Articles with Washington

Discovering the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge

This trip has been about touring some of the byways in northeastern Oregon. There was one more byway in Oregon I wanted to tour, but we couldn’t make it work with our schedule. Instead I suggested we drive along the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge to see what it had to offer. Most people drive the Oregon side because of the ease of the I-84 freeway. Checking out the other side of the river seemed a unique opportunity.…

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Cruising White Pass in Washington down to Oregon

There are many ways to get to Oregon from Washington state. From Seattle, the obvious way is to head south on I-5. However, for this trip we were headed to Northeastern Oregon, and I decided we should go the scenic route over White Pass. Crossing the Cascade Mountain range, which runs north and south through Washington, is necessary if one wants to travel east. The main Washington route is I-90 which takes one all the way to Boston if one…

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The Colors of Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

Two years ago my daughter Andrea and I visited the Keukenhof Tulip Gardens in the Netherlands. They had an amazing variety of tulips, and the beauty of their gardens is unrivaled. It’s a very worthwhile experience. However, not everyone can cross the ocean to see tulips. Fortunately, there are places here in the United States that celebrate tulips, and one of them is just north of Seattle in the Skagit Valley. Skagit Valley is one of the last major agricultural…

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A Hike and a Waterfall in Snoqualmie, Washington

A natural site one can count on to attract a crowd is a waterfall. My daughter Andrea is particularly fond of searching out waterfalls which we did on our trip to Iceland. There are many waterfalls in the northwest, but if you are looking for one that is easy to get to from Seattle, then Snoqualmie Falls is the one to check out. On a clear, beautiful day in March we decided to drive up to see the falls. First,…

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Dash Point State Park: From the Beach to the Forest

A beautiful, sunny day in February is a great opportunity to do some exploring. On such a Saturday we decided to travel down to Federal Way and explore Dash Point State Park. Washington state has over 100 state parks so there are a number of locations to see, and we have only visited a few of them. It was time to explore more. Dash Point is on Puget Sound in Federal Way. We took the 320th St. exit off I-5…

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Amazon Spheres, Seattle’s Unique Architectural Wonder

A picture with Seattle’s Space Needle easily identifies it as being a photo of Seattle. Another unique architectural feature in Seattle was completed in March of 2016, the Amazon Spheres. While it was not completed on the inside for almost two more years, the Spheres have become another recognizable symbol of Seattle and is worth visiting. A trip to the top of the Space Needle will set one back as much as $37.50 per person. However, a visit to the…

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A Serene Shoreline Hike in Lake Wenatchee State Park

Sunday morning dawned, and it wasn’t raining. It wasn’t the most sunny of days, but since it wasn’t raining, I was hoping we would be able to go to Lake Wenatchee State Park. When I had planned this weekend, I put Lake Wenatchee high on the list of activities. Despite the fact that we had come to Leavenworth a number of times over the years, we had never gone out to Lake Wenatchee. First, of course, we needed to stop…

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A Day Trip from Leavenworth to Sunny Wenatchee

When we decided to spend Veterans Day weekend in Leavenworth, Silvette said she didn’t want to go if it was going to be a rainy weekend. If we were going to cancel our reservation, we had to cancel a week ahead. However, the weather forecast kept changing so we didn’t cancel. Wouldn’t you know it, we woke up Saturday morning to a wet and drizzly day. It was just what Silvette had wanted to avoid. Despite the weather we were…

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An Autumn Return to Popular Leavenworth, Washington

Leavenworth is a popular weekend destination for people from the Puget Sound region. Located in the eastern foothills of the Cascade Mountains, it was a city in decline until the 1960s when the city adopted a city wide Bavarian theme. Storefronts were transformed to look like Bavarian locations. Stores began to sell gifts and items from Germany. Restaurants started to feature bratwursts, and the town began to attract tourists looking for a unique experience. Along the way the town set…

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Seattle’s Cheshiahud Loop: South Lake Union to Fremont

Last week I described the first half of our walk around Lake Union known as the Cheshiahud Loop. We started at the north end of the lake at Gasworks Park. From the park we traveled east and walked along the east side of the lake. This week I will share about the rest of our walk as we continued back to Gasworks Park. As we got closer to the south end of Lake Union, we came across a more industrial…

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