Astoria

When traveling in the Pacific Northwest, I will always make a point of seeing my brother and sister-in-law. This time we met and hung out in Astoria, Oregon near the mouth of the Columbia River. It was only for a few hours, but those family moments are precious.

Jackson and Wendy, I love you guys.

All Apologies

Aberdeen, Washington. This small town near the coast is the childhood home of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain (1967-1994). Naturally, Dad and I stopped by a small city park on the banks of the Wishkah River that’s become a shrine dedicated to the late great musician. It’s really too bad that Kurt chose to join the “27 Club” of rock ‘n’ roll greats who died young. (Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse and many others come to mind.) I guess we can never truly know what’s going on in another person’s soul.

Being considerate types, we did not knock on doors of private homes in the neighborhood to ask stupid questions. There was homemade signage in the area to suggest that the locals are tired of it.

R.I.P. Kurt.

300

Here I’m being very brave. I’m standing on a narrow pedestrian walkway on a bridge, cars whizzing by in the roadway next to me, staring down at the tide several hundred feet below.

This is Deception Pass, a thin channel in the Puget Sound area separating Washington’s Whidbey Island from the mainland. The tides here are intense because the water gets funneled through a small passage. It’s a beautiful and fascinating spot.

Also, this is my 300th blog post. Quite a milestone.

Deception Falls

One thing that you can find in Washington State is lots of water. Even though there’s a sturdy bridge over Deception Creek in the Cascade Range, it’s still scary to walk over that rushing torrent.

The view of the waterfall was still great from the side I was on, though.

Windy

The Palouse country of Eastern Washington is beautiful. Rolling green hills (brown in summer) that seem to stretch on forever.

It’s also very windy. In the photo, I’m trying to hold on to my hat.

Back In The High Life Again

Dad and I are perfectly happy to stay in campgrounds whilst on our travels. Sometimes though, more luxurious accommodations look tempting. Case in point: the East Glacier Lodge outside its namesake park. It’s been here for over a hundred years and is actually quite famous. Out of curiosity, we looked up room rates. Expensive, but not outrageously so.

Maybe I can convince Dad to stay here next time.

I’m On A Mission

If you’re traveling from Missoula, Montana to Glacier National Park, you’ll probably notice the Mission Mountains to the east. They are named after the Jesuit St. Ignatius Mission in the region. Much of the range lies within the Flathead Indian Reservation and a large part is protected as a designated wilderness area.

Interestingly, a portion is set aside as a grizzly bear protection zone where humans are not allowed for parts of the year. (There is something similar set up for bighorn sheep in the Eastern Sierra Nevada in California.) The grizzlies are cool, but not cuddly. I think it’s wise to keep one’s distance and just let them be. By the way, one of the bears’ favorite foods up here is ladybugs.