Saturday night after a wonderful day of hanging around the market and Bainbridge Island we decided to do the one thing that everyone who visits Seattle has to do at least once, head to the top of the Space Needle. For me I think this was my 3rd or 4th time however. But it is great none the less.
The needle is located just north of downtown and actually right in between where I am living this fall and the downtown center. There are some spectacular views to be had.
After Saturday's late night and crappy traffic due to the music fest going on underneath our feet all around Seattle Center, Bumbershoot, we rose early and headed out to Rainier National Park.
I could see Mt. Rainier almost every day while I lived here in the summer of 2004, I have yet to see it while I have been here for the fall of 2008.... Not even when we were less that 12 miles from the summit and staring directly up at the summit and seeing nothing but the beautiful abyss of white clouds and rain. I guess we have to be thankful for all the rain out here however, because if it were not for the rain 9 months out of the year this area would not have the majestic green beauty that has come to make it the Emerald City.
After just a brief one day trip to Rainier National Park it quickly rose on my list of favorite national parks. Full of old growth forested areas, waterfalls, rather dangerous hiking trails, and less roads than a lot of the other parks I was caught in its majestic throws from the beginning. Oh, and I forgot to mention the 14,000 foot volcano the park surrounds thats just percolating waiting to make Mt. St. Helens look like one of those science fair volcanos your mom helps you build on the weekend.
That's the thing out here. You're in the grasp of such a progressive, environmentally minded, urban city center, Seattle. But the rest is a lot like Montana per-say, nothing but some farms and well I guess a couple other large cities. But in this state, all less than a short 2-4 hour skip of a drive from Seattle you can be in a temperate rainforest, swimming in the (very cold) ocean, on top of a volcano, or tramping through an old growth forest covered in more moss than grandmas toes.
Cheers to you the great Pacific Northwest.
Listening to: The Cool Kids
Reading: (Read, so should you) Hipsters, the dead end of western civilization. Adbusters
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