Here are some pictures from our trip out west this summer. I had to go to Vancouver Island for work. Tommy went along for fun. Then we hung around for an extra week of hiking and exploring Washington STate. There are too many pictures for me to post, but you can see a few here. Enjoy!
We stopped at the Wanapum Salmon Ladder one afternoon in central WA. You could see the salmon swimming up a ladder that they had constructed on the side of this dam pictured behind me. I like that I am sitting up pretty straight...unusual for me.
Me, my friend Colleen (she lives in Ellensburg, WA), and her dog, Sierra. We were taking a little walk together one afternoon. I'm not quite sure what we were doing....
We found lots of cool rock sculptures all over the place.
We were on Ruby Beach in Olympic National Park. That's the Pacific Ocean behind Tommy. Our tent was just about 15 feet behind me. When we first decided to camp there, we knew we'd be about three or four days in with no showers. No problem, we'll just go for a swim in the ocean, says we. The water was about forty degrees F. Maybe that's why Tommy is standing so far away from me.
The Experience Music Project in Seattle was a lot of fun. I'd highly recommend it to anyone that has a day or even half a day to blow there. We were in a little practice room rocking out. The museum is designed to be "hands on." Very cool.
It also shares a space with the Science Fiction Museum, which we didn't buy tickets to, but it loooked pretty cool. They had a special exhibit on E.T. when we were there.
Mt. Rainier. Gorgeous. It was cold up there!! On the way up, Tommy kept saying, I think we're almost at the top...it's just around this corner. I promise...this time, it's just around this corner. No really, this time, the peak is just around this corner....
we made it to the top. well, as far as you could hike without serious overnight climbing gear. notice the sweat.
Suited up for whale watching. The picture was actually taken post-trip by some fellow passengers. The water was so choppy that one of the ladies riding in the front of the boat threw her back out. The captain was really nice about it. He paid for her to have a free massage that afternoon. While I didn't want a thrown-out back, I would have loved the free massage. We sat on the back row and got DRENCHED on the ride back. I saw a baby whale jump out of the water and flap his tail at me.
We visited a totem pole area at the British Columbia Museum of Natural History. It was called Thunderbird Alley. It was amazing.
Tommy found this starfish one day when they were snorkeling. I have never seen a live starfish. He said they were strange and sort of gelatinous. And that they moved very slowly.
