Washington

This blog is especially for Amal of Sulekha’s Travel Team and for all nature lovers out there!

USA’s Pacific Northwest is famous for its temperate rain forests. With rainfall all round the year; much of this region is lush green and simply stunning! It’s as if Mother Nature took all her time filling her canvas with detailed brushstrokes highlighting different shades of green and many other colors.

In this travelogue, I would like to present a few breathtaking images from my state of Oregon and our neighboring state of Washington. They certainly took my breath away mainly because of excess oxygen entering my lungs in one sudden gust! When we first moved to Oregon, our eyes just couldn’t absorb the natural beauty fast enough. Driving mostly along the coast, every inch of land was covered by dense forests and massive conifer trees. Douglas Firs, pines and oak trees seemed to create a wall on both sides of the road as we drove towards Portland.

Portland is known as ‘The City of Roses’ with many of its parks showcasing varieties of rose bushes. The city has several protected areas for wild life, wetlands and nature trails. The trails are basically several miles of forest land with paved paths for people to walk. Traffic is not allowed on these narrow roads.

Some fun fact for drivers — most states in America require drivers to fill their own gas. But in Oregon (New Jersey is the only other state), you do not have to work hard or get out of your car to fill gas! By law, the gas station attendants fill the gas for you. After several months of enjoying this luxury in Oregon, we drove to Washington State and pulled into a gas station. The landscape is not very different near the border between these two states. So, we forgot that we had entered well inside Washington border. At the gas station, we sat in our vehicle tapping our fingers wondering why the lazy attendants were taking so long to approach our vehicle. After about 15 minutes of waiting, we got impatient and reluctantly got out of our car only to realize that Washington does not provide full service. We had to fill our own gas! However, we were surprised to know that the entire state of Washington offers free coffee at most of their rest areas for weary motorists! Sure, the coffee is not exactly your Starbucks variety, but it is no different from McDonalds’ runny coffee! Works fine if all you wanted to do was stretch your legs, and you are offered hot coffee!

Washington is known as the ‘Evergreen State’ and is true to its name.

The photos below are going to do most of the talking as we start from Mt. Rainier National Park in Washington and arrive back in Oregon. Although the photos do talk well, they just cannot give a discourse on the exact location! So, I have provided a running commentary above each photo describing each locale.

Now come along with me as I cruise you through beautiful Washington and Oregon states at 35 miles per hour!

1. In this first photograph below, we are entering the Cascade Mountains in Washington State. These mountains are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire which encircles the Pacific Ocean with volcanoes and earthquakes rumbling all around. We are heading towards the tallest peak of the Cascades called Mt. Rainier which is an active stratovolcano! I took the photo from my van as this endless wall of trees kept closing in on us.

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2. Below in the horizon, you see Mt. Rainier, the volcano, rising like the Moon!

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3. Isn’t this the most beautiful painting of conifers rising above the mountain in the background?

 

 

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4. Mt. Rainier keeps rising and towering above everything else!

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5. Below a few other lesser peaks of the Cascades!

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6. When we arrived at the base of Mt. Rainier, we were thrust into this little wonderland of snow and the most pristine lake we had ever seen! This is Lake Reflection, and we could see why. Amazingly, this was the month of August and it was about 82 degrees Fahrenheit where my son (wearing a flimsy T-shirt) is sitting, but the snow had not melted in many weeks!

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7. Below, the reflection of Mt. Rainier could have been easily seen if not for the gentle breeze on the lake’s surface and my son getting in your way!

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8. Below Mt. Rainier from another angle.

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9. All around the parking lot, the view was spectacular!
Why am I pointing to the lake? Just so you don’t miss it!
Do ya have to ask?
BTW, didn’t I mention in my Valentine Vacancy blog that my husband loves to read (just about anything)?

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10. Would you look at those vertical pines standing on snow piled right next to the hot tarmac! Say, where’s my husband when I really need him?

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11. Yet another view of the volcano from the parking lot! But I prefer to rest on the hood facing the other way, after a long trek.

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12. I finally gathered the father-son team to pose on one of the numerous beautiful trails under the summit. Aw, don’t they look good together? I was talking about the Mount and the woods!

 

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13. This is a deep gorge. You did not need me to tell you that! It’s about 140 feet deep and nearly blew me off my feet because of the blustering wind coming from this valley.

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14. As I mentioned earlier, Mt. Rainier has many lakes at its base. This is a distant view of a different lake. Do not know the name of this one, but I am simply amazed by the green and the blue!

 

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15. Why am I abandoned here by the rest of my group? Well, I just thought you might want to jump off the car and get a feel for the green grass and shrubs covering the landscape. Okay, if you say so….I shall get back into my van now! Sorry I blocked your view like a pole!

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16. Below you can see this lone snow-capped peak peeking from the horizon. Lush greenery again!

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17. I’d like to drop a pin below and ask you to search for it. Heck, I couldn’t even find myself, if I got lost here!

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18. Lilac flower gardens in Washington state. Hulda Klager was a German immigrant who came to US in 1877. She is single-handedly responsible for hybridizing lilacs and creating many new varieties in her private gardens here. Chorale singers entertain the crowds.

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19. This is the Willamette River as we are approaching Portland. The mighty Colombia River is the other major waterway flowing between Oregon and Washington states.

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20. The following pictures show some beautiful parks around Portland. This park below is very close to home. We also have a couple of ponds behind our home. Ducks and geese abound in Oregon.

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21. The Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm in Woodburn Oregon has Tulips and Daffodils in full splendor. During the Tulip Festival in March/April, they open their flower fields to the public. You can see monochromatic rows and strips of variety of bulbs in full bloom. You just cannot resist clicking your camera away standing in between each row, which is exactly what I did! Well, I had my husband do the clicking for me. I present the next four pictures in silence! Don’t mind that lady behind me! She’s just curious because I had been smiling for 4 minutes waiting for my husband to click that silly button! He kept prompting me to say CHeeeeese, but I preferred to say MMMmmmmm instead!

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22. Below are photos of Dahlias and roses from a beautiful Japanese flower garden in Spokane, Washington.

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22. I really hesitated putting this photo below with the fear that you might recognize me. Wait! .............I must be in there….somewhere!

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23. At this point, we were facing rows of rose bushes going all the way up a hill.

Hope you enjoyed this trip. I shall bid goodbye for now until we meet again when I’ll take you camping near Lake Henshaw in California! It’s a valuable lesson in camping, and I do not want you to miss that one! Pack your bags and be ready!

(My body hurts just thinking about it!!!!)