CROSS COUNTRY TRIP 2010 - Washington

Well, we knew we were in Seattle because the rain started.  It's a little cool here - enough to use the heat at night.  Picked up Barbie and Uncle Petey from Seattle Airport, 

and proceeded immediately to the waterfront Salty's Seafood Restaurant in Redondo Beach, just south of the airport.  This is our absolute favorite place to eat in Seattle - there's another Salty's in the city, where you can see the Seattle Space Needle in the skyline, and seals in the bay.

We feasted on delicious fried calamari and incredible lump dungenous crabcakes for the appetizers, and for the main courses: fresh halibut  and dungenous crab cioppino.  

The next day, we took a ferry ride to the Olympic Peninsula, stopping at Port Gamble to check out the shops. 
Logging is still very active in this area, and we passed this "holding area" on our way up the peninsula.

Thought we could see the Makah Indian Tribe Annual Celebration, but never got the exact address, and soon found out it was 3-4 hours away. No time to do that today.  Came back to the mainland, and saw the Space Needle, and very surprised that its only about 300 feet tall - thought it was much higher. 

Had another outstanding seafood dinner of sturgeon and dungy crabcakes on the waterfront,  at Ray's Boathouse.
Tomorrow, we drive north yet again, and for the last time - to Vancouver and Victoria.

CROSS COUNTRY TRIP 2010 - Oregon

The drive into southwestern Oregon was magnificent, with its mountains, canyons and raging rivers.  

Tony couldn't wait to go panning for gold.  He joined an experienced operation nearby, Oregon Gold Trips, which drives you into the mountains, and has all the necessary equipment to make the job easier - as well as even supplying meals. 

The front end bucket loader brings you the material, and you then load it into the trommel.  

The remaining "concentrates" are put through a spiral wheel called Gold Magic, which retains only black sand and gold.  Then, you put that into a pan, and wash out the black sand. Today's take was 2-3 pennyweights - about $150.
We headed north into Portland.  This city is for people who love to shop and eat.  Stores and restaurants everywhere.  And I'm talking Neiman Marcus, Tiffany's, and Ruth's Chris Steak House.  Not to mention it's own little Chinatown.

The transportation system includes trams that follow the grooves in the street, and drags along the electric lines above.  Problem is, most of the downtown streets are one way, and if its a street with a tram, then its down to one car lane and one tramway.  Must be interesting during rush hour.

As we drove into Portland yesterday, we noticed a huge, magnificent, snow covered mountain to our east.  We wondered if it was St. Helens or Ranier. We forgot our Geography lessons from grade school, because it turns out it is Mt. Hood, elevation 11,245 ft.  We drove east today to get up close:

Portland lies along a river, and there are numerous bridges on the north end.  There was a large number of homeless people, many lying on sidewalks sleeping next to buildings. That aside, it is a clean city, bustling with activity.
Tomorrow, onward north to Seattle.

CROSS COUNTRY TRIP 2010 - Northern California

California......Continued......

On our last day in California, we made a few stops:  We visited the famous "Drive Through Tree".  It was for real, and so narrow that we had to fold in one side mirror.

This particular tree is approximately 735 years old, and at one time, scarred by fire.  The bark on a giant redwood can be as thick as 12 inches, so it's nearly impervious to fire and insects.  It is 15 feet in diameter and about 90 feet tall to the point where the top was blown off.  The coastal redwood is the tallest tree on earth, with some of the towering giants as high as 370 feet - taller than The Statue of Liberty -  and weighing in at 500 tons.  Ironically, these giant trees grow from seeds not much bigger than a pinhead, and the pine cones they drop are about the size of an egg. 

Redwood roots penetrate only about 10 - 13 feet, but spread out 60 - 80 feet.  The base of the oldest and largest trees can be 22 feet, and are thought to be 2000 years old; they average 500 - 700 years old.  As little as 160 years ago, this area of Northern California was inhabited by various tribes of American Indians, who utilized the wood from the fallen giants for building their villages and travelled in canoes dug out of the trees.  Today it is estimated that 10% of the population here is American Indian.

We drove through the Jedediah Smith State Park - on a gravel road winding through the stately trees.  Let the photos tell the story, although they don't even do justice to these towering giants.

Click the arrow and take a short drive through the giant redwoods:

Here's a headache waiting to happen:

Here I am inside a hollowed out tree.

There's a section near town where elks gather and graze.  We were lucky to catch about 20 of them out on a stroll. They didn't seem to mind us being nearby.  

Yesterday, when we drove here, there were a couple of dozen elk on a grassy area right in town!  It was a tourist's delight, as everyone pulled over and took their photos of this unusual sight. 
Tomorrow, we head for Oregon, so TZ can pan for gold, then on to Portland, Seattle and Vancouver.