Thursday, July 19, 2018

We were going to take this trip last year, but decided to change our plans due to the widespread wildfires. Only two days ago, it appeared that we would not have that issue this year. However, we learned yesterday that there are over 100 wildfires in Oregon, sparked by lightning strikes, so we may be changing our plans on the fly.

We are flying into Seattle, then renting a car, with the intention of seeing as many national parks as we can, along with other attractions along the way. We’ve had several recommendations from family and friends about where to go and what to do. Based on these recommendations, we’ve made some changes to the itinerary, and will likely make more before we are finished.

Among the National Parks we plan to visit are Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, North Cascades National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, Olympic National Park, Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, and Crater Lake National Park. Besides that, we hope to visit the Seattle Space Needle, the Museum of Pop Culture (Marvel Exhibit,) Seattle Aquarium, take the Argosy Harbor Tour, the Boeing Factory Tour, see both Mount Rainier and Mount St Helens, and Powell’s City Book Store in Portland.

We had hoped to visit Multnomah Falls and the Columbia River Gorge, but those destinations are questionable due to the wildfires. As an alternative, we may visit Cannon Beach near Portland.

It’s an ambitious itinerary, but we are always open to the unplanned adventure. We’ll spend a couple of days in Seattle, then hit the road, heading north. The weather looks good, mostly sunny and warm.

We had some great views of Mount Rainier as we approached Seattle. We think we also saw Mount Adams, which is about 90 miles south and a little bit east of Rainier.

Far left: Mt Adams? Far right: Mt Rainier

We arrived in Seattle in the early afternoon, checked into our hotel, then walked to  Pike Place Market. This market was established in 1907, one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers’ markets in the country. The market sits on nine acres near the waterfront, and has more than 200 owner operated shops and more than 80 restaurants. You can buy flowers, spices, jewelry, fruits and vegetables, fresh meats and fish, breads, wines, and much more. One of the Market’s major attractions is Pike Place Fish Market where employees throw fresh fish to each other rather than passing them by hand. We got to witness this activity, but I wasn’t quick enough to take a photo. Visiting the Market was a great way to start our road trip.

Most of the places we want to see are within two miles of our hotel, easy walking distance. The traffic is so heavy here that we can make as good time on foot as by car. We’ll find out tomorrow!