Ever since I was a kid, I have wanted to go to Yellowstone National Park. Hearing about places like Old Faithful and mudpots as well as the wild animals really piqued my interest. However, I never made it until this year. As we searched for a place to travel to get some relief from the pandemic, we finally settled on Yellowstone. I was excited. I didn’t spend a lot of time planning for this trip. Most of the planning was…
Continue Reading “All Roads Lead to Yellowstone National Park”
I hate to admit this, but I didn’t know where Grand Teton National Park was located. I thought it was more in the eastern part of the U.S. so I was surprised when I began researching a visit to Yellowstone to see Grand Teton National Park just south of Yellowstone. Obviously we needed to visit there as well. Since we flew into Bozeman, Montana, it was quite a trip down to Jackson Hole, which is at the southern end of…
During COVID when many travel opportunities shut down, visiting gardens remained possible. Most years I might only visit a garden two or three times a year. Not during COVID. With so many other sites and activities shut down, gardens became a tranquil place to visit. The Lakewold Gardens in Tacoma, Washington was one of our options. Like many other gardens in the Puget Sound area, this garden started out as a personal garden which later became a public garden. The…
Continue Reading “Tranquil Moments at Lakewold Gardens in Tacoma”
There were thin, high clouds in the sky as we left our home to visit Mt. Rainier. It looked to be a perfect day for a return visit to Mt. Rainier National Park. It had been two years since our last visit. This time we were going to a part of the park we had never visited before, Sunrise. The Sunrise area is on the northeast side of the park. There are three main parts to the Sunrise region. First…
Continue Reading “Discovering Sunrise at Mt. Rainier in Washington”
While the Space Needle is the iconic sight for Seattle, Mt. Rainier is the icon for the state of Washington. In fact, despite Washington having many mountains, locals often refer to it as simply, “the mountain.” If you can get the Space Needle and Mt. Rainier in the same picture, then you really have a classic Washington picture. Unfortunately Mt. Rainier is not always as visible as we would like. The areas infamous rainy days often hides it from view.…
For many people vacation can be a time for indulging in things they normally might avoid. To keep that from being a problem exercise should be a part of one’s vacation plans. The Seattle area is blessed with many great trails to use. Walkers, bikers, and roller bladers have a number of options to choose from east of Lake Washington. Most of these trails were once railroad corridors that have been converted to trails. Whether you are a resident or…
Continue Reading “Trails to Conquer East of Seattle (Updated 2024)”
If you are in need of a quiet place in the midst of our chaotic world today, visit a garden. In a previous post I suggested three gardens to visit. Today I am suggesting just one, The Bloedel Reserve which USA Today recently named one of the 10 best botanical gardens in the U.S. The Bloedel Reserve is located at the northern end of Bainbridge Island in Puget Sound. This 150 acre garden and forest area was originally the home…
People easily recognize photos of some cities around the world because of that iconic structure that everyone knows. Think the Eiffel Tower in Paris or the Arch in St. Louis. For Seattle that recognizable structure is the Space Needle. It is a architectural wonder like no other. If you visit Seattle, you have to get a photo of it. The Space Needle was built in 1962 for the Seattle World’s Fair. After the fair it became an important part of…
Continue Reading “The Quest for the Perfect Space Needle Photo (Updated 2024)”
The state of Washington’s nickname is the Evergreen State. Many people think it rains here all the time. That’s not really true. We don’t have a lot of heavy rains, but many gray days with a light rain. Summers, however, can be quite beautiful and warm. In fact this is a perfect climate to grow many wonderful plants, and gardening is a popular activity in the Puget Sound region. Garden enthusiasts can find a number of gardens in the Seattle…
Long Beach, Washington claims their 28 miles long beach is the longest beach in the United States. That makes it a good place to visit because in reality Washington does not have the greatest of beaches. Those in California and Oregon are generally better than Washington’s. Part of that is because a major part of Washington’s coast line is in the Puget Sound region. Here you don’t normally get the crashing waves one thinks of when going to the beach.…
Continue Reading “Discovering Washington’s Record Setting Beach, Long Beach”
