Summer in the PNW

Summer in the PNW has not disappointed! Granted we've kept pretty busy with guests since May and we like to take them to our neighborhood favorites, we were able to check out some new spots when my parents came in to town. Check out Al & Jo Lynn's take on their visit below, but for now here are some amazing photos and videos from our first two weeks of July!

Mount Rainier National Park

Glacier Vista

A fan favorite is Glacier Vista lookout at Mount Rainier National Park, it's a short 2.5-mile ascent that provides some amazing views. We traditionally take guests to the Paradise area because well... it's amazing and your just shy of half of 14,000 feet. There's a ton of great hikes in the area, which may not be a surprise, so there's a ton more to see and do! Check out our list of to-do hikes on our AllTrais Mt. Rainier NPS list.

Grand Park via Lake Eleanor

This 9-mile hike is claimed to have amazing meadow views of Mount Rainier, but we knew we would be cutting it close with hours of daylight with the amount of travel and time spent at Paradise earlier in the day. We were able to get about 4-miles in and will definitely be back as the first meadow view (minus the mosquitos) was pretty great! Plus it seemed like a good elk meadow and we passed a group who said they spotted a black bear! Check out Lake Eleanor below and the following video in the playlist is the view from the first of four meadows on this hike.

Olympic National Park

Though we have visited Olympic National Park a few years ago, it was essentially a one night stay at Kalaloch campground with half a day to visit as much as we could on the coast. This time around, being locals and all, we took the ferry from Edmonds, Washington to Kingston, Washington (which is on the peninsula) to get us to Port Angeles and the Hurricane Ridge visitor center a little quicker than driving down around the Puget Sound. Now, if you are a Twilight fan, you know that Belle and friends visit Port Angeles... No sign of those stores or restaurants, but Port Angeles is has a small old down town with traditional small town stores and restaurants. Not quite Door County, but you get the idea.

Since we started collecting park stamps after our first visit to Olympic National Park we needed to stop at the visitor center to finally add it to our National Park Passport book. Unfortunately we also needed to stop at the visitor center to buy a new National Park Passport book and a new annual NPS park pass. Our car was broken in to between July 3-4th and stole a good portion of our hiking gear that was tucked away in a storage bin and or under a blanket in the back, took our sunglasses , teds prescription glasses, and tray that had the key to the luggage rack, etc. that we had in the middle console, and our recreation passes and passport book that were in the glove compartment. Yes, the car was locked, and yes it was inside of our "secure" parking garage at our apartment complex. At the end of the day it's just stuff, but the two things we were and probably still upset about are 1: Ted's backpack that he has had for 20+ years and 2: the toy car version of our Jeep Wagoneer that was in my backpack (if you find a white toy Jeep on eBay, craigslist or whatever you know what to do!), Rest In Piece.

Hurricane Ridge, Hurricane Hill

Once we took care of business we proceeded up the mountain to Hurricane Ridge. If you are in the area, but don't have time for a hike, it's worth the drive. The views from the top are AMAZING!

Ozette Lake

On our drive west we drove past Lake Crescent. It's a beautiful drive and an area we will spend more time at and perhaps camp at in the future. After an attempt to find Shi Shi Beach I gave up and we re-routed to Ozette Lake. A 9-mile triangle trail that takes you to the beach, down the coast, and back to the lake. We ended up going out and back for a total of 6-miles.

Unfortunately with a late start to the day, more driving than we anticipated, and a Shi Shi beach trail head that could not be found, we didn't have enough hours in the daylight to stop at other spots along the coast in order to get to Aberdeen, Washington before it got to late. Once in Aberdeen we found out that arriving late in town was ok. There wasn't much to do, but our Best Western hotel was actually really nice for a town that has nothing to do and very little restaurant options.

See you soon Pacific Ocean when we camp at Kalaloch in August! Until then, pack it and pack it out.

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Al and Jo Lynn's visit to the PNW

This was our first trip to Seattle, so I must really thank Ted for having his in-laws for 10 days! A two bedroom, one bathroom apartment! We did it!

I think Al and I experienced Seattle in every way possible: foot, bike, car, sea plane, boat, ferry and smell!

First night when we were walking to the “Old Stove Brewing Co.” for dinner, Al said, “What’s that smell?” Ha! Ha! Smoking weed is legal out here! We visited the first weekend Seattle was open since the pandemic hit, so everyone was out! Being right on the waterfront with vistas of the Cascade and Olympic mountains the atmosphere was spectacular. The beer and burgers were amazing! A bit pricey, but we were in the tourist part of town, so what do you expect!

Jumping right in we got up early Saturday and drove to the Paradise entrance of Mount Rainier National Park. Hiking up the 1-mile Skyline Trail of Mt. Rainier. Being a flower lover I enjoyed all the emerging wildflowers.

Grand Park via Lake Eleanor is another trail we took off the beaten path in Mount Rainier National Park. We probably traveled 3-4 miles before came to the lake to rest and Ted surprised us with nice cold brews. Now when you’re tired and thirsty there’s nothing like a cold beer to bring a big smile to your face!

Sunday, the 4th of July we spent at Alki Beach another little gem in West Seattle. We combed the beaches for sea glass, something I stumbled across on a friends FB page. Now a new hobby Erin and I!

During the work week Al and I hit a lot of the tourist attractions. A must, of course for any tourist is The Space Needle. The Space Needle isn’t as high as what we thought it would be, but it definitely gives you great views of all the mountain ranges. And then you look up and there above it all is Mt. Rainier!

Being on Puget Sound we went on a whale watching tour. Saw Claude the whale, porpoises, sea lions, cornauts and jelly fish. We liked the tour, along with the wildlife the scenery was amazing!

Back on land we walked through Pikes Market where there are many different vendors selling their arts and crafts, fresh flowers and vegetables and what probably started it all the fish! Across the street from the market is the very first Starbucks. You can stand in a very long line if you want a cup of joe. Oh yes, and another novelty is the 50 foot long gum wall! Yes, someone put gum on the wall and it stuck!

An interesting tour we would highly recommend is to take in Seattle is The Underground Tour which gives you an insight into the city’s history. The tour goes beneath the city sidewalks and showcases how and who built Seattle. Without giving the tour away, the tour was really neat and there's actually not too much actual walking on this tour!

Adding a bit of activity to our week we took a 14-mile bike tour of Seattle. Highlights included the Ballard Locks, the fish ladder, Olympic Sculpture Park, the Fremont and Queen Anne neighborhoods. Most of the way was protected bike lanes and an interurban bicycle trails.

Kenmore Air is celebrating 75 years in business so we got a deal on a scenic sea plane ride of the Emerald City. On a beautifully restored de Havilland Otter Seaplane we got a birds-eye view of the University of Washington, Shilshole Bay, and Discovery Point and a great view of the watery topography.

With Ted and Erin as our guides on Friday we jumped on a Edmonds-Kingston ferry and headed to Olympic National Park, but on our way we stopped by Washington Lavender Farm, an oceanfront lavender farm in the Sequim Valley along the Strait of Juan de Fuca between Sequim and Port Angeles, Washington. Underneath Mountain View’s lavender there are stunning wild flowers with Mountain View’s as a back drop. Just stunning. If you like flowers and visiting in July, it’s definitely worth the stop!

We stopped at the Hurricane Ridge visitor Center in Olympic National Park for an overview before hiking the Hurricane Ridge Trail. Up we go with steep climbs, a few pesky mosquitos and panoramic mountain views with Mount Olympus which is 7,980 feet and is the tallest and most prominent mountain in the Olympic Mountains. On our descent we saw deer, a marmot and a lone coyote! Once again along the trails we saw many beautiful wild flowers. Having gotten a nasty blister on our first hiking day Ted went ahead and saved us a mile of our 6-mile hike by getting the vehicle!

Staying over at Port Angeles we found a great brew pub looking out to the Salish Sea. On a clear day you could see Canada, not this night, but who cares the beers were cold, the fire stone pizza was awesome and the conversation was great with memories shared of Grandma Vern!

Another part of Olympic National Park encompasses the Pacific coast. More of a rain forest feel to the Cape Alava loop trailhead from Ozette Lake with ferns and moss covering dead trees winding up at the Pacific Ocean. Gray and cloudy on the coast this morning, but we meandered about looking for…you guessed it…more sea glass. The trail is a 9-10 mile triangle loop, but Al and I opted to go back the same way saving our feet 3 miles. Better hiking shoes are definitely in our future! On this day we didn’t see anything in the ocean. On the way back we did see a few deer. It amazes me how in the parks the wildlife doesn’t fear humans. As long as you mind yours they stay and forage for food. Oh and new to this trail were banana slugs! Kinda ugly!

We drove down to Aberdeen and spent the night. Aberdeen is an old logging town. We stopped at another brew pub. Being from Wisconsin it amazed me these places only stay open until 10-11 at night.

On our last day in Washington we drove back up to Seattle and spent some time at Discovery Park and then we went house hunting with Ted and Erin.

So many thoughts of our stay here in Seattle. Erin asked, “So what do you think of Seattle?” City living isn’t for me, but like any city it has it’s good and bad. I was expecting cleaner, but like any big city it’s an issue that needs to be addressed. I think that is harder in the PNW since the weather can be pretty nice all year. Once you get out of the downtown area there are a lot of great neighborhoods to live! Washington is a great trip to take to see diversity in nature, people and lifestyles. We enjoyed it and think you will too! Next time… a shorter stay with sight seeing more north…Skagit Valley and the tulip festival?!!!