We had a great visit in Seattle with our day spent first at the main REI store than a stroll around the Pike Place Market in the downtown area. The Pike Place Market is (the one you see advertised where they are throwing fish) an interesting place with fish markets, vendors, restauraunts and lots of tourists. Definitely a place to visit if you haven't been before. Another interesting "attraction" just below the market in Post Alley is the Market Theater Gum Wall which in the past has been named one of the top 5 germiest tourist spots in the world. Actually it IS pretty disgusting but fun none the less.
Great variety of fresh seafood at Pike Place Market
Market Theater Gum Wall
All bubblegum!
In the evening we had dinner my cousin Molly, her husband Greg and their three youngs boys. Although we spent just a very short time with them it was great to catch up. See y'all again in September!
For our next stop we decided to head to the Nroth Cascades NP a few hours north and east of Seattle. Again we were met with an area that had just opened for the season so we had the campground almost to ourselves. This was an interesting area that although quite spectacular to be in it is really all about power and electricity. Of course there area great hiking/backpacking trails throughout the Cascades but back in the early 1900's the Skagit river was damed in three places and according to Wikipedia "Built as part of the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project by Seattle City Light, the dam is part of a cascade of three dams through the Skagit Gorge that were built primarily to generate hydroelectricity from the massive elevation drop of over 1,000 feet (300 m) from the Canada-U.S. border to Newhalem". We were camped near Newhalem, within walking distance to the Gorge powerhouse (which is downstream from the Gorge dam).
Gorge Powerhouse
Campsite at Newhalem Creek CG
Ladder Creek Falls Trail behind Gorge Powerhouse
A small section of Ladder Creek Falls
After 2 nights in this area it was time to head to BC and a visit with my cousin Marsha. Our border crossing was at Blaine, WA and after a short wait in line we pulled up to the (Canadian) customs booth and handed over the passports. After asking where we were from a few additional questions about our trip and why we were going into Canada, then the one we were waiting for: Do you have any firearms or ammo? "No sir, I replied. Then, "Do you OWN any firearms"? No sir, I replied again. After a brief laugh from the officer we get, "You mean you are from TX and don't own any firearms"? "Yes sir", I replied again adding and laughing "we will probably be the only Texans you see that do not own any". The passports were handed back and we were on our way, fortunately not to the inspection station.
Just a note on guns and ammo. Canada is very strict about bringing guns into the country with a mandatory prison term if caught. So if your are coming from the states leave your guns at home. It is best to research the laws of the country before arriving.
A short drive in to the town of Surrey, BC brought us to our next stop Peace Arch RV Park. This park is filled mostly with long term tenants and while not the best place to stay it worked great for our brief visit and was very convenient for our purposes. That evening we met up with Marsha and her fiance, John, at John's house and had a great dinner and visit while watching the Spurs clinch against OKC. The next day we drove into Vancouver, BC and headed toward Stanley Park. This park is something to behold, a 1000 acre park almost surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, with a very rich history dating back to the indiginous people that lived there. Today it is used as a recreation area with a 5.5 mile seawall used to run, bike, walk or cycle on, lots of gardens, lakes, trails, restauraunts and the BC Aquarium. The park was extremely busy during our Sunday afternoon visit and my photos don't do it justice but here are a few anyway.
View from the seawall at low tide
Pathway on seawall
The "Girl in a Wetsuit"
Indian Totum Poles
We met up with Marsha for dinner that night and this ended our planned stay in the Vancouver area. The next morning we packed up and headed toward Chilliwack, BC to the Escape Trailer factory where we had planned a maintenance stop.
More to come....
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