Trip to Washington State

Tom & Kathleen’s
Trip to Washington State
October 2-9, 2012
Trip Plan
Kathleen and I had not been on a personal vacation since Spring 2008. (We all know what happened in Fall
2008, don’t we?) We had some vacation days remaining for 2012 and, since there were only a few states we had
not visited, we decided to go to Washington State. Kathleen found a deeply discounted flight for us leaving from
New Orleans early October 2 and returning late October 9. We really didn’t like the idea of having to leave and
return from New Orleans, but the savings we realized were too much to pass up. And given that gasoline prices
in Washington run from $4.03 to $4.69 a gallon, the savings helped the total costs for transportation.
With the flight arrangements confirmed, I took a serious look at where we might go and what we might do in
Washington. The most useful online publication for planning our trip was Washington State Scenic Byways and
Road Trips (online: http://shop.scenicwa.com/wa-state-scenic-byways-guide.html) . I downloaded the PDF and
studied the magazine for a few days making notes about what we might want to see. The publication was a great
help and I would recommend it to anyone planning a trip to Washington. In addition, to help me decide and set
priorities, I searched for the “most”, “best”, and “top ten” things-to-do, places-to-see, and routes-to-travel on the
internet.
I created a map of our possible, and probable, routes, estimated our driving times and distances, and
identified where we might spend the night along the way. We go on auto tours; we just drive around. My general
rule, given the way Kathleen and I travel, allows for six hours of driving at a 50 miles per hour. That gives us
enough time to rest, to take side roads, to stop at overlooks and viewpoints, and not feel rushed.
The map here is our actual travels and resulting routes and miles.
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MSY TSA and My Hat
Kathleen and I woke very early Tuesday, October 2, and were on the road to New Orleans by 4:30 a.m.
Boarding passes, no problem. Parking the car, no problem. Checking two bags, no problem. TSA checkpoint,
PROBLEM.
I wore my “bush” hat up to the TSA checkpoint. I put my hat with the prescribed items in a couple of
trays. I got to the other side, gathered my personals, and there was no hat. I asked the security official about
the hat.
She said, “Are you sure you had your hat?”
“Yes. In fact, I put some pills wrapped in foil that I need to take inside the hat. Yes, I had the hat with me,”
I told her.
“Sir, there is no hat here. Someone may have taken it,” she suggested. With that, she turned her back to
me and completely ignored me. I persisted.
“Are you not concerned that the hat may be in the x-ray machine? Don’t you care whether or not it is in
there? Doesn’t that suggest that something might be wrong?” I asked.
She returned to me and said, “Sir, where were you before you came to security? You may have left it
there.”
After a little arguing in disbelief, I went back to the Delta Airlines desk and asked if they had seen my hat.
You can imagine what they thought. I told them to tell me that they hadn’t seen my hat They complied and
said they hadn’t seen my hat. So, I went back to security and went back through the checkpoint and reported
my findings.
“Well, sir, I don’t know what to tell you? It is not in the machine,” the TSA woman said emphatically.
“So that’s it? No one is going to look in the machine?” I asked.
“You may file a lost item report,” she said as she started to write a phone number on a piece of paper.
As she was writing, a hat came out of the machine. We got excited for a second, but Kathleen and I
realized it wasn’t mine. Once the guy who owned the hat we saw put his hat on, we noticed another hat. My
hat. It had come out of the machine. I went back to the machine conveyer and snatched it up.
I waved my hat to the security people. “Here’s my hat. It was in the machine,” I declared and walked off
for our gate.
What bothers me more than anything else is that the security folk were quite lackadaisical and
unconcerned about my hat being in the scanning machine. I didn’t walk away from the experience with a
deep, comfortable feeling about TSA.
“Working Dog” Aboard
One of our traveling companions was a
beautiful border collie, named Jessie. He and his
owner were traveling back to California from a
training program for “working dogs”. Jessie is
a search dog and has been trained for various
search scenarios including cadavers and missing
persons. I had never seen a dog travel on a
plane in the “people section”. It was interesting
watching him deal with take-off and landing
realizing he can’t chew gum to deal with the
changes in pressure. He seemed a little stressed,
but no more than some people I know.
He could have found my hat and he’s a dog.
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Mount Rainier from Above
This is a photo of Mount Rainier from
our flight as we approached the SeaTac
Airport. In the background is Mt. St. Helens.
I hadn’t realized how stunning this photo was
until we returned home. I am happy I caught
this picture. At the time I took this photo I
had no idea how much time we would spend
in the areas around these peaks. I have a
greater appreciation for what I saw from the
plane.
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Ash, The Rental Car Guy
At the rental car company, we were greeted by a
diminutive young fellow, dressed very nattily, who
introduced himself as Ash. He directed us to our SUV
and, as we packed the bags into the back, explained
the financial wisdom of purchasing comprehensive
automobile insurance for the 2013 Ford Explorer at the
rate of $29 plus per day.
He went on and on about what would happen if
I didn’t get the insurance. Somewhere in his spiel he
painted a picture of us wiped out on the side of the
road and said something like, “and then all you have to
do is bring me the steering wheel and walk away.”
He guided me around the vehicle with a little card
that showed the size of possible dents and dings and
apparently calculated how much it would cost to fix
them in different parts of the car. He pointed to the
bumper and told me there were not many costs with
repairing that. I smiled.
I couldn’t help but point to the illogic of paying
more in insurance than the rate of the vehicle. I’d be
paying $900 premium for a month rental. I could
spend all of my money for insurance and just skip the
trip.
He was relentless and undeterred. He pushed a
little more. I finally stopped him and congratulated
him on scaring me into believing that something
awful would really happen. He did a wonderful job
of helping me imagine the worst possible scenarios.
I assured him I could handle the rental without his
exorbitant insurance and I promised to drive scared
the whole time I was in Washington.
Throughout the trip, we thought back on our little
friend at SeaTac, Ash. First off, I had never driven one
of these “new-fangled” vehicles: keys you don’t put
in the ignition; a camera view of what is behind you;
side mirrors with mirrors in mirrors; a bewildering
array of touch-screen displays for air conditioning,
entertainment, communications, and lighting. This
alone put a healthy fear into me. It took a while to
become comfortable driving. Ash may have been onto
something.
Then, exiting any airport one hasn’t been to before
can be daunting with so many signs to read, arrows
to follow, and lanes in which you may or may not
belong. Within less than a mile, I was a nervous wreck.
WRECK! Ash’s smiling face was flashing through my
mind.
Finding my way onto Interstate 5 sent my pulse
racing as fast as the vehicles sweeping by me that knew
where they were going. They whipped in and out of
my lane, braked and accelerated with great aplomb,
and planted themselves in blindspots with which I was
thoroughly unfamiliar. Ash had crawled into my brain
and took up residence for the duration of our trip.
Eventually, we managed to let Ash become a point
of humor and became “Ash-aware” as we drove around.
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Tuesday, October 2, 2012
After we landed and rented a SUV, we realized we had
some time to drive around. We had five hours of daylight
SeaTac Airport to Mount Vernon and decided to take advantage of it. We certainly were tired
from our air travel, but once on the ground and rolling, we
Scenic Byways: Whidbey Island, Chuckanut were energized.
Drive, & Mount Baker
We headed north on I-5 toward the Whidbey Island
Scenic Byway. We reached Mukilteo to catch the ferry to
Miles: 270 miles
Deception Pass, Whidbey Island
Mount Baker after Sunset
Whidbey and didn’t wait a
minute before the ferry took off.
We had not planned to drive
through Whidbey Island, up the
Chuckanut Drive, and into the
Mt. Baker area. All three of the
byways were wonderful. Among
the awesome sights were the
picturesque farms, quaint
harbors of the island, and
Deception Pass. The sun was
low in the sky as we traveled
up the cliffs of the Chuckanut
Drive and viewed the coast of
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Bellingham Bay and Chuckanut Bay.
One issue that emerged a few times was the angle of the Sun. I had not accounted for the sunlight at
Washington’s latitude especially in the Fall. Trees and mountains cast long shadows throughout the day. The
Sun is never directly overhead. Quite often we wanted to see something in the west from an eastern viewpoint.
The Sun was not as cooperative as we would have liked. On the other hand, traveling through wooded areas was
pretty and, since it was October, the temperature stayed mild throughout our trip.
We found out just how fast the Sun would go down on our trip to Mt. Baker. When we decided to visit Mt.
Baker we expected that we had a 37-mile drive before us on Highway 542. With about an hour-and-half left
before the sun disappeared, we were certain we could make the drive with plenty of light left. However, the drive
went on and on and on. It was a full 61 miles from Bellingham, not 37 miles. Eventually, we realized that the
scenic byway was only a portion of Highway 542. We reached Mount Baker Ski Area at about 6:40 PM. By that
time the sun had set and the mountain glowed with the last rays of light. The drive back from Mt. Baker was
pitch black. Kathleen and I were both very tired and needed a rest room in the worst way. We found ourselves a
Comfort Inn in Mt. Vernon, Washington and settled in for the night, our first night in Washington State.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Mount Vernon to Wenatchee
Scenic Byways: North Cascades, Okanogan Trails
Miles: 279 miles
Traveling & YouTube
I had spent a good amount of time identifying what we absolutely had to see while in Washington. I
discovered that the North Cascades (Hwy. 20) was considered a less-traveled, but spectacular drive. Some
folks had posted YouTube videos of their travel along that road and it indeed looked enticing. I learned that by
viewing videos and reading travelogues of others is a great way to prepare for trips. You have to dig a little and
use a variety of search terms to find the information. I found this resource valuable in planning where to go.
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Diablo Lake on Hwy. 20
Liberty Bell Mountain
at Washington Pass
Kathleen and Tom
at Washington Pass
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Washington Pass
Winthrop, WA
The scenery changed when we
reached the eastern side of the Cascades.
Here the landscape was much drier
and the vegetation less robust. While
adjusting to this shift in scenic view we
rounded a bend in the road and entered
the quaint little town of Winthrop. All
of the buildings on Main Street had the
architecture of an Old West or turn-of-the-century mining town. I wish I had
taken pictures. Check Google Images.
Wildfires
Wildfires near Omak, WA
We had heard there were wildfires
near the areas where we would travel.
The closest we got to a wildfire was
outside Omak along the Okanogan
Trail near an Indian Reservation. The
smoke and haze dominated our views
of the sights along our travels for the
rest of the day. The people in this region
were demonstrably grateful for the fire
fighters’ assistance. Along Highway 20,
there is a smoker jumper school. I can’t
imagine those guys.
Remember Ash? He crossed our
minds when we drove near the wildfires.
(His name and the chance of damage.)
Apples
If you haven’t heard, Washington State is famous for growing apples. The rumor is true. By golly, I don’t
think I have seen so many orchards in my life. I lived in Plaquemines Parish amongst satsumas and navel orange
orchards and I have been to central Florida. I was completely impressed.
We reached apple country at the beginning of harvest season. The trees’ backs were bent with what appeared
to be a bumper crop. “Apple boxes” were stacked high awaiting the pickers to fill them. It was quite a sight.
I noticed there weren’t signs for apple pies or cobblers. Kathleen said the folks around there probably get sick
of apples. There were many fruit stands in some spots offering nectarines, plums, pluots, apricots, pears, peaches,
and every kind of apple under the Sun. The variety of fruit was amazing. Some of the fruit trees I couldn’t
identify from the road. It would have been helpful to me if the farmers put signs up to let people know what they
were growing.
Kathleen frequently asked that I stop and let her pick an apple. I didn’t. Remember the Wizard of Oz?
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Thursday, October 4, 2012
Wenatchee to Yakima
Scenic Byways: Steven’s Pass, Cascade Valleys,
Chinook Pass, White Pass
Miles: 352 miles
Leavenworth & Snoqualmie Falls
Early Thursday morning, we left Wenatchee, Apple Capital of the World, and drove a few miles up Highway
2, Steven’s Pass. The town of Leavenworth, almost completely designed on a Bravarian theme, was preparing for
its Octoberfest activities. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised the residents of this town are required wear lederhosen for
the month of October given their obvious building codes. Cute town, but just a little creepy.
By early afternoon we reached Snoqualmie Falls where the rushing waters are converted into electricity.
I found it fascinating just how many hydroelectric facilities we saw. Like apples, I had heard about this, but
actually seeing it was special. I could say the same for the fish hatcheries.
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Snoqualmie Falls
Mount Rainier
For overwhelming majesty, Mount Rainier literally stands out. Having lived in the flat lands all of my life,
mountains are cool to behold. Mt. Rainier truly dominates the landscape. Its magnificence can be especially
appreciated from a distance. On clear days, Rainier can be seen from 50, 75 and 100 miles away. It was interesting
to drive through a neighborhood and see Rainier towering over the subdivision. It was eerie to see the sunset
paint the skies with reds, oranges, yellows, blues, and purples with Mount Rainier standing tall over a valley. The
flickering of a town’s lights, like miniature Christmas lights strung out in the dark valley, demonstrated just how
big Rainier is.
We wanted to get up close to Rainier, too. We drove byways that gave us peeks at the peak from numerous
vantage points. We would drive along roads lined with trees when suddenly we’d come to a small clearing and
Rainier would pop into view. Each glimpse was special.
Of course, I took pictures of Rainier. Be assured, the best pictures of Rainier have been taken by
photographers with much more expertise than I. Their photos I will look upon to help me appreciate what I saw.
For instance, before sunrise on Saturday morning, I drove back to Chinook Pass from Yakima to take pictures
of Mt. Rainier. Sunrise at Rainier is a special event and I wanted to experience this. My puny picture-taking
efforts met with poor to fair success. I am not disappointed, however. I really enjoyed the brisk Fall air as the Sun
revealed Mount Rainier and set the peak aglow with a rose color.
All totaled, we spent three days around Mount Rainier. To me it was among the best stops we made in our
travels.
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Mt. Rainier
from Highway 12 6:00 p.m.
Mt. Rainier
from Sunrise Viewpoint 4:30 p.m.
Mr. & Mrs. Yours Truly
Mt. Rainier
from Sunrise Viewpoint 12:30 p.m.
Mt. Rainier
from Sunrise Viewpoint 12:30 p.m.
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above: Mt. Rainier from Chinook Pass, about 7:10 a.
left below: about 7:20 a.m. right below: from a distance
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Friday, October 5, 2012
Yakima Area
Scenic Byways: Chinook Pass, White Pass
Miles: 309 miles
Mt. St. Helens
On Friday, October 5, we drove to the Windy Ridge Viewpoint to see Mt. St. Helens. We approached
Windy Ridge from the north after having visited Mount Rainier. The road was virtually deserted with only the
infrequent car, truck or motorcycle. It would be an overstatement to say that the road was treacherous, but we
encountered hair-pin turns, very narrow passes, and crumbling roads barely hanging to cliff sides.
The trip was well worth it. Mt. St. Helens, 32 years after the eruption, takes your breath away. The devastation
is still widely evident. Life has grabbed a foothold in the area, also. The juxtaposition of destruction and life
is strange. The route to the viewpoint began on a road shaded by lush forests. We turned one corner and the
landscape yielded to nearly bare hill sides with relatively young vegetation. That was dramatic.
I recall the day the volcano erupted and my fascination with all aspects of the event. To be near the volcano
was special to me. I was only sorry we reached the viewpoint at a time of day when the sun was just passing to
the far side of the mountain and glaring into our eyes. That was a small disappointment. The mountain was so
cool!
From this viewpoint we could also see Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams, siblings of Mt. St. Helens. On the way back,
the ubiquitous Mt. Rainier showed itself. These certainly are not sights we are used to seeing.
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Mount St. Helens from Forest Road 99
Mount St. Helens from Windy Ridge
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Spirit Lake: Note the white/gray material on the distant shoreline. Those are logs, trees blasted
into the lake at the time of the eruption which remain in the lake to this day.
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Mountains from Mount St. Helens
Mt. Hood in Oregon (south)
Mt. Adams in the East
Mt. Rainier in the North
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Saturday, October 6, 2012
Yakima Area
Scenic Byways: Chinook Pass, Yakima River Canyon
Miles: 279 miles
LSU-Florida Game on the Road in Yakima
We watched the LSU-Florida game from the comfort of our room. As the CBS SEC game, the game aired
at 12:30 p.m. Yakima time. By my reckoning, I expected the game to be over around 4:00 p.m. leaving us about
3 hours of decent sunlight to drive around. The game ended earlier for all practical purposes before I had
estimated. You may have read about it.
We drove north from Yakima along the Yakama River Canyon, east and south through more fruit orchards,
and back towards Yakima to see the Sun set behind the northern Cascades and Mt. Rainier. While I didn’t like
my team losing that day, being able to hop in the SUV and drive out into beautiful landscapes proved to be a
sufficient remedy for my disappointment.
One other thing, is it Yakima or Yakama? Doesn’t matter now I suppose, unless you’re on Jeopardy.
Another Note About Photos
I didn’t try to take pictures everywhere we went. I didn’t get a single picture of an apple orchard as much as
we saw them. I also passed on photos of the Columbia River, Yakama River Valley, and a few other spots. These
subjects I had seen while doing my research. I really didn’t see a point in taking those photos. Since we have been
back, I have looked at pictures others have taken and loaded to the world wide web. Their photos seem to be
much better than any I may have taken.
So I don’t have as many photos as I have taken in the past on similar trips.
I do have a few more video clips of landscapes that were expansive and couldn’t be captured in a photo to do
them justice. These I find handy in reminding me of what we saw. I will post some of them to YouTube after I
have fiddled with them.
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Sunday, October 7, 2012
Yakima to Ocean Shores
Scenic Byways: Yakima Scenic, Columbia River Gorge,
Lewis & Clark, Cranberry Coast, Hidden Coast
Miles: 391 miles
Mt. Adams from the Yakama Scenic Byway
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Covered Bridge on Gray’s River north of the mouth of the Columbia River
Yakima to the Pacific
It was fun to imagine what Lewis and Clark thought as they traveled through the countryside we were taking
in. We were seeing it for the first time, albeit from the comfort of an SUV (without Ash’s insurance). When they
saw the Columbia River Gorge on their way to the Pacific Ocean, they must have been dumbfounded. After
seeing the Great Plains and Rockies, this new territory just added to their inventory of unbelievable sights. I
know for us the sights were nearly indescribable.
Sunset on the Pacific, October 6, 2012
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St. Bernard
We decided to stay our last night on the road next to the Pacific Ocean at a Quinault Indian Casino. At the
front doors, apparently unattended, we came upon this beautiful and humongous St. Bernard. We really didn’t to
expect to see two working dogs on one trip, although this one was not on duty.
We found that the Saints game was on throughout the casino. We didn’t work at watching it given how tired
and hungry we were. We’ll continue to believe that the first win of the season may have resulted from our lucky
encounter with this beaut.
If you wondered about our stay at the casino: The Saints won; we didn’t.
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Monday, October 8, 2012
Ocean Shores to SeaTAC
Scenic Byways: Pacific Coast
Miles: 419 miles
Pacific Coast from Hwy. 101 near Kalaloch, Washington
Coast and Rainforest
Washington State is as lovely a state
as we have ever seen. Before we got to the
Olympic Peninsula, we would have been
satisfied with what we had seen. If we had
seen nothing else, we would have felt we
could not have seen more.
The coast revealed itself as the fog and
mist burned away. I would recommend
the drive up Hwy. 101 to anyone. Pretty
as a picture certainly describes this scenic
drive.
And then, add the rainforests of the
peninsula to this. How other-worldly
can a landscape seem? Gorgeous, simply
gorgeous.
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Pacific Coast near Destruction Island on Hwy. 101
Hoh Rainforest
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Hoh Rainforest
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Mt. Olympus from Hurricane Ridge Viewpoint outside of Port Angeles, WA
Black-tailed deer near
Hurricane Ridge
Mt. Baker from the route to Hurricane Ridge looking past Vancouver Island, BC
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Miscellaneous Thoughts
1. If you haven’t been to Washington State, we highly recommend it.
2. If you have been to Washington and have missed some spots, go back and take a look.
3. We saw gasoline prices from $3.88 to $4.69. Yuck! I think our average purchase price
was about $4.10 per gallon.
4. I don’t see how electric cars are going to make it on those mountain routes to various
viewpoints.
5. It was days before we saw any road kill. It was days before we saw any litter for that
matter.
6. October is not a bad month to visit Washington. This year was drier than most for them.
We had sunny weather everyday of the trip. We came to understand that this is rarely the case
in Washington. Most of the time it is cloudy and damp.
7. Expresso and Hot Dogs: More than a few times we saw roadside stands advertising
expresso and hot dogs. If you have to have hot water for either, why not do both?
8. The flowers we saw at businesses and homes were gorgeous. The weather and time of
year must have had something to do with that.
9. We saw berry plants blooming and setting fruit. I believe they call these “salmon
berries”. They look like blackberries, but for them to be blooming in October was unusual to
us.
10. Washington State apparently does not allow billboards. We saw none. There wasn’t
much to read as we traveled. Even the political signs for elections have some sort of
restrictions.
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