Mt. Rainer reminds us of an unending yet remarkable black and white photograph. Much of the huge mountainous terrain is covered in snow and where it has melted away, it appears black in color. We discover deep waterfalls hiding down between rocks and vast pastures that make us feel as if we belong to the mountains.
From here we drive to Olympic National Park in the State of Washington, making our way through picturesque northwest landscapes, to soak in the Sol duc hot spring. We sit in the hot spring with lots of interesting people conversing about our different lives and what has led us all here to this one spot on this particular day. People we meet in hot springs everywhere seem to be of a similar mind and the conversation is always so interesting. Sometimes we sit and no one speaks as though we are at an eighth grade dance, but once it opens up, the conversation flows just like the thermal waters of the spring.
Driving for quite a few hours, we take our car along with us on a ferry ride enjoying all of what is part of our adventure to our last destination. The city of Seattle is quite a sight to see from the Puget Sound. As our ship approaches the dock, we drive off and right over to the Space Needle, a must see spectacle in Seattle. It appears monumental from the outside and we make our way up the structure in an elevator to the observation deck. The clouds are persisting, but we can still see things we didn’t know existed from up here, high above the city streets and roof tops.
The Pacific coast is full of extreme drops and slopes. The ocean comes towards the somewhat jaggedly cut edges reminiscent of looking into a painting one might see in a hotel at a beach resort. The giant rocks add fantasy to the effects of the dramatic coastline beaches throughout California and Oregon. People continue to ask which coastline is better. The answer is that they are both quite different and each one is beautiful in its own way. We have heard many people say, “I drove part of that coast and turned around and came back. I felt nervous being that close to the edge.” The perfect solution is to drive from the south to the north so that you will always hug the mountain and never be too close to the edge. This way you can really enjoy the ride, feeling safer as you go. Exploring vast scenery as you drive the long curving roads that make up the fabulous Pacific Coastline of the Western United States, will leave you smiling.
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