Articles with Washington

The Celebration of Seattle’s Nordic Cultural Heritage

There are a number of great museums in the Seattle area. From the Seattle Art Museum to the Museum of History and Industry, the area is blessed with a wealth of interesting places to visit. One museum that is a little off the beaten trail is the Nordic Museum in the Ballard area. This museum celebrates the history and culture of the Nordic countries. The Nordic countries, or as some would say the Scandinavian countries, are located in northern Europe.…

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Exploring the Rhododendron Garden in Federal Way, Washington

Spring flowers brighten our day after the gloomy days of winter. In the Pacific Northwest one of the star garden plants is the rhododendron. Gardeners have planted these bushes with their bright and colorful flowers throughout the gardens of the Northwest. However, there is one place specifically one can go to get a look at these plants, the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden in Federal Way. This garden was created specifically to focus on rhododendrons. The founders brought plants from various…

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Seattle Gardens to Visit in the Winter and Year Round

Visiting a garden during the winter may seem like an unusual activity. After all, gardens in the winter don’t usually have many flowers to look at and enjoy. However, gardens are more than just flowers. A winter visit to a garden can reveal aspects of a garden that colorful flowers might distract from. Furthermore, a winter visit will likely mean less people, helpful during our pandemic year. The Seattle Chinese Garden, which is on the northern edge of South Seattle…

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Exploring the North Side of Deception Pass

Deception Pass is the narrow strait between Fidalgo Island and Whidbey Island about an hour north of Seattle. It was named by George Vancouver after apparently neither he nor his crew noticed it on their first exploration to the area. Later, when they did discover it, they thought it had deceived them, thus the name. Today this strait is traversed by bridges. Between the two large islands is another small island, Pass Island, so there are actually two bridges. They…

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Tranquil Moments at Lakewold Gardens in Tacoma

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…

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Discovering Sunrise at Mt. Rainier in Washington

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…

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Mt. Rainier Plays Peek-A-Boo For A Day

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.…

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Trails to Conquer East of Seattle (Updated 2024)

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…

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Bloedel Reserve: Following the Trail

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…

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The Quest for the Perfect Space Needle Photo (Updated 2024)

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…

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