August 28-29 - Aquarium, Space Needle, Duck Tour, Pikes Place Market

Wednesday, August 29
Many of you who have been to Boston, DC, or other waterfront cities have probably seen the duck vehicle tours you can take. The vehicles are military land/water vessels from the 1940s that have been converted to touring vehicles. Sheri’s Dad went on one of these tours in Boston and really liked it so we gave it a try in Seattle. The drivers are trained to be comedians and keep you laughing for much of the trip. We enjoyed the 90 minute tour and learned some good things about Seattle. The tour actually gives you good spots to see in the following days. After our tour we went to the space needle for lunch. Since we were blessed with clear skies again, we had a great view of Mt. Rainer, Mt. Baker and the Seattle coastline. We allowed for an easy afternoon of swimming for the kids.
Tuesday, August 28
Today we went to the famous Pikes Place Market. It is best described as a cross between a farmer’s market and a flea market, but in a permanent setting. Some people who go to Pike’s place go there because they heard about the fish throwing that the Pike’s Fish Market. We didn’t really go there to shop, just to look. The market is just a short walk from the aquarium, which was next on the agenda. The Seattle Aquarium is pretty neat, but I guess you get spoiled if you’ve been to the Baltimore aquarium, which is huge. My favorite activity at the aquarium was seeing a wild sea lion swim up to the aquarium building. The aquarium building is built over the water so they have a boardwalk that looks onto the bay. Even the aquarium staff was surprised to see the sea lion. Today marked the day that I finally lost the battle with the stomach virus that was going around our family. I was the last to get it so now I get to enjoy its invasion in my body.

Monday, August 27 - Seattle - Chittenden Locks

For all of you, like myself, that picture Seattle as a rainy, cloudy town, today was contrary to all expectations. The sun was out and the temperature was in the mid 70s. For all of our eastern friends, I’m sure that sounds a lot better than the heat and humidity of August. We met up with Sheri’s parents at the hotel in the morning and went out to Chittenden Locks. I had heard that the locks were built with a fish ladder so you can see salmon jumping up the ladder. In my mind I pictured a dozen or so salmon jumping up every few seconds. The reality is that the fish ladder has tunnels through each step that the salmon prefer. We only saw about 4 fish that actually jumped out of the water to climb the ladder. Nonetheless, it was impressive and worth the trip. Particularly because they constructed a viewing area, which allows visitors to see the underwater ladder tunnels like an aquarium. Some of the salmon were about three feet long! I should mention that our fish ladder experience was part of a nice tour that the US Army Corps of Engineers offers. In fact, for all of you botanical folks, they also have a botanical gardens at the locks. The kids don’t quite appreciate variety in plant life, so we skipped that part. Some neat facts about the locks include their sea lion deterrent system. They use underwater speakers to project killer whale sounds that try to foil the sea lions. It works for the most part, but some sea lions have figured out the system. They even tried a robotic killer whale, but it didn’t take long for the sea lions to figure out that it wasn’t real.

Sunday, August 26 - Relaxing In Tacoma, Washington

No miles logged today. Looking back at my logs, this is the first day we haven’t logged any miles on the RV since July 26! That day we didn’t log any miles because we could walk to a bus. You’d have to go back to July 14 for the last time we actually stayed put at the campground. Sounds crazy, but we haven’t really stopped to take much of a break. We took it easy today and used the break to get some needed chores done. I vacuumed out the RV while Sheri attended to the 5 loads of laundry. After chores, we took a bike ride. Many of you from the northwest probably know that they have quite a few bike trails. One trail happens to come right next to our campground. This trail was unique because it was lined with blackberry bushes. Miles and miles of blackberries, just ripening. We couldn’t help but enjoy the treat! Tomorrow we meet up with Sheri’s parents. They decided to tour Seattle with us since they hadn’t been there. I think they were also missing the grandkids a wee bit. We will stay in a hotel while in Seattle to allow for quick access to the sites. I’ve uploaded some photos from Glacier and Mt. Rainier, be sure to check them out by clicking on the link to the right. Unfortunately, both parks had some cloudy, rainy weather so we didn’t get as many scenic pictures as we had at the other parks.

Mt. Rainier to Tacoma, Washington

Today we spent more time in Mt. Rainier National Park. One of the most interesting things about the park is a flood that occurred last year. They said that it was a 400 year flood: 18 inches of rain in 36 hours. The devastation it caused was quite dramatic. One creek has a different route than it used to have. Trees were thrown around like matchsticks. Parts of the park will be totally altered from it. We were thankful we saw the peak of Mt. Rainier yesterday since the cloud cover today prevented us from seeing it. We went on a short hike through their wildflower trails and stopped off for a very short hike to a 168 foot waterfall. The boys and Sheri hiked behind the waterfall while I stayed with Bailey. We were somewhat hindered by the boys’ stomachs. Somehow they all have the same stomach bug, which requires maintaining close distance to facilities. By the way, I should mention that Mt. Rainier (being a volcano) has a totally different appeal than the parks of the Rockies. In fact, they say that Mt. Rainier stands more majestic than Mt. Everest. It certainly isn’t higher than Mt. Everest, but it is higher than its surroundings in a way that Mt. Everest is not. If you're into glaciers, we learned that Mt. Rainier has more glaciers than any other area in the lower 48 states.

August 24 - Yakima to Mt. Rainer, Washington

Sometimes in life you witness God's sprinkle of blessings. Today was one of those days. Over the last week the RV has been having trouble starting. I'd turn the key to the start position and sometimes the engine would turn over, other times nothing would happen. I had noticed this getting worse this morning after it took 8 tries to start-but the car always started. I figured I'd have it looked at in Seattle on Monday after the weekend. After attending a talk by a Mt. Rainer National Park Ranger and going on a 1 mile hike we started toward our destination - Packwood, Washington. The car took more times than ever to start after the hike so I told the family we really needed an auto parts store in Parkwood to see if there was a battery. On the main strip of Parkwood was an auto parts store. I purchased the battery and they installed it, but the engine wouldn't start. The parts store also doubled as a repair shop, which was exactly what I needed. Keep in mind that I pulled up to this store at 5:02 as they were closing. However, the two gentlemen were kind enough to stay after and diagnose that my starter solenoid was the problem. The solenoid was coming apart and there was literally one thread of copper holding it together. It really should have broken a long time ago, one more bump and it would have gone. Praise God, they had the part and they installed it. I expressed my sincere appreciation for the owner and the other mechanic's time on a Friday night after hours. Although I was appreciative of God's blessing to me, the owner was a hero and that story is even more amazing. About one year ago a gentlemen had gone 4-wheeling in the forest area of these mountains and was caught in a snowstorm. The official search for him ended after two weeks with nothing found, the lost man being presumed dead. The lost man's uncle called the auto parts store owner (who is an avid snowmobiler) and they rounded up three snowmobiliers. Within a half a day they found the man, who was still alive. Not every day you meet a true hero.

August 23 - Spokane to Yakima

Nothing really exciting to report on today's leg. I was surprised how desolate Washington state is. You hear about rainy Seattle, but apparently that rain stops and desert takes over as you move east. We saw many crops, particularly grapes and apples, but they were all irrigated. East Washington reminds me of South Dakota, rolling hills, sagebrush and brown grass. The funny moment for today is Bailey's request for her princess hat. The kids received an umbrella hat as a gift and Bailey kept asking for her princess hat. It took us a while to figure out that the umbrella hat was the "princess hat".
Today we drive to Mt. Rainer for a two day visit then on to Seattle.

August 22 - Montana to Spokane, Washington

In my last blog I discussed the jewel of the northwest, the huckleberry. Well tonight, the KOA had ice cream for a buck. Wouldn't you know they had huckleberry. If you ever get the chance, you must try this delicious flavor. I think I might like huckleberry better than blackberry or black raspberry, which are typically my favorite ice cream choices. We are now on a mission to find some huckleberries so that we can taste the raw fruit. Up until now we have had huckleberry cream soda, milkshake, ice cream, and preserves. The locals tell me the berry can only be purchased at fruit stands not at grocery stores. We'll see if we can find some. Spokane, Washington is a nice place. The weather is pleasant and the scenery is nice. Tomorrow we will venture to Yakima, Washington and then on to Mt. Rainer National Park before we get to Seattle. Today we entered Idaho at mile 6978 and Washington at mile 7050. In 53 days we have travelled about 7070 miles, which is an average of 133 miles per day. Not to bad.....although Bailey might disagree with that statement. She is the only one who is regularly disappointed with the travel time.