We took a car trip through the Pacific Northwest in July, 2013.  Prior to the trip, we had been watching the AMC show, The Killing, on Netflix.  If you haven’t seen the show, it is set in Seattle; and to help set the bleak mood of the show, it is raining in at least half the outdoor scenes and it is cloudy the rest of the time.  We kept looking at each other and asking “Why are we going to Seattle?”.  Well the weather was absolutely beautiful with clear skies, low humidity, and temperatures in the 70’s.  In talking to people, it seems the summers are typically beautiful and the winters are dreary.

We flew to Seattle and after two days there we drove through Olympic  National Park, took the ferry to Victoria, British Columbia, took another ferry to San Juan Island, took a final ferry to the mainland where we drove to Mount Rainier National Park,  Portland, Oregon, the Columbia River Gorge, Mount Hood, the Oregon coast and back to Seattle.  It is a beautiful region of the country.  For cities we particularly liked Seattle and Victoria and for the scenery, Mount Rainier is hard to top.

I hope you enjoy looking at a few pictures from our trip.

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If you like glass and vivid colors, you must visit the Chihuly Garden and Glass museum in the shadow of the Space Needle

Several globes in the gardens reflect the space needle.

The gardens are filled with glass sculptures by Chihuly.

This colorful citizenship ceremony took place in the Seattle Center on July 4.

Young Buck in Olympic National Park

We drove the length of the Hurricane Ridge Road in Olympic National Park

All the light posts of central Victoria had two hanging baskets.

Looking across the harbor to the Parliament Building.

The parliament building is pretty by day but becomes spectacular at night.

This whale sculpture in flowers was in downtown Victoria. Flowers were everywhere.

Butchart Gardens is one of the finest gardens I have ever seen.

Doorway in Butchart Gardens, Victoria

Butchart Gardens, Victoria

The B&B we were staying at loaned us a blanket for the fireworks show.

The Butchard Gardens Fireworks show included both aerial and ground displays.

Stained Glass Window with Clear Glass in Center, Victoria Mansion

Square Circular Staircase, Victoria Mansion

San Juan island was full of remote beaches strewn with dead trees.

The interior of the San Juan Island was equally beautiful with grassy fields and barns.

The lavender was just a little before its peak, but it was still beautiful. I have always wanted to see the lavender farms in France, but this my be close enough.

There were flowers everywhere we went. San Juan Island.

San Juan Island was home to this alpaca.

Mount Rainier. Picture taken from the porch of the lodge where we stayed inside the park.

Mount Rainier Park was full of groves of giant trees.

Among the giant trees in Mount Rainier Park

Meadow, Mountain, and Deer, Whats not to like?

Living the good life on the front porch of our lodge.

Mount Rainier at Sunset. We spent a lot of time on the front porch of that lodge.

Mount Rainier Park Waterfall. Mount Rainier was hiding behind the cloud.

Snow, Meadow, and Blue Sky. Again, whats not to like?

Giant tree in Mount Rainier Park

One of many waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge. Most can be reached by car, but we hiked to this one.

The expressway runs by the river, but we took the old scenic route through the gorge which runs well above the river.

Multnomah falls has an upper and a lower section with a bridge over the lower falls.

Mount Hood. We were walking through and around snow at the lodge.

Mount Hood and Wildflowers

The Oregon Coast was much more developed since I was there in 1969, but it is still beautiful even in fog.