windows.  Best of all, we were able to enjoy several lunches and dinner with Bob’s long-time Navy friend Paul Thor; we had not seen him since 2002.  

The traffic in Seattle is among the worst.  Between the large Lakes Union and Washington and the Puget Sound, the highways have limited area to travel, and they are mostly only 2-3 lanes wide.  It seems to us that the traffic outgrew the highway system here years ago.  It often took hours to travel from downtown to Bothell and around town.  Major accidents occurred multiple times each rush hour, and caused us to be re-routed 2-3 times every time we traveled.   (As an observation, recreational marijuana is legal here.  Studies have shown that driving under the influence of pot increases the accident rate 2xs, due to slowed reaction time and increased rear end collisions – Cause and effect? )   

Rainbow Over Port Townsend

We next headed west to the Olympic peninsula.  We stopped at Port Townsend and Port Angeles.  They are both cute historic port towns, but the most interesting part was Fort Worden near Port Townsend.  The picturesque historic Army artillery base has been converted to a state park, and has several interesting museums.  The movie, An Officer and a Gentleman, was completely filmed there.  It was already off-season, so many exhibits, museums, and restaurants were already closed, and with so much rain (it rains almost every day on the Olympic Peninsula), many outdoor activities were limited.    

Lake Quinault, Olympic National Park

With fall upon us, the leaves were turning yellow (no brilliant reds here), and LOTS more rain and colder and shorter days.  Of course, rain on the west side of the Olympic Mountains is not unusual….after all, it is a temperate climate rain forest.  We camped at the Sol Duc Campground and Hot Springs Resort which is part of the Olympic National Park.  From there, we explored the northern part of Olympic National Park, including hiking to and around Hurricane Ridge (the winds were over 

Sol Duc Hot Springs in Fog, Olympic Nat Park

40 mph on non-windy day), Madison Falls, Lake Crescent, and the beautiful Lake Crescent Lodge, and on the west side, the Hoh Rain Forest (in the rain of course), and Lake Quinault. In spite of the cold, rain and fog, we were able to enjoy some time in the campground hot springs, finally getting some warmth into our bodies.    

 

Cape Flaherty, Westermost Point in Continental US

We took a day trip to the westernmost point in the continental US, Cape Flaherty, west of Neah Bay, where the Strait of Juan de Fuca meets the Pacific Ocean.  We were able to see up and down the beautiful rugged coast during a brief break in the weather, and enjoy a short hike to the point.  Bob had worked there over 35 years ago to put in a tide gauge when he worked for NOAA.  We searched a while for the actual site, but we never found it (we found out later we were close by, but missed it).  We had fun in Neah Bay at lunch, watching a sea otter entertain us for quite a while.     

Linda at Vampire Treaty Line, Forks WA

For Twilight fans, we camped in Forks and visited La Push on the far west side of the peninsula.  Apparently, the author of Twilight had never been there, but googled “the wettest place in the US”, and Forks, WA came up; the rest is history.  While the timber industry has decreased dramatically, the businesses in Forks and La Push have been able to take advantage of their notoriety, and have now built businesses around the Twilight series….  People now come to Forks from all over the world.

 

WA Beach Littered with Huge Trees

The coast and temperate rain forests here are similar to those we visited in Vancouver Island, Canada.  Lots of rain and fog, huge trees in the ancient groves (only those spared from the lumberjacks), rocky beaches littered with huge tree logs, and high cliffs with crashing waves…. beautiful to see and watch, but from the comfort of an indoor fireplace please J.     

Columbia River and Cape Disappointment Lighthouse

Our final peninsula stop was at the southwestern tip at Cape Disappointment at the Columbia River, where Lewis and Clark ended their 1804-1806 exploration.  The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center is excellent, we learned all about the incredible journey of Lewis and Clark and their impact on our nation’s geography and history.  The primary objective was to explore and to map the newly acquired territory, to find a practical route across the western half of the continent, and to establish an American presence in this territory before Britain and other European powers tried to claim it.  The campaign's secondary objectives were scientific and economic: to study the area's plants, animal life, and geography, and to establish trade with local Native American tribes. With maps, sketches, and journals in hand, the expedition returned to St. Louis to report its findings to President Thomas Jefferson.  We visited several sites where they camped during their journey.  Interestingly, their trip west took two years, but the return took only six months.  We look forward to stopping at several other points of their journey on next year’s trip. 

Mt Olympus from Cape Disappointment

 

The entire time we were on the Olympic Peninsula, we never saw Mt. Olympus or any of the other snow-capped peaks; we did see them once from the north on Vancouver Island across the Straits of Juan de Fuca, and then again as we left Washington State from Cape Disappointment at the very south end.  

 

In spite of the cold and wet weather, we enjoyed our visit to Seattle and Olympic Peninsula, but will be glad to drive south to California (and hopefully warm and sunny weather) for the last leg of our trip.  We will be visiting a few places, but mostly visiting longtime friends in the various places we have lived.   

 

We continue to be blessed with a great trip and safe travels.  Feel free to pass the blog link on to anyone who might be interested.  

 

Best,

Linda and Bob 

 



 

 

 

10-9-16 Washington Mountains and Puget Sound Islands

First, and most importantly, to all our St. Augustine friends and family, our hearts are with you in this difficult time.  We are praying for a successful, quick recovery from Hurricane Mathew and its impact on our homes and city.  God be with you all. 

Northern Cascades National Park

From our visit on Vancouver Island and Victoria Canada we headed back into the US and into the Northern Cascades.  It was so nice to be back into the US….and to have our routine communications available to us.  Thankfully, we have had several weeks of wonderful sunny, cool weather to enjoy the mountains and islands of Washington State. 

Cascades Glacier

We first visited the Northern Cascades National Park, a vast wilderness of conifer-clad mountains, glaciers and lakes.  There are more glaciers in the Northern Cascades than in all the other parks in the lower 48 combined.  While there are fewer than 25 glaciers in Glacier National Park (named for the spectacular glacial topography, not the number of glaciers in the park), there are over 300 in the Northern Cascades.  Most of them are not accessible via car, and would require multi-day hikes into the back country to even be able to see them.  There are black bears and wolves, but we saw neither.  Like the Canadian Rockies, the vertical relief is large and provided incredible mountain vistas, with lots of waterfalls.   

Winthrop WA Sidewalk

We first camped on the eastern side of the mountains in Pearrygin State Park in Winthrop, WA.  This is a great little western “cowboy / cowgirl” town with wooden sidewalks (dry during the summer but LOTS of snow in winter).  We spent a lot of time hiking to glacial lakes, but also in visiting some of the great communities along the eastern slopes.  Lake Chelan is a VERY long, beautiful 50- mile-long glacial lake with an “off-the-grid” town of Stehekin, at the far north-western end.  The town is only accessible via boat or sea plane.  We had a beautiful boat ride to Stekekin, with a few hours to enjoy the small town and lunch.  The residents there are a hearty bunch;

Lake Chelam looking toward Stekekin

winter is long and hard, and even getting groceries delivered is challenging and available only by boat.  Although they have a small hydroelectric plant, electricity is not reliable, and communications is sketchy at best and dependent on satellite.   

North Cascades Scenic Byway

Route 20 through the National Park, also called the North Cascades Scenic Byway, follows the Skagit River to the west.   Washington Pass, the highest point by car, has spectacular scenery.  On the western slope, we camped between Marblemount and Rockport on the Skagit River.   We were blessed with pretty good weather on both sides.   

Lake Ross in Northern Cascades National Park

It is interesting that, unlike all of the other national parks we have visited so far, there are several BEAUTIFUL lakes that are the result of hydroelectric dams along the Skagit River.  Ross, Diablo and Gorge Lakes, which provide lots of recreational opportunities, are the result of three dams built in the early 1920s to supply Seattle with hydroelectric power.  The same water is used three times to provide power as the water moves through the three hydroelectric dams.  This is a win/win; the lake scenery is beautiful and provides water recreation, and the same water is used multiple times to provide electric power.   

Lake Ross Dam

By law, National Park lands cannot be used for commercial activity.  The park was originally established as a forest preserve in 1897, which allowed commercial activity.  When the North Cascades NP was declared a National Park in 1968, long after the projects were built, the Government carved out the dam projects and created “Recreational Areas” contiguous with the NP to include these commercial activities. In today’s pro-environmental politics, these projects would probably never be approved.  In fact, when the preserve was “upgraded” to a national park, Seattle City Lights (the power company) had to spend 20 years to prove that the dams did not negatively impact the environment – specifically the salmon runs.  What would they have done if the salmon had been impacted, destroy three dams and three hydroelectric plants?  

Mt Baker

The volcanoes are the most spectacular part of the Cascades…in fact the Cascade Arc includes nearly 20 major volcanoes.  From the south to the north, the most famous volcanos include: Lassen, Shasta, Crater Lake, Hood, St Helens, Adams (visible from Mt Rainier), Rainier, Glacier, and Baker.  We drove up Mt. Baker, which is a beautiful glacier covered peak, and hiked the shoulder between it and Mt. Shuksan.  We thought it was one of the

Mt Rainier from Reflection Lake

most beautiful mountain peaks, until a few weeks later when we visited Mt. Rainier.  Mt Rainier took our breath away.  We had wonderful weather and for several days, we actually saw the usually elusive peak, crowned in glacial glory from multiple viewpoints.  John Muir said, “Of all the fire mountains, which like beacons, once blazed along the Pacific Coast, Mount Rainier is the noblest”.  We agree.   

Mt Baker from San Juan Islands

Once we left the mountains, we headed to the San Juan Islands in Puget Sound.  We camped just north of Friday Harbor on San Juan Island and also did a day trip visit to Orcas Island.   

Friday Harbor, San Juan Island

The San Juan Islands are small; much smaller than huge Vancouver Island, which is almost like being on the mainland.  We took a small ferry from Anacortes to and from the island.  Getting the RV on and off was a bit more “interesting” than when we boarded the huge ferries servicing Vancouver Island.  It was tight by comparison.  We enjoyed our visit to the islands, but we think “island fever” could be a problem, if you lived there full time.  The Friday Harbor American Legion Post is great and has the best view in town. Because our campground had no phone or internet service, the Legion became our favorite phone and internet/email hotspot.     

Red Fox Visits Us in American Settlement

While touring San Juan Island we learned about The Pig War, which almost became another British – American conflict in 1859 (Canada did not become independent from Britain until 1867).  The Jay ­­­Treaty in 1796, which set the US/Canadian border at the 49^th Parallel, became problematic when the country building finally got to the west coast of both countries.   If you simply continued the extension of the 49^th parallel, the southern part of Vancouver Island (Victoria) would belong to the US and would have split the San Juan Islands similarly.  Vancouver Island was easy -  the British got it.  But the San Juan Island ownership was under dispute for many years; so both Americans and Brits had settled there to help support their claims of ownership.  In 1859, an American farmer shot a pig owned be the British Hudson Bay Company, a fur trading company, when the pig ate his garden AGAIN.  He had warned the owner of the pig multiple times.  The Americans paid for the pig, but the incident established a reason for both countries to establish military settlements of about 100 soldiers each.  The British were on the northwest side of the island, and the Americans on the southern tip.  After 11 years, the San Juan Islands were given to the US by Canada through the efforts of an arbitrator. The San Juan Islands protected the only navigable large boat water access to protected harbors for the US Northwest. 

Orcas from Lime Kiln State Park Cliff

The most interesting part of the San Juan Island visit was our “education” about Orca (killer whales), which are actually the largest member of the dolphin family.  We have previously seen a lot of grey and humpback whales, but never Orcas up close.  The whale museum in Friday Harbor is excellent, but the most interesting information was obtained from a volunteer who tracks the various pods, supporting a university study at an

abandoned lighthouse, now used for whale observation and research.  They used an abandoned lighthouse on the west side of the island, which borders on the Horo Strait.  The water is very deep right next to shore, so it is not unusual to have an Orca pod swim within 50 feet of shore.  This is one of the few places you can see whales up close from land.  The research has been tracking some of the pods for decades.

 

Lime Kiln Point Lighthouse,  Orca Tracking Station

Unlike many other whales, the resident Orcas (versus the transient Orcas traveling through) live in small, family pods. The research team has identified each Orca by the distinctive features on the fin and body. The Orcas in one pod do NOT interact with Orcas from any other pod; each pod has its own “language” (they cannot understand other pods)  and eat their own “specific food”.  For example, each resident Orca pod might eat a specific type of salmon, while the transients might prefer only seals, or otters.   

Orca "Spyhopping" (Whale Museum Photo)

The most significant new information was about the negative impact of “man-made” sound on water mammals, but most especially on marine mammals, especially whales (all types).  Since whales are wholly dependent on their sonar/hearing to “see” in the water, they are very sensitive to sound.  It is now believed that self-beaching of whales and dolphins are efforts by the water mammals to flee “deafening” sound events.  These include:1) an increase in propeller vibration sounds due to the significant increase in number and speed of ultra-large ships; 2) increased quantity and louder active sonar use by naval ships (including the US Navy), and 3) the increased use of larger and larger underwater air blasting by oil/gas exploration companies. Active sonar use by the US Navy in now prohibited inside Puget Sound, but the whales are impacted over vary large distances.  The whales/dolphins have actually been seen jumping out of the water when the directional sonar hits them, or when the underwater explosions occur. In some cases, the whales have ascended to the surface so fast, that they display symptoms of the “bends”; previously only experienced by divers who ascend too quickly when diving.    

Mt. Rainier with Lenticular Cloud

Whales have been proven to hear another whale over 5000 miles away.  The sound from these man-made events is so loud, it actually has physically damaged /destroyed their “ears” (data from autopsy), and other internal organs.  We can do something about all of this…all it takes is some education and willingness to do it.  Prop noise can be reduced by 90%, with an improvement in efficiency of the prop (win/win), and there are other ways to do underwater oil/gas exploration.  The navies of the world might need to turn down their sonar while in whale inhabited areas.  This is some food for thought…and it’s up to us. The research facility had a hydrophone and it was amazing how loud (and annoying) the passing ship traffic noise was to listen to for just a few minutes.  Too bad for the whales, they can’t just drive away or turn it off like we could - this is their home.   

Hike to Rainy Lake in Rain

No geology discussion this time.  Suffice it to say that the results of plate tectonics, collisions of island arcs with continents, and massive glaciation are obvious wherever you go in western Washington - from active volcanos to remnant islands and to the many glacial lakes and fjords.   

Cascades Fall

It’s hard to believe, but the leaves are turning yellow (no brilliant reds here) and it is getting cold.  Just a few short blogs ago, we were talking about spring wildflowers for months as we traveled north with the spring.  Now, as we travel south, we are following the start of fall.  The weather is getting colder, the days shorter, and more rain.   

Hike to Mt Baker

 

We are now headed to Seattle and the Olympic peninsula, where we will finish up our visit to Washington State, before we head to California to visit friends on our way home.    

Feel free to pass the blog link on to anyone who might be interested.  

Best,   

Linda and Bob