Tag: Washington

Every year for Mike’s birthday (when there isn’t a worldwide pandemic) we go on some type of getaway and it usually involves a baseball game. In June 2019, we found a deal to Seattle, so we got on a plane for a 5 day trip filled with Washington’s three national parks, its state capitol in Olympia, a baseball game in Seattle and a few other adventures tucked in. At 8 months old, Addy was already a super traveler having recently returned from her first cruise and European adventure in April. (Check out our trip recaps: Breathe in Barcelona, Sète on a Nice Yacht, Crank It Out While Cruisin’ Italy and Loopin’ London.) Our trip throughout Washington state was so photogenic, it inspired me to write one of my first children’s books called Where Are You, Mount Rainier? which you can find on Amazon.

Olympia

After arriving to Seattle airport and getting our rental car, we headed to Olympia, which hosts the gorgeous state capitol building and campus. We started with a view of it from Port Plaza Park and walked the Olympic Farmer’s Market. I got my first vacation coffee treat nearby at Dancing Goats Espresso. Once at the Capitol building we joined a tour so we could get an insider’s look into the chambers. There’s also a gorgeous Tiffany lamp that hangs from the dome. Of course we couldn’t leave without getting Addy’s picture on Mike’s shoulders as this has become a tradition for us. ­We also made a pit stop to nearby Tumwater Falls for a pretty waterfall.

Mount Rainier National Park

Initially worried about rain, we lucked up and enjoyed beautiful weather where we could get out of the car and see Mount Rainier. We stopped at many of the different view points to take in the scenery, including an unbelievable reflection of snow-covered Mount Rainier. We managed to find one great hike to a waterfall too. This park has multiple entrances (of course check if they’re open before you go) so we didn’t have to backtrack. We entered from the west and exited near the southeast.

Mount St. Helen’s National Monument

Nearly to the border of Washington and Oregon, we made the trek beyond gas stations to visit Mount St. Helen’s. Pro Tip: Get gas when they warn you it’s the last station! While we had a foggy drive up the mountain (plus the fear of running out of gas), we got a fabulous view at the top where the visitor center is located. Don’t miss the reflection on the visitor center or the hike nearby.

Olympic National Park

This park is huge and boasts many different environments. We started in the south through Lake Quinault and visited the Hoh Rainforest. We found lots of weird looking caterpillars. From here we saw the seastacks for sunset at Rialto Beach before a night in Forks. We drove past the gorgeous Lake Crescent and then hiked to Marymere Falls, which I would definitely recommend. We ended at Hurricane Ridge which still had snow. While we didn’t see any bears, we had fun hiking near the visitor’s center here as well as the drive. We popped down to Port Angeles which had some cool street art and a really cool coffee bar called Bada NW where I indulged. On our drive to Seattle we spotted Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, which is home to a variety of birds. Since we have the America the Beautiful pass, we didn’t have to pay the nominal fee here either.

Seattle

Mike and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary in April 2016 with an Alaskan cruise out of Vancouver and then a few days in Seattle. So on this trip, our sole purpose was to see a baseball game where the Seattle Mariners play. Luckily it was an evening game, so we walked the park while it was still light out and we could see downtown and the Space Needle, Mount Rainier and then eventually a beautiful sunset.

Snoqualmie Falls and Leavenworth

After leaving Seattle we made a pit stop at Snoqualmie Falls. It’s a beautiful 268 foot cascading waterfall. We continued our journey to an adorable mountain Bavarian town called Leavenworth. It reminded me of another cute Danish town called Slovang that we visited with friends on our Santa Barbara trip that you can read about here. Leavenworth is home to a huge nutcracker museum if that’s your thing. Nearby, I got a yummy treat from the Gingerbread Factory before we walked along Waterfront Park.

North Cascades National Park

As part of our journey to get to North Cascades National Park we took a 52 mile scenic road that runs between Darrington and Granite Falls. This road apparently closes often since there’s a 14 mile section over Barlow Pass that is unpaved. Fortunately it was open and a nice drive with places to stop along the way. Before entering the national park we spotted the Cascadian Farms roadside stand. MAKE THIS STOP! There are delicious milkshakes sold here – I tried the raspberry and loved it! On the way into the park, the official NPS sign is really cool! The snow on top looks legit! Since we arrived close to sunset the first night, we went to the Diablo Lake viewpoint. We stayed one night relatively close to the west entrance of the park in a place called Mount Baker Hotel for under $100. It was a really nice hotel – we had a separate living space from the bedroom. One word of caution is there is no cell phone service in this area, so I didn’t know the front desk person called to check that we were still coming since there is not 24/7 concierge service. Fortunately she waited for us and we got the key without issue. We found a cute drive-thru coffee shop the next morning and then explored the park with a hike up to Pyramid Lake. Similar to Glacier, there is a scenic road that runs through the park. It’s about an hour drive from the west entrance to the Washington Pass Overlook which is definitely worth it on a clear day. I only wish we had more time to hike in this park.

Sum It Up

We arrived to Seattle on Saturday, June 1^st in the morning and knocked out Washington’s three national parks, a national monument, the capital city and a few other spots before flying home on Wednesday, June 5^th in the evening. The secret to a great national park trip is to get up early to enjoy the sunrise whenever possible and to stay out until at least sunset and dusk. The other secret is, showering can be totally overrated and a time waster…so unless you really have to, it’s worth skipping to pack more into your day! Spritz yourself with some Febreeze and you’ll be golden! If we find another good deal to Seattle, I would definitely want to make it to the Columbia Gorge and Portland, Oregon and/or use it to explore places like Victoria and Vancouver Island.

While you’re on my site, I hope you’ll check out some of your other trips and leave your thoughts/share your experiences.