Fun with Family In and Around Seattle

As most of you know, George comes from a large southern family where cousins abound. Adalaya is always amazed when we go to Darlington and some passerby introduces themselves as her cousin. Little did she know how far reaching her relatives could be. For two nights we stayed with cousins Bill and Jan Edwards in their beautiful home in Lakewood, WA. George had a great time tracing the family tree and swapping stories of the homeland with Bill.

Jan and Bill took us out to a great pizza place where we were joined by more cousins - their daughter Meg, husband Everett, and fireball of a daughter, Allison. Adalaya and Allison had lots of fun molding pizza dough and coloring while waiting for dinner. They hated to say goodbye when it was all over.

The next day cousin Bill put on his tourguide hat and took us into the big city of Seattle. We were very thankful to be chauffeured around by someone who knows where to go. We were able to sit back and enjoy the sights. He took us to Pike Place Market, a hot spot of Seattle that several people had recommended. It was a feast for all senses! I loved it! It's the kind of place that makes me want to live in a city. Here's a few of the sights.

The big piggy bank.

The freshest of fish.

Nearly every kind of herb and tea, but not nettles.

These guys had the nettles, among a few other things.

Name a fruit or vegetable and they've got it.

Flowers galore . . .

The cheese counter - George's favorite

More seafood - check out the size of those lobster tails!

Everything here was dangerously delicious, and we indulged. Needless to say, we also brought home many treats which we sampled before feasting on a delicious salmon dinner that Jan had prepared. Thank you so much, cousins, for your gracious hospitality! We hope to return someday soon!

Now we're on the road once again with all of our Pike Place goodies to keep us smiling.

Olympic National Park

I have to rate Olympic National Park as one of my favorite parks that we've visited so far. It is designated as a "wilderness park" which means that no more buildings or roads can be built in the park, while only the current infrastructure can be maintained. I think that's pretty cool. In fact, starting next year they are going to start removing two of the dams in the park, freeing up over 70 miles of trout spawning rivers. This seems pretty major after going to so many national parks that just seem like playgrounds for people (ex: Yellowstone) or areas preserved for the exploitation of resources (ex: the many dams in North Cascades National Park harness much of the electricity that is shuttled to Seattle by massive power lines that criss-cross the otherwise scenic valleys). This wilderness park protects the vast majority of the Olympic Peninsula and encompasses a huge range of ecosystems.

Our first day in the park one of the clearest they had seen in days, and we were able to glimpse some amazing views from Hurricane Ridge. Here's Adalaya with the Olympic Mountains in the background. Unfortunately, the highest peak of the range, Mt. Olympus, was still elusive amidst the clouds, but it is located behind (and above) these jagged peaks. You'll have to use your imagination like we did.

This was a nice view across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Van Couver Island and Victoria, whence we had just come.

We also saw this cute fawn and doe black-tailed deer.

And many grouse.

Adalaya made her first fire all by herself that evening. A roaring success!

Next we visited the western slope of the Olympics, which receives an average of 12 FEET of rainfall each year because of its location between the Pacific Ocean and the Olympic Mountains. The Hoh Rain Forest is like nothing I've ever seen before. Extremely mossy and green. Amazingly beautiful!

Huge trees too! Here's a Douglas Fir that gives a whole new perspective on our little NC Christmas trees.

And huge banana slugs! This one's 4-5 inches long. They come in all kinds of colors and patterns.

Everything that doesn't move gets covered around here.

Because of its unique location and profuse moss cover, this rain forest is home to quietest spot in the lower 48 states. Free of human generated noise, that is. At the outset of our trip, George read One Square Inch about the author's quest to find "one square inch" of natural silence. The only place he was able to find natural silence for at least 15 minutes was in the Hoh Rain Forest. We entered through the "portal of silence" and found the red stone that commemorates the spot, and we sat silently and enjoyed the natural quiet.


On the 3 mile journey back we walked without talking, separated from each other enough to be just out of sight so we could continue to enjoy the peaceful quiet.

The final ecosystem left to explore in the park was the coast. Here is our first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean.

It's official, we've traveled from sea to shining sea!

And look at the treasures we found. . .

Visiting Victoria, BC

Many people that we've met along the way have recommended visiting Victoria, British Columbia. So, on Labor Day morning we took a ferry through the San Juan Islands to Van Couver Island. The day was cloudy and rainy once again, but the view from the ferry was nevertheless beautiful.

Sure enough, Victoria is an amazing city, just like everyone said. Even though it was rainy while we were there, we found lots of great things to do. We've decided that it's much nicer to be in a city on a rainy day than in the wilderness. Victoria is very culturally diverse city, and we found lots to do there. George favored the various fish markets where he brought back smoked salmon and other fishy delights.

Adalaya and I hit Chinatown where she found some of her favorite seaweed snacks. There she is in the bottom left-hand corner of the photo with the rainbow umbrella.

I love the native art of this area and the totem poles, and the Royal BC Museum has an entire floor devoted to the "First People".

Lots of totem poles outside too.


Even the Parliament Building has a huge totem pole on the lawn.

To round out our multi-cultural experience in Victoria, Adalaya and I splurged and went to the Empress Hotel for high tea. Adalaya requested the Princess Tea which included all sorts of treats fit for a princess, including Pringles. Too fun!


All this in only 2 days on the island. We were fortunate to stay with the Victoria faction of the Wilson Clan whom we had previously met in Victoria Beach, Manitoba while visiting Samarie and David. Coincidentally, Hayden and his girlfriend, Amy, were also visiting. It was great to see a familiar face from Celo. We even got to meet "Grandma Fern".

We left the island at dusk on the ferry to Port Angeles, Washington after an amazing couple of days. This was our parting view: Parliament alight.

Major Milestone: West Coast Washington

After three months, 7,800 miles, and countless black beans, we've made it to Washington State! What an amazingly diverse place! We drove through the north eastern part of the state which is relatively dry with sagebrush and ponderosa pines dominating the hillsides. But the rivers run bold here, and with irrigation this otherwise barren landscape becomes a verdant, fruitful land. The Washington apples are hanging heavy and ripe on the apple trees - quite a contrast from their dry mountainous surroundings.

Two friends had mentioned that we should stop in the town of Twisp, WA, so we spent the night in the cute town and found a free camping spot with hookups beside the library - score! In the morning we walked to Cinnamon Twisp Bakery for a delicious breakfast. This place was so cute and had such tasty food that I had a tourist moment and had to buy a T-shirt.

Once our bellies were full, we headed up to Heart's Pass for a scenic hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. Much to our dismay, there was a cold front moving in and little balls of ice started spitting from the sky! We bundle up once again.

We saw many pika in the talus slopes on our hike. This one's a precocious little "boulder bunny".

It was another cold and rainy day as we drove through North Cascades National Park. All the high peaks were enshrouded in clouds. We were first-hand witnesses to the rain-shadow effect of the Cascade mountains which keeps the eastern part of the state dry, and creates a lush rain-forest on the coast. Although we did not see the peaks, the misty drive was still magical.

Because of the high elevations and bountiful moisture, North Cascades National Park has over 300 glaciers, much more than Glacier National Park. I had the need to witness the glaciers here, so I put up a fight to stay in the mountains one more day before hitting the coast. Luckily it paid off, and the clouds lifted the next day. We headed up to Cascade Pass for a hike with gorgeous views of glaciers and jagged peaks. Here's the U-shaped glacial valley with pika filled talus slopes that we hiked up.

We were on the western side of the Cascade Range, and the flora changed dramatically from the semi-arid landscapes we have been traveling through for the past month or so. There were ferns, moss, and waterfalls everywhere. It really softens the rugged, dramatic landscape. Soothing to the soul as well!

Here's my mountain goat at Cascade Pass.


On September 2 we hit the west coast - only a day later than originally planned! Pretty amazing! We spent Labor Day Weekend with the Witherspoons on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound. It was such a treat to spend time with friends, visit the beach, and be able to walk to a cute town that has everything you could need or want. Here's the view of the Langley Marina with islands and the Cascades in the background. Such an amazing place!

Adalaya had a great time playing with Bella. She was really needing some girl time with her long-time friend. Bella also has 2 gerbils which was a big plus for my rodent-loving girl!

Eric took us to South Whidbey State Park which has old growth forests and a beautiful beach. Here's a cool specimen of bull kelp that Eric showed us how to cut into a horn. George is demonstrating his musical abilities.

Then we played a fun game of beach stone golf.

We ate like royalty at the Witherspoons' - homemade Belgium waffles, fresh local peaches and apples, fresh salmon, sushi, and BBQ ribs. Plus a night on the town for pizza and a movie - both of which we walked to from their house. Such a great visit! Thank you Amanda, Eric, Bella and Theo for all the good food and good fun! We miss you already!