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In Montana we spent some time at a real nice campground where I did some whittling under their "big sky" which does indeed appear bigger than in most places because of the open country. As we passed through Oregon, one impressive stop was to gaze at Multnomah Falls. The little "dot" in the lower right hand corner is one of the folk viewing the falls. In Newport, Oregon we enjoyed dinner at a restaurant inside a working brewery. A unique atmosphere for sure so I bought a bottle of their "Rogue's" beer for a souvenir.
Needless to say the drive along the
Pacific coast with its view of the ocean was impressive. The temperate
rain forest in Olympic National Park was something to behold!! A whole
different environment exists there. The last photo is of me standing
beneath one of the giant trees and there were many larger than the ones in the
photos.
On into the Seattle/Tacoma area of
Washington and after a few hours of taking in the sights and sounds of Seattle's
public market, we relaxed in Salt Water Park and enjoyed a sunset over the
Olympic mountains. You can't visit Seattle without visiting the 600 foot
tall Space Needle for a magnificent view of the city and it's harbors. At the
left in the harbor picture sits the cruise ship we rode out to Blake Island's
Tillicum Village where we enjoyed a salmon dinner prepared by Northwest Native
Americans. A stage presentation depicting their history followed the
dinner. Friend Mike Swenson and I are standing in front of one of
the many carvings in the village.
We never seemed to get tired of looking at the mountains here and were especially awed by Mt. Rainier which, at14,410 feet, is the highest of the Cascade peaks. Equally impressive was Mt. St. Helens, the volcano which erupted in May of1980. The top of St. Helens was, before 1980. peaked like you see in the Mt. Rainier photo. The whole North side of St. Helens collapsed and the mountain is now 1,300 feet shorter than it was though, as you can see by the smoke, it is still active and rebuilding it's peak as lava continues to pour out of it's core. The last pictures shows just part of the solidified mud slides (grey color) that poured into and filled the valleys when it erupted.