After our time at Glacier National Park we headed west to Washington state. Neither of us had ever spent any time in the Northwest, so we were looking forward to seeing this area of the country. Along the way we made a short stop in Issaquah, just east of the Seattle area, to see the 270 foot waterfall called Snoqualmie Falls. After stopping at the upper viewpoint, we followed a fairly steep pathway down to the river and the base of the falls. Interesting signs on the path tell you about the native wildlife and the engineering feats of harnessing the water for the area’s electric power.
We spent a week at Mount Vernon RV Park north of Seattle and met great new RV friends, Sherman and Linda. They were in the area to do some crabbing and invited us to go along and experience what it was like. Even though we had to get up at 3:30 am, we had fun going out in their boat and learning all about the crabbing process. We especially enjoyed eating our catch of fresh Dungeness crab after returning to our campsite …for breakfast!
Seattle:
While we were in Washington, we wanted to see some of the famous landmarks in Seattle. The city trolley tours were not operating due to Covid-19, so we just picked a few of the top sights to visit. The iconic Space Needle was our first stop. One of the most recognizable landmarks, it was built for the 1962 World’s Fair as a symbol of our country’s space aspirations.
It was fun to ride to the top of the Space Needle and enjoy the 360-degree indoor and outdoor panoramic views of downtown, Mount Rainier, and the Puget Sound area. The 605-foot-tall tower has a glass-walled observation deck at the top where you can take pictures and walk around on the open upper level. Just under the observation deck, The Loupe is the world’s first and only rotating glass floor where you can look down underneath your feet to the ground far below.
The Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum is conveniently located right next to the Space Needle. In fact, we saved a few dollars with a combination ticket for entrance to both attractions. Artist Dale Chihuly has created 8 galleries that showcase his amazing glass creations. The Glasshouse is a 40 foot tall centerpiece of the museum, with a 100 foot long suspended sculpture of red, orange, and yellow glass flowers. The museum also contains an outside garden exhibition and a theater with short videos on Mr. Chihuly and his glass creation process.
The Pike Place Market sits along Elliot Bay on the Puget Sound shoreline and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmer’s markets in the US. The place is several blocks long and contains multiple levels of shops, stands, and restaurants. We enjoyed seeing the dazzling array of fresh produce, flowers, seafood, and crafts.
Sherman and Linda told us not to miss a chance to eat at the Piroshky Piroshky Bakery at the Pike Place Market. The bakery was started by Russian immigrants and serves traditional hand-held pies called piroshkies. The pies are filled with all kinds of fillings from savory to sweet. The bakery is very popular with long lines of patrons eagerly awaiting the day’s freshly baked goods. Definitely yummy!
We also had to take a peek at the Gum Wall while we were at the market area. The 8 foot high and 54 foot wide wall is on the side of a building that was originally the home of an improv theater company. The story goes that one day a patron waiting in line for the theater stuck his gum on the wall and then put a penny on top. Others followed suit until someone eventually took the money but left the gum. The idea apparently “stuck” because now there are estimated to be over 250,000 wads of gum on the wall!
Our last stop in Seattle was to Ballard Locks. The nation’s busiest locks are over 100 years old and were built as a commercial navigation route to help develop the city of Seattle. The locks help boats as large as 760 feet long or as small as a kayak drop the 26 feet to get from Lake Union and Lake Washington to Puget Sound. We also enjoyed seeing the fish ladder where salmon and steelhead can head upstream to spawn.
North Cascades National Park:
North Cascades National Park is one of the least visited parks in the national park system. It is well off the beaten path in far northern Washington (almost in Canada!), so you really have to make an effort to get there. It took us 1.5 hours to drive from our campground in Mount Vernon just to get to the visitor center, which is only open two days a week. From there it was another hour into the park on Highway 20, the only paved road in the park. You definitely feel like you are out in the wilderness.
The park itself is a little unusual in its layout. North Cascades National Park is divided into a north and south section with Ross Lake National Recreation Area positioned in between them. Interestingly, most of the popular sightseeing spots that are easily accessed are not in the actual national park area but can be found along Highway 20 in the Ross Lake area.
Nicknamed the American Alps, North Cascades has some of the steepest mountain ranges in the US. Huge glaciers created these steep peaks that have names like Mount Terror, Poltergeist Pinnacle, and Desolation Peak. Amazingly, this natural area has more than 300 glaciers and 300 lakes. Much of the north and south areas are pretty remote and you must drive dirt roads or backpack to access them. Even so, the mountain views driving along Highway 20 are stunning in this underrated park.
Day 1:
Due to the driving distance, we decided to spend only 2 days in the park. On the first day we stopped at the visitor center to get the lay of the land and then drove Highway 20 to several of the most popular spots.
The one I was most looking forward to seeing was Diablo Lake. The breathtaking milky turquoise color of the lake comes from the melting glaciers depositing a powdery silt called rock flour. We stopped at the overlook and then also hiked the easy 3.6 mile Thunder Knob Trail to get a view from above Diablo Lake and have a picnic lunch. Then it was time to make the long drive back to Mount Vernon.
Day 2:
On day 2, we had to drive over 2 hours back into and all the way across the park to reach the Maple Pass Loop trailhead. I had read that this was one of the most amazing hikes in the area, so we definitely wanted to do it. The hike is rated “challenging” and covers 7.5 miles with 2185 feet of elevation gain. The climbing started right away…
Once we got above the forest area, we came to flowering alpine meadows and our first view of Lake Ann below. I wondered if our trail was going up to that ridgeline way above the lake, but then thought… no that’s pretty far up there.
Turns out that we did hike all the way up to and along that ridgeline. We stopped for a rest thinking we had made it to the top of the trail. But no such luck… we still had to hike up that snow to the hill behind us.
Then we finally reached the top–yay! But the celebrating didn’t last too long as we looked over and discovered the crazy switchback-filled trail back down the other side! The funny thing is that the trail after the switchbacks was actually harder on our knees due to rocks, rough trail, and a steep decline.
The hike was hard work, but the views were amazing! Hiking poles are definitely helpful on this trail. Our two days in the park gave us just a small sampling of this beautiful mountain area. Staying so far outside of the park made it harder to see everything, but we still enjoyed our time in the American Alps.
Stay tuned for more of our time in Washington. We visited the other two national parks in the state: Olympic National Park and Mount Rainier National Park as well as catching up with old friends.
This post brought back some memories for me from Seattle! I remember my visit to the Space Needle and Pike Place Market too! Did you happen to visit the original Starbucks? That was really cool. So Mike looks like a professional crabber and wow those were some big crabs. I bet they were tasty. The views of all those mountains and Diablo Lake are truly spectacular. Another great adventure captured fabulously, thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Sandi,
So cool that you were able to visit some of the iconic Seattle landmarks too. We saw the original Starbucks but since I am not a coffee drinker we opted for the Russian pastries instead! Do you still get to travel a lot with your job?