| While I went hiking up a trail to the top of a small mountain I found this chipmunk on the top left. The volcano on the right is the famous Mt. St. Helens which has seen some recent activity. It became famous when it erupted in 1980 and killed dozens of people and destroyed lots of property. The explosion was so powerful that the volcano instantly lost about 1300 feet, or 400 meters in altitude. |
| These pictures above are of a forest that was destroyed when Mt. St. Helens had its last major eruption. You can see that the forest has mostly recovered on the lower left with moss and grass is now growing into the lava. Sometimes the lava would flow around a tree and then harden. Later the tree dies and rots away, all is left is a well like hole seen in this picture to the right. Things like this are pretty common in this forest, and they even have a small section that allows you to climb into a hole and crawl through small lava tunnels underground and then exit out of another hole. The lower right photos shows a large hole in the ground known as the ape cave. |
| Washington |
| Washington state is the most north western state in the continental US. It is most similar to Oregon because both states have temperate rainforests, a Pacific coastline, deserts, and large mountains in the cascades range. I have taken two trips to Washington state, the first was in the summer where I briefly visited the southern areas of the state. A few years later I returned for a mountaineering class in the winter, and also had time to explore Seattle and a few other places in the north west part of the state. |
| If you don't want to go camping in subzero temperatures in the cascades and prefer warmer weather like me then visit Washington in the summer. Many argue the state has the best 3 months of summer than any other place in the world. The rain isn't as common and temperatures never get high, rarely going outside of 70F. The top two photos here were taken along the Columbia river gorge. On the upper left you can see thick wooded mountains, on the right is the Columbia river itself. The gorge is actually the border between Washington state and Oregon, so on the right side of the picture is actually Oregon. This photo was taken after I hiked up some trails to a nice scenic point. On the left are the evergreen trees that make up most of Washington's forests. |
| Washington Links |
| Post a question or comment about traveling in Washington. |
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| Starting off like all my other states, the state capitol building! Washington's capital is called Olympia, and has a large complex of all the state government buildings. The main capitol building is on the left, with a government insurance building above. Other buildings in the area include the temple of justice and the historic governors mansion. |
| Like the rest of the western part of the state, there are thick vines and foliage that cover a lot of the trees and some buildings and stay green even in the winter in Olympia. The capital is a small city with a population of less than 50,000. The photos show some small stores, large homes along the water, and a family strolling along the main strip. |
| Olympia is far from the Pacific Ocean, but beginning at the Budd inlet, there are several other passages and sounds that will take you north and eventually out west to the ocean. Olympia has a large port with many people taking advantage by sailing and fishing. Above is a dock and several yachts tied up in the capital. Below shows how clear the water is; I was able to see lots of fish from the dock. |
| Visible from most parts of the state is Mt. Rainier. This stratovolcano rises to 14,411 feet and is the highest mountain in the continental US. The surrounding area is part of the Mt. Rainier national park, where it protects the forest and unique fauna that live on the mountain. I have not yet had time to explore Mt. Rainier national park or climb the mountain itself, both of which are on my list of things to do in Washington. |
| Washington has been big in the logging industry ever since the first populations reached out west. Today, the state continues to be one of the biggest suppliers of lumber. While visiting Olympia, I saw several logging trucks passing by through the city throughout the day. The lumber later eventually reached an area by the port, to be shipped out. |
| The largest city in Washington state and also the northwest region is Seattle. This city of 600,000 is known for its rainy weather which seemed to be true when I visited. I spent several days in Seattle and was lucky to get one day of clear skies, but the rest were filled with rainstorms and overcast. Seattle is one of my favorite cities in the US. It has a distinct local culture that separates itself from places like the east coast, California and the south. Above are photos of the famous city icon the Space Needle, and the city downtown area was well. |
| One thing I didn't like about Seattle is the city seems to be in constant traffic in the downtown area. I experienced this both in the middle of a weekday as well as on a Saturday night. On the left is a photo of a traffic jam on interstate 5, on the right is one of Seattle's large skyscrapers on Seneca street. |
| The city has a good monorail running which makes it easy for both the people who work there and travelers like myself to get around. The monorail station on the left was near the Space Needle and this station in particular looked like something from an amusement park. Normally I drove myself through Seattle but sometimes I did walk and pass through some alleys. I went through the alley seen below and found a dead rat right in the middle of the day. |
| I don't know what these people did, but a large group of people who seemed to be homeless and were loitering around in a park were approached by the police and several of them were arrested. I didn't ask any of the police about what happened, but I thought I heard one of them mention possession so most likely they had drugs on them. |
| Outside of the nasty alleys, one of the best places to visit in Seattle, especially if you like seafood, is the waterfront. There are several nice restaurants and places to shop here that are built onto docks that extend into the sea. There are even some short one hour cruises available here that give tours of Seattle by boat. |
| After the rain, the next most known thing about Seattle is its coffee shops. These chains above are seen all around the United States, and Starbucks is now found around the world, but both began in Seattle. I'm not a coffee drinker, but had to make an exception in Seattle. |
| Those people who were arrested were in Pioneer Square which is in the southern part of the city. Pioneer square was once the heart of Seattle but was completely destroyed in a 19th century fire. Today it has been completely rebuilt and decorated with unique shops, restaurants and even totem poles. |
| The fire that essentially completely destroyed Pioneer Square as well as Seattle itself played a large role in the city's current design. Originally Seattle suffered from many sewage problems because it was built low on the swamps. The problems were so severe that some people even drowned in the streets! After the fire destroyed the city, it was decided to rebuild the city on a higher level; a plan that would take 10 years. Since business owners were impatient, they immediately rebuilt their shops and buildings which eventually were built over by the city. |
| The buildings that were built over eventually became known as the underground. At first the shops continued to run but eventually they were closed out by the city because of unsanitary conditions that lead to outbreaks of disease. When that happened, the underground became involved in illegal drinking, gambling and prostitution. Today the area is perserved and is open to exploration by tourists. Above are two photos I took underground, what was once a street and windows opening to fresh air. The lower left is a photo of a photo I took of what one of the buildings used to look like until it was buried up to the second floor. Some shops still operate businesses here, and the window was in an underground alley that opens up into an antique store. I have no idea what the thing on the lower right used to be. |
| North of Seattle is the city of Bellingham. I thought this was a small town but it is actually larger than the capital with a population of 75,000. Bellingham's most interesting place is its historic Fairhaven district. |
| Fairhaven was orginally a separate city from Bellingham, and was a port and commercial district. Eventually Bellingham grew enough to consume Fairhaven, so they are pretty much the same place now. It's a good place in the area to get ice cream in the summer or have a beer in one of the small bars in the evening. Going to the bar for a drink was actually the first thing I did after a long outdoor trip I did. Also in Bellingham is port for the ferry to Alaska! |
| Just an hour east of Bellingham are the cascades, a large range of volcanos and snowy mountains that have some of the best skiing in the country. The snow here is very deep, so skiing can last late into the spring. |
| Mt. Baker forest which is in the northern part of the cascades has some of the most amazing scenery I have ever seen. Most areas are easily topped with over 10 feet of snow! As a matter of fact, this region has the world record for most snowfall ever received in a year. |
| I found it amazing that plants can survive in the extreme cold and deep snow in Mt. Baker forest. I'm curious to as what this place looks like in the summer when most of the snow has melted away. On the upper left is a small tree that is found in the deep snow, on the right is some thick moss that has learned to live at 5,000 feet in the cascades. |
| On the left is Mt. Baker itself at 10,778, the 4th highest mountain in the state. The photo on the right shows some of the deep snow that blankets the surrounding mountains, you can also notice trail marks from cross country skiers. |
| One of the most amazing mountains I have ever seen, Mt. Shuksan. The mountain is only 9,127 feet tall, but because of it's large rise and dramatic glaciers it looks like it could be a 20,000 foot peak in the Himalayas. I could stare at this mountain all day, and it's no surprise it's one of the most photographed mountains in the world. Above is a photo taken in the middle of the day, and another as the sun began to set. I am trying to raise funds for an expedition, you can help me out by purchasing the above photo as a small gift card to a large framed version. |
| My main reason for visiting the cascades was for a mountain climbing course that lasted a full week. The course was an excellent way to experience the cascades as well as learn several climbing skills. This course was focused on Denali, so we had to carry large packs and drag heavy sleds from camp to camp. Below is one of the tents dug in the snow with an ice wall built around it to protect from high winds. On the lower right is our cook tent in one of the first camps we set up. With my luck, we had record breaking cold temperatures for the month of March in the cascades. Temperatures dropped below 0F and it was absolutely miserable! I can't imagine what -40F will be like on Denali, but I feel more prepared now. |
| Though I didn't make it to Mt. Rainier national park, I did get to some of the close rainforests just outside its boundaries. Washington state has some of the world's rare temperate rainforests throughout its coastal region. The best place to view them is in Olympia National park, a place I really want to visit but didn't have time. These photos above show some of the mossy trees and fern filled rainforests. Also note that these photos were taken in the winter, so even though there are some changes from winter to summer, the plants remain green all year around. |
| While southeastern America has hurricane evacuation routes, you'll find volcano evacuation routes in Washington state. The last major eruption took place in the 80s, but there are still several volcanoes that pose a potential threat. On the left is another threat of forest fire, a large branch fell onto a powerline and started a fire while I was driving. |
| Right outside of Seattle is another large city Tacoma. I didn't do too much here, but the main attractions in Tacoma seemed to be their museums, mostly the museum of glass which I did visit. Inside I wasn't allowed to take photos of any of the craftswork that was created out of glass, but I was able to show some of the vases and glasses that were being created and others that were finished and being sold in their shop. |
| At the base of Mt. Rainier are some rail cars that have been turned into restaurants and lodges. Not sure what the history was behind if there even was any, but looked cool enough so I took some photos. |
| While driving around Washington I stumbled across the Northwest Trek, a wildlife park that has most of the wildlife found in the state. The wildlife park also has nature trails, a tram, and some interactive research centers. Unfortunately I got kicked out because a large rainstorm came in that knocked down a tree in the middle of the park so I wasn't able to see everything. I missed the tram which takes you by moose, elk, goats and other large animals. On the left is one of the trails going through wildlife viewing area, but it is not the nature trails which I believe pass by some lakes and other scenery. Below are some birds native to Washington; a golden eagle on the left and an owl on the lower right. |
| On the left is the common red fox which lives across most of North America, I even have seen a red fox in my neighborhood in Virginia. The lynx on the right is much more rare and lives in colder northern climates. |
| Some of the more dangerous animals that still live in Washington, the gray wolf and the grizzly bear. Both of the animal's habitats are reduced to rural parts of the states so they aren't often encountered. The gray wolf lives only in the northern extreme of Washington, while the grizzly bear is found throughout the state and as far south as California. |
Molly from Washington: Beautiful photographs. Did you go to more of the Yakima area at all?
