On the road again 6/29/2012

Tomorrow we set off for a new adventure that will take us to a new National Park, over one of the oldest rivers on the continent, through America's most visited national park, on a tour of one of the most unique homes in the world (it's in PA), and lots more (we'll storm a modern day Bastille!). Come with us!

Home 8/11/2011

Our flights and limo pick up went completely smoothly yesterday, and we're back home. What a great trip!

As I look over my notes, I find that there are a few notable things I have not mentioned here before. In no particular order I present them here:

• In Oregon, near Kerbyville, I saw the first "U Pick" flower place ever. I'm amazed that they would let people pick their own flowers. Do they teach you how to cut them before you go out? Do they let kids pick them? 
• People in Oregon and Washington must live on espresso for the number of small kiosks we saw everywhere that seem to sell espresso--even in the boonies.
• When we were at the KOA in Astoria, we met a man and his son (We assumed it was his son, but these days, who knows?) at the free all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast they had there. They had traveled from London to tour the Pacific northwest.  We chatted about how wonderful the national parks are, and asked whether there was something similar in the UK. They told us that natural parks and historic buildings are mostly preserved and offered to the public by private concerns and foundations. They commented on the incredible bargain our National parks offered--$15 for a carful of people for a week--such a deal. When we told them  that the cost of a one-day ticket to DisneyWorld was $80-$90 they were stunned. 
• Everywhere outside the national parks in Oregon and Washington you can see clearcut hillsides. And it is easy to see why--there are huge trees EVERYWHERE. I guess it's like money on the hillsides. I had seen signs that indicated when an area was clearcut and replanted. There are very strict rules in both states about when trees can be cut, and when the areas cut must be replanted. Many of those signs were put up by Weyerhouser, and I had many questions about logging, so I shot them off an email. The Chief Forester for Weyerhaeuser's timberlands in Washington and Oregon promptly responded:
  "The vast majority of units are planted within 18 months and many within a year.  We do not remove stumps, in part due to the cost but also because of the soil disturbance that would be involved.  We don't require it anyway, because every tree is planted by hand with a shovel or hoe (my emphasis--can you imagine it? There are what look like hundreds of thousands of trees in one unit) and we allow our seedling spacing to vary so that the planters can choose the best spots for seedlings to flourish, so they space around the stumps and other forest floor debris. We use a combination of mechanical and hand cutting, depending on the terrain.  Much of our land out here is mountainous, necessitating hand cutting, but some areas can be harvested by machine." Interesting, huh?
• Many Oregon and Washington road are lined with foxglove and another pink flower I did not get the name of. Very scenic.
• My brother, Father Steve, would never survive in British Columbia, where motorists drive EXACTLY the speed limit or maybe a little less.
• In Canada, when signs tell you that something is "ahead", it could be a mile or 2 "ahead". Signage we saw was  unbelievably poor. You shouldn't have to have your reading glasses on, and be driving 15 mph to read road signs. Maybe that explains why everyone drives slow here? In many cases, they just dispense with signs completely. I guess they assume you'll figure it out for yourself...
• Last year we compiled a long list of nominees for the "Bad Parent" awards during our travels. We have one clear winner. While we were waiting for our flight out of Seattle on Wednesday, we were seated in the gate area near a mother and 3 children, the smallest of which was a boy, probably 4 years old. His normal method of communications was to SHOUT. Happy or sad, frustrated or content, the boy SHOUTED. I prayed that we would not be seated near them. It turns out that it didn't matter. The family was seated about 5-6 rows behind us, and the entire Seattle to Baltimore flight was highlighted (LOWlighted?) by this little boy's SHOUTED conversation and babble. His mother didn't seem to mind. The flight attendants did their best to keep the noise level down and the kids occupied and quiet. To no end. It got so bad that one flight attendant came over the speaker system to say that "We are not babysitters. This is public transportation and parents should take care to see that their children respect that fact." Many people (us included) applauded.
• Thank God for a working GPS.

I guess that's it. About 80 gallons of gas at an average of $3.68/gallon, and 2346 miles.

Glass and Friends 8/10/2011

Fluid Steps

Our first stop today was Denny's in Arlington, WA, just as we were leaving the general area of the North Cascades and starting down the interstate back to "civilization--the city.  Our next destination was the Museum of Glass  in Tacoma, a beautiful building with fantastic art glass on display both outside and inside the building. We first explored the "exhibits" outside--an interesting installation called "Fluid Steps" by the artist (maybe a distant relative?) Martin Blank. This has formed glass pieces arranged on a framework over a water tableau. Arresting, for sure, and fascinating how different it looked as the sky changed and reflected in the water.

Museum of Glass Building

One panel of the Chihuly glass ceiling on the bridge

We then walked around the building to a walkway that was lined with all types of fantastic art glass, including two huge columns made up of rough blocks of blue glass. Continuing on, we walked on the Dale Chihuly Bridge of Glass, whose ceiling is covered with Chihuly pieces with the skylight passing through them. Walking beneath the Chihuly glass was like walking into a kaleidoscope--so incredibly beautiful.

The inside of the museum had a mind-blowing installation of a glass forest. We were not allowed to take any photos, and they did not have any postcards showing the glass forest, called "Glimmering Gone". See it here. There are hundreds (perhaps thousands?) of pieces of clear glass in many shapes and hung individually from clear wires that together look like a mountain setting of trees and waterfall. You really have to see it to appreciate the crazy creative talent it took to conceive of and execute this.

There were many other VERY cool pieces that each deserved individual inspection for the thought and artistry involved in each creation.

In addition, there is a theater in the museum in which you can sit and watch the artists in action as a narrator explains what the artists are doing. Great visit.

A teacher whom Ray had mentored had moved with her family to Washington last year. Ray has stayed in touch with her, and she and her husband met us for drinks and dinner. We had a wonderful time.

Then we headed for our hotel, where we offloaded our luggage and cleaned out the car for its return to the rental company. The hotel sent a shuttle to pick us up. Tomorrow we fly back to NH. We can't believe that 2 1/2 weeks have blown by so quickly!

August 8, 2011 North Cascades NP

Scoop's view

We set out to explore North Cascades National Park about mid-morning. The road from Marblemount to the Visitor Center followed the Skagit River up through a valley with farms. The Visitor Center was the start of a few trails, where We took one longer trail that took us down to the Skagit River, and another reputed to end at  Henry "Scoop" Jackson's favorite overlook of the Cascades. Jackson was the  former longtime senator from Washington state and  instrumental in getting North Cascades NP set aside. Unfortunately, the mountain tops were swathed in a large puffy cloud when we first arrived at trails end.
The longer trail took us down to the Skagit River that was still running fast as a result of last winter's superabundance of snow and passed through old growth forest. 

We left the center and headed further into the Park and traveled through Newhalem,a historic town now in the park, but there is not much to it now.  Beyond the town,the road starts winding and is hemmed in by very steep mountain sides.  The scenery was spectacular the way the snow-capped mountains appeared as the road twisted next to the river.  

As late as 1939 no one thought some of its mountain ranges (Pickett) could be crossed.  This is a complex (Stephen Mather Wilderness) encompassing the North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake and Lake Chelan National Recreation Areas and North Cascades National Forest. The steepness of the mountains and the amount of snow (one of the snowiest places on earth) is actually building glaciers.  (Less snow melts each year than actually falls.)

Lovely view despoiled by power lines

Our next stop was at the Diablo and Ross Lake Dams. In the 20s and 30s, these dams and electric generating stations were built to supply power to Seattle. We were struck, as we toured this area of the park, how the high tension power line towers really deface the beauty of the mountains. And we were reminded of the fight now going on in NH where Hydro Quebec, National Grid, and PSNH, our state power company wants to erect towers in a line that will slice through NH's beautiful north country through the White Mountains. Looking at this, we hope that never happens.

Further along, we stopped at the dramatic Diablo and Washington Pass Overlooks. Diablo overlook boasted winds of at least 40 mph. We were told that this is standard for this particular spot because the mountains are so high and close together. Washington Pass was something of a surprise, and we almost didn't stop there, because of a sign we saw that indicated that the area was closed. We stopped anyway, and, in spite of a lack of any signs showing where to walk, we found a trail that led to an outlook with close to 360 degree panoramas of some fantastic mountain and valley scenes.

View from Gorge Creek Bridge

Near this pass, we walked the 2-mile Rainy Lake Trail which passed some scenic waterfalls on the way.  Rainy Lake sits in a glacial cirque, rimmed with mountains, and accented with waterfalls. It reminded us of Avalanche Lake at Glacier National Park, green water and all.

By now, we had traversed the majority of the northern park road and the hour was getting late, so we decided to turn back. On our return, we stopped at the Gorge Creek Bridge, which crosses a narrow gorge filled with rushing water from a dramatic waterfall.  As the metal pedestrian bridge was very high over the gorge, Ray declined to walk out to the middle.

From there we headed back to the Visitor Center, even though it was closed, to see if we could get a picture of "Scoop's" Picket Range without the obscuring cloud in front of it that was there this morning.  It was mostly clear and after snapping a few pictures we headed back to our motel. 

There, we found a note stuck in our door. Apparently, we had left our room key on the bed. The owner of the motel, after coming in to wash our dishes, and freshen up towels, left the room unlocked for us, so we could get in at whatever time we returned. She mentioned in the note that the power had been out for 8 hours because of a tree that had fallen on the main electric line by the road to the west. She had kept an eye on our room during the day. Nice place, nice people.

August 7, 2011 Back to Washington

After a good night's sleep, we rose, got breakfast and coffee, and headed out to catch the noon ferry out of Sidney, B.C. Instructions told us to be there by 10:30 a.m., and we had no problem arriving at 10:23. As we waited in line to get on the ferry, and be checked by customs, I saw 2 little red-headed birds, probably finches, nibbling on the seeds of a bush by a fence. They were so cute, I thought I'd snap a close-up picture. But my camera wouldn't turn on. Uh-oh. Why won't the camera work? Uh-oh. I left the camera battery in the charger in the motel we just checked out of. I bolted to the officer checking cars in to ask if we would be in time for check in, if we returned within a half hour to check in. Since we had a reservation for the ferry it was no problem. We left our place in line, U-turned and high-tailed it back to the motel to retrieve the battery and charger, and were back in line within 15 minutes.

It would be appropriate here to note a few oddities about British Columbia. Their road signage is awful. Coming into a rotary, there were no printed road signs, just painted arrows on the pavement depicting 3 arrows going in different directions. Which way goes where? Guess. we also noted that the people who live in B.C., unlike those in most parts of the US, drive EXACTLY the speed limit or less. All I can say, is that my brother, Steve, would NEVER cut it here.

The ferry itself got off 1/2 hour late, and was pleasant. We passed the San Juan Islands,and arrived in Anacortes, WA at about 2:30. By the time we made it through US customs, it was 3:10.

We set off east to Marblemount, the site of our next accommodations, the Totem Trail Motel. On the way out of Anacortes, we noted that this would be a lovely spot to own property--so much of the area is surrounded by water. But first we stopped in Burlington, WA to pick up some groceries. Marblemount is not what you'd call a hub of urban activity, aka restaurants and services. As a matter of fact, The totem Trail Motel does not have internet access. Verizon is the only carrier that has mobile service here, and there is 3G here as well.

What a nice surprise the Totem Trail motel is. The room we reserved has a king and a queen bed. There were fresh flowers in the room, and clean wine glasses, dishes and cups and a microwave. The room itself had just been renovated a few months ago, with new bathroom fixtures, a new mattress, box spring and pillows, furniture and lighting. When we reserved, we were told that the only room they had available for 2 nights was their largest (with a queen and  also a king bed), but that they would give us the rate for a single queen. when we checked in, the owner told us that we should just leave dirty dishes in the dishpan, and that she would clean the dishes, and replace them when she cleaned the room in the morning. Everything here is neat as a pin. We got a kick out of the notice in the office when we checked in. They have a "Wall of shame", noting patrons who had stayed there, and had not heeded the "No smoking" clause of the motel's requirements. The owners subsequently charged those people an extra $100.00 for cleaning. When we checked in, another couple rolled in behind us. They had the room next to ours (Did I mention that there are only 8 rooms in this motel?). They mentioned that they had left Knoxville, TN this morning, flew into Seattle, and arrived here this afternoon. We chatted with them for a bit, then sat outside our room, and enjoyed a glass of wine (maybe 1 1/2), had dinner, and just relaxed for the evening.

To Canada 8/7/2011

Unlike all the other days we have been traveling, we hauled ourselves out of bed at 6 a.m. so that we could make the early ferry from Port Angeles, WA to Victoria, BC. Everything went fine, and we debarked from the ferry at 9:30 a.m., a 1 1/2 hour ride. We read during the trip, as the morning was foggy, and there wasn't much to see.

The capitol

When we arrived in Victoria, our first order of business was to find somewhere to park. We were lucky enough to find free on-street parking close to the center of the city, and Ray used his legendary parallel parking skills to snag the space for us (he really is a pro). We headed for the provincial capitol building, a huge building facing the harbor, and diagonally across the street from the Empress Hotel, a 477 room luxury hotel. As we approached the front of the capital, we were asked if we'd like tickets for the next morning tour. We accepted and a few minutes later, we were brought into the capitol building where a guide explained British Columbia's government, and some of the more interesting historical and architectural features of the building. As part of her explanation of the room where the parliament sits, she introduced "Queen Victoria", a actress portraying the queen. Her performance really added to the tour, as she joined us at two other parts of the tour.

Ray on the Pallada

The Pallada--Russian tall ship

After our tour of the parliament building, we headed over to check out the Empress, one of the oldest and most famous hotels in Victoria. While lounging in the upstairs lobby, we perused the local newspaper, to find that the tall sailing ship we had seen in the harbor when we arrived was open to the public for free tours. That was our next stop. After waiting in line for about a half hour, we were allowed to board the ship, a Russian ship for training sailors. It also promotes the contributions Russians made through their cosmonaut program, and to the exploration of and settlement in North America. The Russian sailors looked so young--a reminder of how so many of the soldiers and sailors around the world are really kids.

By this time, we thought that we'd head to our lodging for the night in Saanich, a town about 20 miles north of Victoria, and about 10 minutes from Butchart Gardens, our final stop for the day. We checked in, had a bite to eat, and then set out for the Gardens.

One of the perfectly designed and manicured beds at Butchart

We judge most gardens we have visited by comparison to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, a gorgeous oasis. Butchart Gardens is the absolute equal of Longwood, and a  different kind of garden. Butchart is truly a classic garden, planted beds EVERYWHERE. We heard that they employed 600 gardeners during the summer. The expertise with which the garden was planned is startling. Each bed has been carefully designed to incorporate complementary colors, textures, sizes, shapes of flowering plants. Every walk is lined with a dazzling array of flowers. The begonias were amazing, the rose garden spectacular. This place is absolutely exquisite.

The Sutcliffes--Beatles tribute band at Butchart

Today the garden also had entertainment in the form of a Beatles tribute band that played on a bandstand fronted by banks of benches and lawn. The band was a treat--joking with the audience, and inviting participation. A bunch of kids were dancing near the stage. We laughed and sang along, and generally had a great time.

Fireworks

To cap the day, the Gardens were hosting a fireworks display in the evening. Their fireworks turned out to be a combination of low and high level pyrotechnics. Many of the effects were unique--we had never seen anything like them: fireworks that were fixed in place and that incorporated movement, shot off to accompanying music.

By the end of the day, we were pooped, having had a full and fabulous day. Tomorrow we head to a ferry that will take us out of British Columbia back to Washington via a different route.

Relax 8/6/2011

The theme of today: relax. We took a few short hikes along some beautiful trails, one of which took us to a lovely waterfall, and all of which feature old-growth trees. We spent a large amount of time sitting in adirondack chairs in front of the Crescent Lake Lodge, just chilling out. This was the view from the chairs:

The first trail we took was a little walk to Marymere Falls. The falls were picturesque, and we tried to imagine what they'd look like in the spring.

Along the way, the trail invited you to really look at the little things that made it special--the way the sun filtered through the trees, the large (really large) mossy rocks, the impressive old growth giant trees, the smell of the forest, a small tree growing from atop the decaying stump of a giant. What could have easily taken 45 minutes probably took us 2 hours.

Not much else to report. We hung around the front of the lodge for quite a while, and then headed back to our cabin , but not before picking up a bottle of wine to enjoy on our return.

Here's a photo of our typical lunch preparations in the morning before we set out to hike. Fancy digs, huh? Gourmet lunch, huh? It works for us...

Tomorrow we go north by ferry, across the Juan de Fuca Strait to Victoria, B.C. where we will visit Butchart Gardens.