Deception Pass

Little buddy at my campsite

10/14/13

Housekeeping stuff: So, I am pretty far behind in my blog. As I write this today, I am at the Grand Canyon. I am at least 10 stops behind. I will try and post when I can, but I am more concentrated on the trip than the blog at the moment. I probably won't be caught up until Christmas time, but it will give you something to read in the Holiday craziness. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and didn't get trampled in the Black Friday madness!

Shortly after our trip to Wallace Falls, I decided I had better get back on the road. The national parks were still closed, but the state parks remained open. I went north to Deception Pass, with the idea that I would continue onto Vancouver.

It was a short drive up to the park, but I ran into problems almost immediately. First, the park required that you have a Discover Pass. This pass granted access to Washington state parks for an entire year for $30. Not a bad deal. However, they did not have a credit card machine and only had the self pay station open. Without the $30 in cash, I went to the ranger station to see if they could run my card. They couldn't, of course, but he knew where one of the self pay machines was. 10 minute trip and I had my pass in hand. Time to return to the park.

Second fumble, same story for the campsite: cash only. This time I had to find an atm. The corner store had an atm, but it was out of cash. Fear not, there was one 10 minutes up the road. Finally, I could enjoy the park...

The bridge over the pass. The park was quite calm.

I wandered around the park, taking a quick hike up to the bridge. The path took you along the beach. I remembered that I hadn't grabbed a walking stick since I set out on my journey, much to the dismay of my co-worker Mark. I decided to grab one and make my way back to the beach for sunset.

Watched the sunset while carving my new hiking stick and listening to a book. Really calming.

Not sure what caused the weird special rift in this picture. Happened in a few other shots for the park.

The next day I went further around the park. I climbed to the top of Goose Rock, then worked my way down along the coast. I stopped for about an hour to work on my walking stick; cleaning off the bark and creating a handhold. I was the only one on the trail, so it was quiet except for the birds and the wind.

On top of Goose Rock, the highest point in the park.

My trusty walking stick. Comes up to my shoulder. It has also been called my walking log/wizard staff.

The waters were calm and reflective.

The park didn't have many trials besides the ones I took, so I went to the north half of the park. There were a few more short hikes and scenic views, but not much. I ate a quick lunch while on a dock overlooking the islands.

Great view of the islands.

I felt like I had explored the area to it's fullest, and decided to head north. It was starting to get dark and I needed a place to sleep. I found Larrabee State Park on the map. It met all my requirements: state park and not national, open and not closed for the season, and relatively cheap. I arrived, set up camp, and just as I was about to start my fire I hear this loud horn. Turns out a train runs right by the park. So close that they warn campers on the edge closest to the tracks with a sign. The night was going to be fun.

I slept better than I thought, only waking up a few times that night to the train. It is a good thing I am a heavy sleeper. Overall, the campsite was nice if you could get past the train sounds. Running water, nice big camp sites, and warm showers (HUGE PLUS). I think I need to come back and give it another shot someday.

I didn't hike that day in the park. I decided it was going to be used for catching up on a few things, this blog included. I made my way to Bellingham and worked in a Starbucks the entire day. I was hoping that they would announce the national parks were going to re-open, so I could shoot over to Mt. Baker, but that didn't happen. At the end of the day, however, Max messaged me and convinced me to head back to Seattle. At this point, I didn't really feel like dealing with the border crossing or trying to find somewhere to stay for the night. So, return to Redmond I did.

Pictures of Deception Pass

Wallace Falls

One of the better overlooks.

Oct 12, 2013

On the weekend Max, Cait, Kali, and I went off for a hike at Wallace Falls. It was a very relaxed, uphill hike that took you weaving to different viewpoints of the falls. We were very lazy getting out of bed, and so we didn't really get moving until the afternoon. We stopped for subs and hopped in the car.

When you first enter the park, you can hear the hum of the power lines on a edge of the park. You walk under them for about a mile before you reach the wooded areas. Max and I discussed the lines and the voltages involved, while Cait and Kali ignored the ramblings of the nerds.

We took the Woody Trail all the way up to the Upper falls.

Micro-falls!

The river at the bottom of the falls.

Max and Cait :)

Kali is a braver soul than the rest of us.

At the Upper Falls, there was a map that said "If you can't pinpoint your location, do not proceed further". Beyond that point there were more unkempt trails, but it was very easy to get lost or turned around. This held especially true at night, which was rapidly approaching. We decided to head back for the night.

Long day.

We made it back to the car just before nightfall. We stopped at Tropea in Redmond as a reward for our hike, probably undoing all the hiking we did. I had an Italian beer (I couldn't pronounce it, let alone remember the name) with my Carbonara. They were huge plates, so everyone sampled a little of each dish. Everything was so good! We looked over the desert menu and decided we probably shouldn't. The waiter brought us out a piece of the Tiramisu on the house. It was amazing. If you are in Redmond, you have to try this place!

Wallace Falls Pictures

Seattle, Part 1

Digital Souvenir from the Space Needle

I made it into Redmond around 6pm and met up with Max. We stopped for food at Highscore Burgers, a burger place themed around video games. After driving the whole day, a burger and a beer is just what I needed. Max and I caught up on what had happened since Olympic and settled into playing Gauntlet on one of the cabinets. Friends, good food, video games, beer...I could get used to this!

We went back to his apartment and I set up my replacement laptop. This was the first time that I was able to access a computer since my other one was stolen in San Francisco, so I had a lot to catch up on. It was already pretty late, but I had to get my itemized list of all items taken with the backpack into the insurance company so they could reimburse me. So between adding items to the list, my computer was rebooting for updates. I didn't get to bed until 2am.

The next day was spent trying to catch up on everything. I hadn't written a blog post in a while, nor had I really sorted through email or paid bills. It took all day for me to sort through everything and get some semblance of being "caught up".

That night, I met up with one of Max's friends from Michigan State who also works for Microsoft. Max, Zach, and myself went to the Malt and Vine for beers. They had a lot of import and craft beers on tap, as well as a huge bottle selection. If Max was trying to convince me to move out to Seattle (which he was), he knew exactly where to take me.

We went to pick up Cait from the airport the following day. She was out of town for work and had hardly been in Seattle since they moved out there. We went downtown to the Yardhouse to celebrate. I saw one of these in Long Beach that had one of the biggest porches I had ever seen. They had a beer selection the rivaled the Malt and Vine, but the food was also excellent. After dinner and drinks we went back to the apartment for a movie.

I was able to meet up with Milan after work on Monday. I have known Milan for about 7 years, starting with him being my mentor for a class back at Michigan Tech. He works for Microsoft as Business Manager/Chief of Staff, Bing Experiences in Bellevue. I hadn't seen him for almost 4 years, so it was good to see him again. He showed me around his office, and we went back to his apartment where we had dinner and I met his wife. We talked about Michigan Tech and Gridalogy, trying to figure out where everyone on the team was and how they were doing. He gave me some ideas on what to visit and wished me luck on my trip.

The next day I met up with Scott, one of my fellow FCGs from Ford. He had moved out to Seattle after being hired by Microsoft this summer. It was good to catch up and chat about the similarities and differences of working for Ford and Microsoft. We had lunch at the Microsoft Cafeteria, which put any other corporate cafeteria to shame. It seems like he is fitting right in and doing well!

I finally made my way into Seattle to explore the following day. The apartment is right on the 545 route into the city, so taking the bus was the obvious choice. If I were to drive my car I would not only need to pay the fee for crossing the bridge, but I would have to pay for parking. Once downtown, I could walk pretty much anywhere.

My first stop was the Space Needle. It was a rather touristy thing to go visit, but worth it all the same. It was mostly clear, and so I could see pretty far into the distance. The top is open for a full 360° view. I wasn't able to see Rainier, but I could still see most of the city.

These guys are visible from the top. Pretty cool art.

I thought about grabbing some food from the restaurant until I saw the prices. Even the trick I used on the Queen Mary of just getting soup would have been rather expensive. I decided against it and moved on.

 My next stop was the Chihuly Glass Garden. This was a really cool exhibit. I never knew you could make some of these shapes with glass, let alone make them structurally sound. I will let some of the pictures speak for themselves.

After visiting the gardens, I tried to meet up with Kali at her new job. She works really close to the Space Needle at Third and Wall Art. Unfortunately she just got really busy at work and I couldn't stop by. She suggested I make my way down to Pike Place Market instead. I set off to find the first Starbucks!

Taken from Wikipedia. Forget to get a picture for myself...

Pike Place Market is really a unique experience. From fishmongers throwing fish, to fresh produce samples, to every type of food imaginable, to people selling any trinket under the sun. I saw fresh bread, fresh fish and meat, fresh veggies, fresh peppers, and fresh spices: everything that you would need to cook a fantastic meal. There was also a knife store that had many different cooking tools. Truly a cooks dream.

I wandered around for an hour or so trying to find the Starbucks. I was unsuccessful and wandered into a Starbucks a block away, figuring that this had to be the one. It was a first store, but not THE first store. The store I visited was the first chain store. They were kind enough to give me directions to the very first store.

The first Starbucks was absolutely packed. There was barely enough room to stand, so I decided to cut my losses. I found it, that was good enough.

I had a few hours to kill, so I made my way back to the Seattle Center. The Seattle Center was the site for the World's Fair in 1962. The Space Needle was built specifically for the fair. I wandered around for a bit, looking at the different buildings. I stopped at the fountain and watched a group of dancers practice around it. I assume it was for one of the many festivals held here.

To end the day, I met up with my friend Ivor. We both played football at Saint Francis, but lost touch after we graduated. He also works for Microsoft, but in the Office division. We caught up, talked about work, talked about the area, and future projects.

Who know that I knew this many people in the Seattle Area?

Pictures of Seattle

Portland

Random bar encounter.

I made it into Portland around 7pm. I found another place to stay on AirBnB, this time with Shannon, Brian, and Kieran. I also met Barry (the older gentleman in the picture above), as he was also staying at the same place. He is also traveling the country, but zigzagging through the center. He is from England, but has been all over the world since he retired. We traded stories for a bit and then decided to head out to the bar.

We started chatting with some people sitting next to us at the bar and had a really fun time. I was asking about Portland, what to do and why they lived there. Barry told stories about his travels. We stayed out pretty late.

When we got back to the house, Brian gave me some ideas for tomorrow. We also talked about beer and coffee. Two of my favorite things!

Very dangerous place. So many books, so little money...

The first stop was Powell's Books. It is the largest independent bookstore in Portland (state? country?). They covered everything anyone could want. I picked up three books, spending about $50. I had to leave or I would have picked up another $50 worth of books.

Thai Peanut wings were fantastic!

I made my way to a wing joint called "Fire on the Mountain". Brian said that there really wasn't a good wing spot anywhere before, which was weird since Portland is known for their food. I tried the Thai Peanut and they were super good. Not super spicy, but full of flavor. If you are in Portland, you should visit!

After lunch, I just wandered around the city and explored. I didn't really have any goal in mind, so I didn't really take many pictures. My day was going really well, but for some reason I was in a funk.

I tried to go visit the park (one of the largest parks within the borders of a city in the US). After getting turned around a few times, I eventually found a place to park to wander on a trail. Just as I was about to set off, I saw automotive glass mixed in with the rocks in the parking lot. I was instantly reminded of San Francisco and couldn't bring myself to leave my vehicle alone.

I decided I would head back to the house and explore in that area for a little while. I ate dinner and wandered around, but I couldn't shake the funk. I was thinking about "what am I going to do when this is all over", "what if I run out of money", and "what if I can't find another job". Slightly over-dramatic, I know, but at the time they were very real fears. This was the first big city that I had visited where I knew NO ONE. I talked with my parents and sister about it, but I still couldn't shake the effects. I didn't really feel like drinking alone, so I went to bed early.

I woke up, checked out with Shannon (I highly recommend staying there if you stop in Portland), hopped in my car, and made my way downtown. I decided to make one more stop at Voodoo Doughnuts (because why not?), and then I would head west to the beach.

Last stop before leaving Portland. Took a dozen doughnuts with me!

My next destination was going to be Mt. Rainier or Mount St Helens, but this is when the government shut down. My precious National Parks were all closed because some clowns in Congress couldn't do the one thing they were paid to do: keep the country running. Not able to visit those, I decided to head up to Seattle instead and visit Max and Cait.

Since Max wasn't going to be off of work until 6pm, I left for Oswald West State Park. It was a little out of the way, but I think that was the draw. The reviews for the place mention this as people's own private paradise. I agree, and can imagine it being wonderful during the summer months.

Fantastic beach, but mostly deserted. The temperature might have something to do with it.

Looking back towards the beach entrance.

This must have washed ashore during high tide. Some of them were still alive.

I checked out a few other beaches on my way north. I think this cave was at either Hug Point or Arcadia.

After checking out the beaches, I made my way north. I stopped in Astoria for some Clam Chowder. It was fantastic. I also tried some Salmon Jerky. It was a really different flavor than I was expecting. Not particularly great, but not too bad.

Pictures of Oswald West State Park

Olympic National Park

Waterfall near Lake Quinault

After waking up early at the rest area, I found out my friends were visiting Olympic National Park. I high tailed it up there, stopping in Portland for a quick Voodoo Doughnuts run.

The Maple Bacon Doughnut, complete with thick cut bacon. Tasty!

I made my way to Lake Quinault, where Max, Cait, and Max's parents were staying for the weekend. It was a really cozy place, and it reminded me a lot of the lodge on Crater Lake. We even got to "crash" a wedding that was moved inside because of the weather.

Getting some ideas for New Years from the minister.

There was a pool inside and Cait was acting as our drill sergeant: do laps, use the ladder for pull ups, do inverted sit ups! We were all pretty exhausted, but we still had time to play some Settlers of Catan and Wild Rummy.

I was able to hang out with them for two days before they had to take off back to Seattle. It was nice sleeping inside, out of the rain, and out of my car for a change.

When they left, I went on to explore the rest of the park, starting with the Quinault area. I saw waterfalls, some tall trees, and backtracked a little to see the Fish Hatchery.

Same waterfall as the first picture, but you can see additional falls on the left, due to the amount of rain.

Worlds Largest Spruce

Another tall tree. I forget what kind though...

Taken from inside the tree.

The fish hatchery, responsible for many different species of Salmon.

Olympic is a BIG park. There are also no real roads that run all the way through the park. This means that you need to drive around it to see the different sights.

All the rain had another effect: some of the roads were washed out. I wanted to go visit the Hoh Rain Forest, but there were sections of road covered with a foot of rainwater. Until they could remove the water, they couldn't tell if there was any damage to the road.

I stopped at the ranger station to find good places to see. They had mentioned the beaches, but warned against the tides. I checked out what I could while trying to stay dry.

Debris carried from the river at Ruby Beach.

Ruby Beach. I was told it looks much better in the sun.

Either First Beach or Rialto Beach near La Push.

I continued on the road until I reached Sol Duc. They have some hot springs there, and for $15, I figured it was worth a soak. The water reminded me a little of the soft water you find in rural parts of the country; kind of soap-like. It was also a little strange being outside and being rained on while sitting in the spring.

I talked with a couple of the other visitors staying the night. There was someone else who was making a National Parks trip like me. Looking back, it is likely that most of her plans were ruined by the government shutdown, which really sucks since she had been planning this for a few years.

I left the pools and decided with the last few hours of "daylight", I would try and see some more falls. The paths were soaked and flooded, so I wasn't able to go as far as I wanted. Google did make a cool gif of my pictures of a stream though.

Cool feature!

Wet and a little cold, I decided I was going to head back and make some dinner. I looked around for a pavilion or something that I could cook under, but I didn't see anything. I had two options, either I cook my food in the bathroom, or cook it under a map for the trail. I picked the latter. A park ranger stopped by almost as soon as I started cooking and I freaked out a little. Technically I don't think I should have been cooking under the sign, but he let it slide. He was kind enough to just wave and let me continue to make dinner.

Making some dinner underneath a map. It was either here or the bathrooms...

I found out that the Rangers were kind as far as cooking food, but didn't like it when you "camped" outside of campsites. Not really wanting to set up camp in the rain, I spent another night in my car.

From Sol Duc, I went towards the visitors center to try and catch Hurricane Ridge. On a nice day, you can see Seattle from the top. Along the way, I stopped to see Madison Falls. Like the other falls, it was very active from all the rain.

The sun was trying it's best to shine!

Again, the weather had conspired against me and the road up to Hurricane Ridge was closed because of snow. They had webcams in the visitor center, and you wouldn't have been able to see 3 feet in front of you, let alone Seattle.

The visitor center suggested I either go into town for a drink (it was only 10am) or I could check out the Dungeness Spit. Not feeling much like drinking, I opted for the second choice.

Marker for the National Park.

There is a lighthouse pretty far down. The weather was getting worse, so I decided to head back.

At this point, there really wasn't anything else to see in the park. I decided I would head back south to Portland. I ended up getting a little lost on a back road to a state park and saw the sign for a boy scout camp.

Haven't heard of this High Adventure camp before, but I am jealous of the scouts who can explore the park!

As I was leaving the park, the clouds parted and gave me a beautiful picture.

Too bad it didn't stay this clear.

Photos of Olympic National Park