washington Archives - ETB Travel Photography

Day 279 – Columbia River Road (Part 2) and Mount Hood – Columbia River Gorge Loop

Day 279 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Ice Cave in Gifford Pinchot National Forest

Another wonderful day in the Pacific Northwest! After a quick snapshot of Mount Adams, I took a short jaunt west from Trout Lake to explore an ice cave. I expected to be taken on a guided tour, but instead found myself alone in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Beneath the evergreens by a picnic area is the entrance to a lava tube. The cold air from the winter is trapped inside the cave forming an ice pool with stalagmite ice crystals poking upward from the floor.

Based on the information board map drawing there are two ice pools, a natural bridge, a crystal grotto, a crack room, and a few pits. I only explored the first ten feet of the 400 foot cave as I was alone and had no intention of falling on ice and sharp lava in the dark! I also followed a path above ground which led to the crack room and the pits. Had I had the proper equipment and a partner, I would have liked to see the crystal grotto. I bet it would be fantastic especially closer to winter time. The weak beam on my flashlight just barely illuminated the area from a distance, but neither my eyes nor my camera were successful in focusing on much!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

Day 278 – Columbia River Gorge

Day 278 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Today I headed inland along the Columbia River on the Washington-Oregon border. I spent my time on the Washington State side and stopped to enjoy the panorama of Oregon’s wooded hills and of the powerful river that lay at the foot vertical cliffs from Cape Horn Viewpoint.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

Day 275 – Travel Day

Day 275 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Hoquiam’s Castle

I had planned the morning to visit Hoquiam’s Castle and Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge before heading to Portland to visit some friends from my horseback riding days. Both attempts turned out to be a bust. Hoquiam’s Castle was built in 1897 by a timber tycoon named Robert Lytle. It is a twenty room mansion, turned Bed & Breakfast. I suppose I could have wandered into the lobby and looked around, but oddly I felt like taking a full-blown house tour to change things up on this dreary day.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

Day 274 – Olympic Loop (Part 4)

Day 274 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

I left the mountains and headed for the coast this morning. We took a brief drive through La Push, Washington for a view of the harbor before returning to Second Beach, one of many beaches in the Olympic National Park which seemed to encompass the entire western peninsula of Washington. I really can’t imagine basking in the sun on Second Beach.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

Day 272 – Olympic Loop (Part 3)

Day 272 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

We spent the year anniversary of my journey in Olympic National Park. After a year, I’ve obviously learned quite a bit about nature, geology, history, and geography; but I’ve also learned a few things about myself, Petey, and Scout (when she was with us) that I didn’t know. I’ve met a variety of kind individuals and feel very rewarded for them to have shared part of their life with me. My journey has been interesting, fun, and at times both lonely and challenging.

Amazingly, after a year of traveling to the lower forty-eight states, I still feel like there is so much more to see in this nation and that I will need to revisit many places at more length. Olympic National Park is a good example. I simply sampled a few short trails in different areas of the park.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

Day 269 – Olympic Loop

Day 269 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Well, my first day on the Olympic Loop Tour was a memorable one, though not in a very good way. VANilla carted us several miles down a gravel road to the Staircase Rapids Nature Trail, a four mile path that follows a cascading Skokomish River. It turns out, the hike was in the Olympic National Park, where dogs are not allowed on the trails, and this morning I really wanted to include Petey on a walk. Therefore, we turned around and stopped at Lake Cushman State Park for a trek to the summit of Mount Rose.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

Day 268 – Magnificent Mount Rainier (Part 2)

Day 268 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

I’m sitting here writing my post on Sunday, September 11. I generally write them the day of or the day after despite it sometimes takes even longer to get them posted to the Internet. My regular readers have probably noticed that I always write the post as if I am writing it the “day of”. Today, I have to say that I just noticed I
mistakenly deleted all of yesterday’s photos this morning off my SD card. The card was full and for some reason as I started my hike this morning, I thought I downloaded yesterday’s photos. This event capped off a remarkably crappy September 11 which I will post tomorrow.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

Day 267 – Magnificent Mount Rainier

Day 267 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Mount Rainier

I think we drove close to seventy miles through farmland and along the Naches River which runs through the trail laced Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest before we climbed over Chinook Pass and rounded the bend for a magnificent view of Mount Rainier. The ice-capped Mount Rainier, a dormant volcano, stands at 14,411 feet and towers over everything around it; lakes, evergreens, meadows of wildflowers, and additional peaks.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

Day 266 – North Cascades Loop

Day 266 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

After tooling around the Town of Winthrop, which looked like it had been preserved since the late 1800s, though the old-fashioned facades were erected in 1972, we turned south to Cashmere to complete a loop drive.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

Day 265 – North Cascades Loop (Part 4)

Day 265 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Gorge Powerhouse

Our first stop of the morning was at the Gorge Powerhouse which was a pleasant surprise. The powerhouse was originally completed in 1924 and expanded in 1949. The first surges of electric power sent to Seattle via the Skagit Hydroproject were from this powerhouse.

With four turbines which require a dam and the river being diverted through a tunnel to generate enough pressure to operate them, the powerhouse provides enough electricity for over one million 100-watt light bulbs. The 1960 dam, 300 feet high and 670 feet long, replaced a 1923 rock-filled timber crib dam and a 1950 masonry dam.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!