In downtown we went to Pike Place Market and had lunch. Then we went on a boat tour of Elliott Bay. Here are a couple of shots of downtown and the Washington Mutual building as we boarded the boat.
Washington Mutual building
Washington Mutual building
From Elliott Bay, I got some really nice shots of the Seattle skyline.
Skyline
Skyline
Skyline
Skyline
Skyline
Here is a picture of the Space Needle from Elliott Bay.
To the north of Seattle are the Queen Anne Hill and Magnolia neighborhoods.
Magnolia
A marina near Magnolia.
Here are a couple pictures of a sailboat going by, with the Olympic Mountains looming in the background.
Puget Sound is the home to seals and here is a platform where they were gathered.
The tour took us from Elliott Bay to Lake Union via the Seattle Locks.
Here is a picture of a church across Lake Union.
The Seattle skyline from the other side of town.
Saturday evening we drove east of Seattle to Snoqualmie Falls. This waterfall is 100 feet higher than Niagara Falls.
Snoqualmie Falls
Snoqualmie Falls
Snoqualmie Falls
Snoqualmie Falls
Snoqualmie Falls
This totem pole in Pioneer Square cost the city $10K. The original totem pole was stolen from Indians by a bunch of drunk guys, but then somebody accidentally burned it down and they ended up buying this one from those Indians.
After lunch we went to the observatory of the Smith Tower, a 42-story building with a pyramid on top. The pyramid is actually a penthouse apartment.
Downtown
Downtown
A cool domed building
Bank of America Tower
Space Needle
Docks
A Russian submarine
The waterfront area
There was a
Seattle Seahawks Game in progress Sunday afternoon.
Seahawks Stadium and Safeco Field
Later Sunday night we went to a Seattle Supersonics game at Key Arena. The game was against the Utah Jazz and Karl Malone was held scoreless for the first time ever in his career. The Sonics won and our section got free Blimpies coupons. Score.
Fountain next to Key Arena
Key Arena
Key Arena
The Sonics Blimp with Gary Payton on the court
Night view
Night view
Night view
Night view
Night view
Fremont Troll
Fremont Troll
Me on the troll
Me on the troll
Rodney on the troll
The capitol
The capitol building
Winged Victory statue
After seeing the capitol, we started driving north up the Olympic Peninsula. Seattle gets about 40 inches of rain a year. The Olympic Peninsula gets about 140 inches of rain a year. Surprisingly, it was raining for much of the day.
Near Dungeness on the northeast side of the peninsula we went to the Olympic Game Farm. It was basically a drive-through safari kind of thing. We had some interesting encounters with deer and buffalo sticking their heads in the car. Having a rental car is fun.
Peacock
Prairie Dogs
Llama
Rhino
Rhino
Zebras
Zebras
Black Bear
Brown Bear
Brown Bear
Brown Bear
Wolf
Cougar
Lion
Tiger
Elk
Ostrich
Buffalo
Buffalo
Deer
Deer
Deer
Deer
Deer
We went to Dungeness to see the Dungeness Spit. By the time we got there, daylight was fading and it was getting too dark to hike the trail to actually see the spit. But here are some pictures of Dungeness and the coastal area.
Before Dungeness
Before Dungeness
Dungeness
Dungeness
Dungeness
Dungeness
Dungeness
Dungeness
Heart O' the Hills
Heart O' the Hills
Heart O' the Hills
Afterwards, we drove west some more and went to a different area of the Olympic National Park, near the Elwha River.
Elwha
Elwha
Elwha
Elwha
Elwha
Elwha
West of the Elwha River is Lake Crescent. The water was very clear and blue, although you can't really tell from the pictures.
Lake Crescent
Lake Crescent
Lake Crescent
Lake Crescent
Lake Crescent
At Lake Crescent, we also hiked a trail to Marymere Falls.
We continued driving to the western part of the peninsula. We next went to the Hoh temperate rain forest. Again, much to our surprise, it was raining. That made it slightly difficult to take many pictures.
Hoh Rain Forest
Hoh Rain Forest
Hoh Rain Forest
We continued southward along the western part of the peninsula to Ruby Beach. There were drift logs scattered about the beach and really cool cliffs offshore.
Ruby Beach
Ruby Beach
Ruby Beach
Shortly after taking that last picture, we weren't paying enough attention and a large wave came in. We turned to run, but the wave was faster than we were. It came up to my waist. Rodney, however, decided to fall down and was completely submerged. It was hilarious.
After drying off, we continued to Kalaloch, another coastal area. We were slightly more tentative and didn't venture as close to the water this time.
Mount St. Helens National Park
Mount St. Helens National Park
Mount St. Helens National Park
Mount St. Helens National Park
Mount St. Helens National Park
At Mount St. Helens National Park, we did stop at Iron Creek Falls and hiked a trail there to see a waterfall.
Iron Creek
Iron Creek Falls
Iron Creek Falls
After a disappointing start to the day, we drove to Mount Rainier National Park. The road along the south side of the park (which had most of the cool places to see) was closed for the winter. We instead spent the afternoon hiking a trail along the Ohanapecosh River.
Ohanapecosh Trail
Ohanapecosh Trail
Ohanapecosh Trail
Ohanapecosh Trail
Ohanapecosh Trail
Ohanapecosh Trail
Ohanapecosh Trail
Ohanapecosh Trail
Ohanapecosh Trail
Squirrel
Rodney with some big trees
We then drove north along the east side of the park. It was really overcast and hard to see much of anything.
Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park
These were about the best pictures I could get of Mount Rainier which was hidden by the clouds.
Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier
