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Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Summer in the Northwest

We left Spokane and made the 6 1/2 drive to the Tacoma area.  We stopped for lunch at a scenic overview spot along the Columbia River.
The day was mixed- some clouds and some sun.   The traffic got a little crowded along I-5 but we made it to the Camp Murray ANG Recreation Area without incident.  It is across I-5 from McChord Field and Fort Lewis.
We didn't expect a whole lot from our campsite, but we were pleasantly surprised to get a spot on the water with a large grassy area under a shade tree.
We checked out nearby Fort Lewis (the historic gate says "Camp Lewis") and played golf there on Friday.
On Saturday, we drove into Seattle and walked around.  It was a another beautiful day!
Near the Market Center we peeked into the original Starbucks.  It was crowded!  Summer was bursting out all over along the water in the city park.

On the way out of town we drove over to the Space Needle.

Yesterday, we took a day trip to Mt Rainier.  We could see it in the distance from Seattle and also out near our campsite, but we wanted to learn more about it.It was about a 90 minute drive and along the way there were some beautiful scenes.
Once in the National Park, we found more beauty.
At the top, we checked the lodge, Vistor's Center and the Guide Center.
This side of the mountain was known as Paradise.  It was beautiful and the snow was still pretty deep!
On the way down the mountain, we went over to Reflection Lake
But the lake was still frozen over and there was no reflection!
It was fairly warm and it may all melt in the next month?

Later, we drove back to our campground and cooked on the grill.  Puget Sound was full of boaters and we watched all the activity.  Later, 4th of July fireworks went off and continued well past 11:00 PM.  It was another great day.

We are thoroughly enjoying our time in the majestic Northwest!

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  And as always, thanks for your comments!
Until next time...

9 comments:

  1. Your photos and narration made me a little homesick for my beautiful Washington. I haven't been up to Mt. Rainier for years. Glad you're enjoying it all!

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  2. Your pictures are great, Randy. We'll be heading back to Washington tomorrow. I'm so glad you had a chance to visit Mt. Rainier!

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  3. We were at Mt. Rainier years ago....What really scares me is that it is a volcano...and Mt. St. Helen caused some bad damage...imagine what Mt. Rainier could do to Seattle..Unsettling, but gorgeous!!

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  4. Really nice. I have other friends there. Yes, I have RVenvy.

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  5. Glad to hear you are enjoying our wonderful Pacific Northwest. This weekend was absolutely beautiful.

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  6. enjoy your stay in the Pacific Northwest!!!..we are on the Oregon Coast at the moment!!

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  7. You are in my favorite territory and we are headed there ourselves! Beautiful pictures!!!

    Have you been to Mount St. Helens? If you go, be sure to watch the movie~ clear to the end!!!

    Have fun!

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  8. Beautiful photos... We visited both My Rainier and Mt St. Helen last year. It was not our first visit and it still excites me everytime... Imagine ~ if you worried about what could happen all the beauty in America we would miss. I just don't understand some people!
    Have fun & Travel safe
    Donna

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