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Published: October 29th 2014
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I’m exactly year behind on this write-up, but I think most of the information is still relevant, so here it goes. My trip to Washington State was part recreation and part business. I should say - it was ALL recreation for me, and part business for my wife. We had a few days to travel where we pleased….. after that, she had to attend a conference in Seattle, WA. We arrived to the airport without a specific plan, but soon decided to check out Mt. St. Helens as our first destination. We rented a car and plugged in our GPS. The airport is close to suburban neighborhoods, so it was easy to find a grocery store where we loaded up on supplies and Fat Tire Beer (something I still have trouble finding in New England). It was nice to be on the West Coast where everyone seems to be in less of a rush, or maybe everyone was just mellow because it was Sunday morning?*&=!^%! The road trip to Mt. St. Helens was overcast, but the second we got out of “Big Foot Country” the sky opened up to sunlight, and our trip to the mountain was a beautiful experience. I
would guess that there is much less rainfall in the Mt. St. Helens area because the fauna and trees seem to match places that have less moisture, but everyone kept telling us that we were lucky to be there on such a beautiful sunny day.
If you read my other blogs, you may see a pattern of excitement when it comes to avoiding fees at points of interest. One of the most popular areas on the North side of Mt. St. Helens for viewing the damage from the explosion in the 1980’s is called “The Johnston Ridge Observatory”. The fee was along to lines of $5+ per a person, just to stand on a cement walkway and view the destroyed mountain (it may have included entry into their visitor center, but we were not interested in that). It was an honor system payment situation, whereas you did not have to pass thru a gate. You had to find the collection agent, and after paying, you received a wristband that identified you as a paying member. The US Government was just coming off a political disagreement about federal funding, and in the prior weeks, the parks had been closed down,
so the staff was possibly shorthanded, which may be the reason for the honor system payment situation. Anyway, we waived our obligation to pay and viewed the mountain for ten minutes free of charge.
That evening we stayed in Morton WA, and the next morning I skateboarded at a local park. After that, we visited Mt. Rainer and couldn’t avoid the fees, considering that entry into the park was on a gated thruway. Mt. Rainer was spectacular. The high country access trail is paved and well taken care of. Although it was late October, the area had already experienced a few snowstorms, and some of our hike was thru slushy wet snowdrifts, so our shoes were soaked by the time we got back to our car, but it was worth the lack of comfort – Amazing!!
That evening, we stayed at a fancy hotel on the East side of the mountain, and the following morning we started traveling to “The Gingko Petrified Forest”. It was about a three hour drive East, and it really gave me a sense of traveling thru rural America, as I have done a few times on cross country trips. The forest itself was
“interesting” with the petrified trees locked in cages along a footpath. The $5? fee was an honor system payment, of which we did pay, because the place seemed to need financial support. The park was a bit rundown. I imagine it probably saw its heyday before air travel became so inexpensive, and people actually drove across the country with their families instead of conveniently flying. If you do travel there, I would suggest visiting the nearby gift shop, which had a very large collection of petrified wood that was NOT locked in cages.
We went to Seattle that night and the next morning I attempted ride at “The Jefferson Park Skatepark”. Although I found the location, the rain made a session impossible to skate, and I was left drooling for some vert. I walked and skated from my downtown hotel to Jefferson Park. My passage brought me under a random highway, where I found a tent city inhabited by homeless people. The Beacon Hill neighborhood where the skatepark is located has some cultural flare mixing Hispanics and Asians with white suburban counterparts.
The following day I hit up “The Marginal Way Skatepark” in the SODO section of town.
This skatepark was built by local skaters under a highway overpass on Hanford St. I skated this park early in the AM on a weekday. Of course the park was empty, so I got to ride without a snake session - which I personally enjoy, but it was interesting to see the long-long-long lines of mac trucks that were constantly arriving to a nearby shipping center. They were picking up Chinese goods that were recently loaded off of a nearby dock. This made for a seriously noisy session😊
Although marijuana was not legal for recreational use (it currently is), I did find a medical dispensary along the way. I liked the juxtaposition of the Starbucks coffee shop and the herb dispensary, so I had to take a photo of it. That afternoon I returned to “The Jefferson Park Skatepark”, and got to do a full session with some locals.
The next day, I stayed in town and visited many of the popular tourist attractions with my wife (Pike Place Market, Chinatown, The Public Library Red Room, The Columbia Center Building, The Gum Wall, and The Underground Tour). A friend of mine suggested a trip to the top of
the Columbia Center Building, in lieu of the Space Needle, which allowed us see incredible views of the area (you just have to a wait for a clear day to do it). The Underground was interesting, but keep in mind, it is a historical tour….. not a carnival ride on broken mining track or anything.
My final day brought me to “The Experience Music Project” (EMP) museum, which profiles well-known artists from the Seattle grunge scene of the 1990’s along with Jimi Hendrix, who was born and raised in Seattle, WA. Other exhibits can be found at the museum… so they had a “horror” wing and a “sci-fi” section. A skatepark is located onsite, so I made sure to hit that up. Keep in mind, the police in Seattle strictly enforce pedestrian activity, which means no jaywalking or skateboarding. Of course, I ignored the “no skateboarding” rules, but officers did tell me to stop riding on a few occasions. The EMP is located near a unique skateshop pictured in my photo montage, and of course a strip club for anyone who is interested😊 Our return trip brought us home to a Red Sox victory celebration, which made for an
excellent way to end our journey.
Download Book: Travel Book - Washington State