Subtitle: Next was our trip south back into the US and down through
all of Washington state on our way to Portland, Oregon. We took a
more scenic route than the straight I-5 route, and stopped a few times
for pictures, before stopping in Olympia, Washington for the night.
We then spent the morning exploring the town then continued onward.
Monday, August 15 - Tuesday, August 16, 2016.
Other pages from the Pacific Northwest trip:
003-DSC_9290-header: On the Road (and Water) to Olympia
003-DSC_9290-headertext: We drove into the US from Vancouver, then
south in I-5, then headed west on Route 20 to Fidalgo Island, then
continued onto Whidbey Island. There we took a a freery from Fort Casey
to Port Townsend back on the Washington mainland. We picked up
Route 101 and headed south (north just loops back near Olympia).
We stopped along the water on 101, near Potlatch State Park
before heading into Olympia for the night.
003-DSC_9290: Oh look, an F/A-18 jet is landing somewhere nearby.
004-DSC_9291: Hey, another F/A-18. Maybe there's a Naval Air Station nearby.
005-DSC_9292: Yup. Oak Harbor and NAS Whidbey Island
006-DSC_9293: Getting near Fort Casey, where the ferry is.
007-DSC_9294: Mowgli on the ferry. This one is way smaller than the one we
took to Vancouver Island.
008-DSC_9295: Leaving the port.
009-DSC_9296: Mowgli stand on the bow of the ferry.
010-DSC_9297: The wake as the ferry departed from the port.
011-DSC_9298: Leaving the area.
012-DSC_9299: I took a picture of the wheelhouse (or the bridge).
013-DSC_9300: Crossing the ... channel, bay, inlet, er, body of water.
014-DSC_9301: It might be the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
015-DSC_9302: On the ferry.
016-DSC_9303: Just clouds above the mountains, not snow-capped.
017-DSC_9304:
018-DSC_9305:
019-DSC_9306: People standing where I was when I took
this picture.
020-DSC_9307: Approaching the ferry terminal.
021-DSC_9308-header: Mt. Walker Viewpoint
021-DSC_9308-headertext: Heading south on 101, we saw a sign for a road that
goes up to the top of Mt. Walker that has a nice overlook of Puget Sound.
The road starts at 1100 feet and tops out at 2800 feet. A healthy climb.
We stopped at the north and south viewpoints.
021-DSC_9308: The north viewpoint of Mt. Walker.
022-DSC_9309: Frank at the north viewpoint of Mt. Walker.
022a-Mt_Walker_N_Panorama: A panoramic picture of the north viewpoint on
Mt. Walker. The map
here shows what mountain is what. On the bigger versions of the
picture, Mt. Baker is visible.
023-DSC_9318: A pretty, non-panoramic view from the north overlook.
024-DSC_9319: A map of the mountains visible from the north overlook.
025-DSC_9320: The woods are lovely, dark and deep. Well, green.
026-DSC_9321: Walking from the north viewpoint to the south viewpoint.
027-DSC_9322: Eventually we turned around and walked back to the car
and drove to the south viewpoing.
028-DSC_9323:
029-DSC_9324:
030-DSC_9325: A (blurry) map of the south viewpoing on Mt. Walker.
030a-Mt_Walker_S_Panorama: A panoramic picture of the south viewpoint.
Mt. Rainier is visible in the big picture on the skyline just above
the round, green mound. Big buildings, part of a downtown area,
are visible on the far left of the picture, on the far side of
the Hood Canal. I think it's Seattle.
031-DSC_9330-header: Southern Washington State
031-DSC_9330-headertext: Continuing to head south down the Olympic
Penninsula, we stopped by the Hamma Hamma River, which empties into
the Hood Canal, maybe an hour north of Olympia (I think it was near
the Potlatch State Park).
031-DSC_9330: Looking out onto the flat marshy planes of the Hood Canal.
032-DSC_9331: A series of two cool bridges on Highway 101.
033-DSC_9332: The Hamma Hamma River looking east.
034-DSC_9333: The Hamma Hamma River looking west.
035-DSC_9338: The shore of the Hood Canal.
036-DSC_9339:
037-DSC_9340: The posts in the water looked neat.
037a-piles_Panorama: A panoramic shot of Hood Canal.
038-DSC_9341-header: Olympia: The Capital of Washington
038-DSC_9341-headertext: Who knew that Olympia was the capital of
Washington state? Clearly, neither Mowgli nor I did. And given how
low-key the town is, it seems likely many more wouldn't know.
The give-away is that they have some impressive capitol and supreme
court buildings. We stopped and checked them out.
038-DSC_9341: The Washington State Capitol building.
039-DSC_9342: A very Washington-looking, triangular tree.
040-DSC_9343: A tivoli-replica fountain.
041-DSC_9344:
042-DSC_9345: Long shot of a war memorial.
043-DSC_9346: The capitol and war memorial.
044-DSC_9347:
045-DSC_9348:
045a-WA_capitol_Panorama: A slightly warped, panoramic picture of
the Washington State Capitol building.
046-DSC_9352: Impressive doors in the Capitol building.
047-DSC_9353:
048-DSC_9354: More impressive doors.
049-DSC_9355:
050-DSC_9367: A memorial for police, overlooking the water.
050a-olympia_Panorama: Panoramic shot of the Captiol Lake and the
Budd Inlet from the Capitol area. On the right side of the Lake
is the crane
shot.
051-DSC_9368: The Temple of Justice in Washington State.
052-DSC_9369: The Temple of Justice in Washington State.
052a-court1_Panorama: The Temple of Justice
(the Superfriends' backup meeting location).
053-DSC_9370: Nice knocker! (On the door of the Temple of Justice.)
054-DSC_9371: The doors have scenes representing historical development
of Washington State.
055-DSC_9372:
056-DSC_9373: A waterfall and trees, representative of Washington State.
057-DSC_9374: Inside the Washington State Capitol.
058-DSC_9375: A window in the Washington State Capitol.
059-DSC_9376: A light in the ceiling in the Capitol.
060-DSC_9377: The ceiling in the Capitol.
061-DSC_9378: The upper gallery.
062-DSC_9381: The House Chamber in the Washington State Capitol.
063-DSC_9382: The Senate Chamber in the Washington State Capitol.
064-DSC_9383: Inside the Temple of Justice (Washington State Supreme Court).
064a-court_Panorama: Panoramic shot of the Supreme Court chamber.
065-DSC_9387: Old school bookshelves.
066-DSC_9388: Books! Books of LAW!
067-DSC_9391: Rows of books on the 2nd floor of the law library. In
the distance the window looks out onto the water.
068-DSC_9392: The Scale of Justice! I like this picture. It was sitting
on top of a bookshelf in the law library.
069-DSC_9393-header: Downtown Olympia
069-DSC_9393-headertext: After wandering around the capital area, we
went to the water, the penninsula that opens into Budd Inlet. It has
pretty impressive tidal swings. Actually, we only saw it at low tide,
so I assume the tide actually comes in and fills the bay.
069-DSC_9393: Docks at the inlet at low tide.
070-DSC_9394: Notice how high up the barnacles are on the pilings by the dock.
Very low tide.
071-DSC_9395: Looking south towards the Capitol.
072-DSC_9396: Another view looking south, showing how low the water level is.
073-DSC_9397: Looking north along the boardwalk (with a scuplture on the
right).
074-DSC_9398: Art! Open Sea by Brandon Zebold.
075-DSC_9399: Information about the scuplture (with QR code).
076-DSC_9400: A row of boats at the dock (and someone smoking a very
small cigarette).
077-DSC_9401: It's still
true:
"Arr, why buy a house, when ye can buy a houseboat?"
(The Simpsons).
078-DSC_9402: The far shore makes it clear it's low tide.
079-DSC_9403: Boats at the marina.
080-DSC_9404: Looking south past the marina, to the Capitol.
080a-crane_Panorama: A really big crane!
081-DSC_9405: Another view of the crane.
082-DSC_9406: Looking down at the dock at low tide.
083-DSC_9407: One last shot of the inlet.
084-DSC_9410: Olympia has a nice Farmer's Market...I think. It was closed
and empty.
085-DSC_9416: At the base of the inlet at low tide.
086-DSC_9417: More low tide.
086a-low_tide_Panorama: A panoramic shot of the inlet at low tide.
Normally this is a mini-bay filled with water!
087-DSC_9418-header: Maybe Vader Someday Later
087-DSC_9418-headertext: A few fun pictures passing by the exits for Vadar.
Perhaps he was off-planet hunting down Jedi.
087-DSC_9418: Vader Rd. Maybe this is Darth County. Actually, the
town is called Vader too.
088-DSC_9419: I find your lack of belief in the exit...disturbing.
089-DSC_9420: A bridge over the Cowlitz River. I think I found the name to be
funny.
090-DSC_9421: Just a fancy, old-school drawbridge we were about to cross.