Journey to the Pacific Northwest

Besides a brief rainy stop at Crater Lake a couple years ago, I'd never explored the Pacific Northwest. I'd heard of its beauty and had for awhile wanted to see for myself how it compared to all the beautiful places I've already seen. There are also three national parks out that way I'd never before visited. My sister, who now lives in Seattle, housesitting at her boss's lakeside mansion the last weekend of June presented the perfect opportunity to visit.

I left Denver's inky industrial darkness before dawn and drove through Wyoming and Utah on the first day of my trip, ending in Boise. I stayed with a friend I'd gone to school with in Texas who now worked for a children advocacy nonprofit in Idaho's capital. In my short time there, I got to see Boise State's campus, the state capitol building, and the small but moderately lively downtown. Boise is nice.

The next day I continued on to Seattle. Driving into Washington through the hills of Oregon is a thrill. Suddenly, across the flat plains, a giant lonely mountain erupted on the horizon. It was clearly volcanic, shooting up from basically sea level to almost 10,000 feet. I thought at first it was Mount Rainier, but realized quickly it was actually Mount Adams. After passing through Yakima I could see Rainier.

Seattle lies across the Snoqualmie Pass through the Cascades in a cluster of islands and peninsulas--all the water does not ease the traffic. Even though there are a few bridges, to get anywhere it seems drivers have to go around some inlet or bay. I got in late on Friday afternoon and grilled out with my sister. Then we walked her boss's dog (she was also dogsitting) down to Lake Washington. Seattle's skyline lay across the water.

The next morning we did the expedited tour of downtown. She showed me Pike Place Market then let me explore her apartment rooftop and the park near the Space Needle while she packed up to move to the suburbs. The city was fine--it felt similar to Denver or Austin in many ways with a lot more ocean--but I was itching to see the mountains. I got my first taste that afternoon when we tubed down the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River about an hour outside the city with some of her friends.