Posts In The “North America Pacific Coast” Category
Camp Muir is the main base camp for Mt. Rainer ascents and, at altitude 10,188Â ft (3,075 m), is the mountain’s highest point accessible without a climbing permit. Reaching the camp, named after famed naturalist John Muir, requires a 4.4-mile (7 km) trek with an altitude gain of 4,639-ft (1,413 m), much of it across the…
The Great Mayan Reef is the second largest in the world, stretching 700 miles (1,126 km) along the coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. After diving the reef during a day-trip to Honduras as part of a Caribbean cruise, we returned a few months later to spend a long weekend diving in Cozumel. An island off the coast…
Los Angeles’ Broadway Theater and Commercial District is the historic core of downtown of the city and is known for its architecturally ornate theaters and department stores. By 1931 the area had the highest density of theaters in the world, with seating capacity for 15,000 viewers, and the many department stores made it the main…
With over 80 breweries in the metropolitan area, Portland, Oregon has a wonderful craft beer scene. The city straddling the Willamette River also is very walkable, and has some 400 pieces of public art to enjoy along the way. We always enjoy our visits there, so when James had some Friday business meetings in nearby…
Snoqualmie, Washington is a small town with much to offer. Best known for its proximity to Snoqualmie Falls, the 19th-century lumber town in 2010 started a major revitalization project. Today appealing downtown Snoqualmie is lined with restaurants and shops and also is home to the Northwest Railway Museum, which operates heritage railway rides. We’d several…
Westport is a small Washington coastal town whose observation tower, perched at the Pacific Ocean’s edge, is one of the best storm-watching locations in the state. The maritime town also has the largest marina on the Pacific Northwest outer coast, with room for 500 boats. We’d long been considering a visit there, and finally did…
Santa Barbara’s spectacular botanical garden Ganna Walska Lotusland was the former estate of Polish opera singer Ganna Walska and is considered one of the top ten botanical gardens in the world. The 37-acre (15 ha) garden contains over 3,500 different plants from around the world, many quite rare. Similar species are grouped together to form…
We’ve spent many nights at Granville Island in Vancouver over the years, all of them in our first boat on the public dock managed by the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires. The little-known gem was right below Bridges restaurant, where we enjoyed many meals, and steps from the excellent public market. Moored at Granville Island in…
More than a century before the smoke-spewing copper smelter at Point Ruston influenced Tacoma-born Frank Herbert’s penning of his epic novel Dune, the area supported the first European trading post in the Puget Sound. About 15 miles to the south, the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1832 established Fort Nisqually, which became an important fur-trading post…
We often fly close to Mt. Rainier when travelling in and out of Sea Tac airport, and love getting a close-up look of the iconic volcano. For an even better view, Jennifer took James on a surprise helicopter tour of the three major mountains in the area: Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens….
Enumclaw, about an hour’s drive south of Seattle, is a small town of population 12,500 with plenty of history and character. After passing through on several road trips, we eventually stopped for lunch at the Historic Mint Alehouse and have returned several times. We enjoy taking in the activity on Enumclaw’s pedestrian-only main street, full…
Washington’s Mountain Loop Scenic Byway traverses Barlow Pass in the North Cascade Mountains to connect the towns of Granite Falls and Darrington. Despite its name, the 55-mile (88km) roadway is not actually a loop at all, but a U-shaped route that wraps around several major Cascade Mountain peaks. Ranging in elevation from 5,723 ft (1,744 m) to…
A couple of months after our first land-based weekend on Bainbridge Island, we made another trip, this time by car with our new rucking gear. In a busy overnight trip, we visited one of our longtime favorite pubs, tested our new gear with a ruck through Grand Forest park, enjoyed the views from the deck…
This spring was a busy one, even by our standards. Together we made weekend trips to Los Angeles and in Washington State to Point Ruston, Alderbrook Lodge on Hood Canal, Bainbridge Island, Tacoma, Everett, Langley and Port Townsend. We also took a fabulous week-long cruise along the Danube River between Budapest and Bucharest. And James…
Port Townsend, WA is a Victorian-era waterfront city with a vibrant artist and maritime community. Its Wooden Boat Festival, held annually for nearly a half-century, is the largest in the continent and last year drew 10,000 attendees. We have anchored off Port Townsend many times in the past, enjoying the view to the city’s many…
Langley is a compact, restaurant-filled town perched on the cliffs above Saratoga Passage on Whidbey Island north of Seattle. We had visited by boat many times, but not for over a decade. We returned this year for a weekend in the Inn at Langley’s spectacular Saratoga Suite, with its large deck overlooking the water (pictured…
The city of Everett, about 30 miles (48km) north of Seattle, evolved and prospered through transportation. The 1893 arrival of the Great Northern Railway transformed the small lumber town into a major lumber center that supported several large sawmills, including the self-proclaimed largest shingle mill in the world. Access to new timberland and other resources…
The Puget Sound port city of Tacoma was founded in 1872 and experienced what author Rudyard Kipling described as “a boom of the boomiest” when the following year it was selected as the Pacific Northwest terminus of the transcontinental Northern Pacific Railway. After a brief downturn during the Panic of 1893, the city bounced back…