Mount Rainier

by Rosemary

Mt. Rainier is an active volcano that last erupted more than 100 years ago. It is considered extremely dangerous; a major eruption would be deadly and would likely send smoke and ash throughout the entire area between San Francisco and Vancouver, BC.
The indigenous people called this mountain Tacoma or Tahoma. The ubiquitous George Vancouver named it after his pal Peter Rainier.

On our way up, we stopped at the Riffe Lake Overlook.

I liked this couple, driving through the park on a cool day with the top down.

There are beautiful views around every bend in the road.

The forest is lovely, but it can be hard to see when all those trees get in the way.

There are 25 glaciers on Mt. Rainier, although they are melting fast. The one most visible from the road, Nisqually Glacier, is shrinking 120 feet per year.

Nisqually Glacier drains into the Nisqually River. At this time of year, there isn't much water in the river. The width of the riverbed and the huge driftwood hint at the power this river will have when it fills with rain and meltwater in the spring.

Small as it looks now, the river runs pretty fast, and the bridge isn't much more than a log. We decided not to cross.

It's not possible to drive any closer to the top than an area called Paradise, about 15 miles from the summit. Here are sightseeing paths, colorful meadows and hillsides, small waterfalls, and the trails that lead serious hikers and climbers to the peak.

(This quotation is engraved on the staircase.)

At some point on the way home, the car decided Steve had done too much driving.

We were here in early October. The day was sunny; despite a prediction of 50F, the temperature was around 65F.

 

Under the Volcano

by Rosemary

Captain George Vancouver, the British naval officer and explorer whose name was given to two cities, named a volcano in honor of Alleyne Fitzherbert, British Ambassador to Spain, whose title was "Baron St. Helens". The indigenous people had called it Lawetlat'la, Loowit, or Louwala-Clough, names that mean "Smoking Mountain" or "Fire Lady".

Mt. St. Helens became famous for a series of eruptions in March and April 1980, followed by a nine-hour eruption on May 18, the most destructive volcanic event in U.S. history. Fifty-seven people and thousands of animals died; homes, businesses, bridges, railways, and roads were destroyed. A 5.1 earthquake triggered a debris avalanche that reduced the mountain's elevation from 9,677 ft to 8,363 ft. The blast was heard for hundreds of miles, a mushroom cloud of ash and gasses shot 12 miles into the air, and ashes fell as far as 930 miles away.

Many of the trees still lie where they fell.

Today the area around the volcano is a national monument used for recreation, education, and research. When we visited in early September, the weather forecast had called for a high temperature of 65F, but it was actually in the high 80s.

There are several routes into the area. We chose the "Scenic Drive Adventure" on Highway 504, also known as the Spirit Lake Memorial Highway. The visitor centers and educational exhibits were all closed, but the gift shops and (fortunately) restrooms were open.

Our first stop was the boardwalk trail through the wetlands at the edge of Silver Lake.

In some places the plants are so dense it looks like solid ground. It isn't.

A little farther up the road, in Kid Valley, is the "Buried A Frame", a new house whose ground floor was filled with mud and ash. The home's second floor is now at ground level. I was surprised that some of the glass had survived.

As far as we know, Bigfoot wasn't involved in the eruption, but nevertheless, there is a tribute to him near the A Frame.

Built in 1992, Hoffstadt Bridge over Hoffstadt Creek is the longest and tallest of fourteen bridges on Hwy 504, and is the tallest bridge on a state highway in Washington. We stopped at the viewpoint for a picnic before crossing the bridge.

The shock wave from the explosion traveled 19 miles, creating a "blast zone" where all the trees were knocked down. Beyond that, the trees were killed but remained standing. As we learned on a trip to Sunset Crater in Arizona, it can take many decades, even centuries, for plants to appear after an eruption.

A $9,000,000 project sponsored by Weyerhaeuser (who already had tree farms here) has brought trees back to the area. Large sections of monoculture forest have been planted, to be harvested and replanted starting in 2026. A lot of natural reseeding has also occurred.

Castle Lake was formed when an avalanche caused by the eruption dammed the south fork of Castle Creek.

Coldwater Lake was also created by an avalanche.

The road ends at Johnston Ridge Observatory, named for volcanologist David Johnston. During the days leading up to the final eruption, he was camping on the ridge as part of his work for the United States Geological Survey, making daily reports of his observations by radio. His last words were, "This is it!"

From this spot, we have an excellent view of the volcano.

Nearby, we can see the stumps of some of trees that were left standing after the blast.

There are elk living in the park, but the closest we came to seeing them was this statue outside the visitor center.

 

Back in the USA

by Rosemary

While we were gone, Southern California experienced a very rainy winter, ending over seven years of drought. When we arrived in Los Angeles in January 2019, the surrounding hills were so green, I was reminded of Ireland. Unfortunately, my photos from L.A. were accidentally deleted.

We had sold our car in May 2018, just before heading to Europe, where public transportation served all our needs. Back in the US, we needed a car, so after a series of rentals, we bought a RAV4 hybrid. We lived in an extended-stay hotel while taking care of various business and financial matters.

Eventually, we packed our suitcases and drove north. In southwestern Washington, we moved into another extended-stay hotel and went house-hunting. It took our realtor only about three days to find a house that matched our wish list. We wanted property where we could plant a vegetable garden and some fruit trees. Our sellers already had a great garden and several trees. They were kind enough to show us around and share some of their harvest with us. After a 30-day escrow, we took possession of the house, but we weren't quite ready to move in. We began planning renovations and ordering furniture. Steve started doing yard work, enjoying the riding mower that came with the house.

It's a beautiful neighborhood.

This county is notorious for its extremely slow permit process, and, of course, renovations always take longer than expected. Contractors here are extraordinarily busy; we weren't able to get estimates for our project until mid-August. Work began, slowly. Summer passed, and then Fall. During this time, we did some sightseeing in the area, and enjoyed a few visits from friends and relatives. We got new driver's licences and registered to vote. We met some of our new neighbors. The building permits finally came through, and work was completed. The pod containing the possessions we had kept when we sold our old house was delivered. Our good friend Carlton came up from Los Angeles to give us a hand. He and Steve unloaded the pod, moved boxes into the house, and assembled our new bookcases and desks.

Finally, on November 10, we spent our first night in our new home.

Tacoma

by Rosemary

Perhaps Tacoma would not have been on our list of places to see, but we needed a city near a major airport, where I could enjoy plenty of activities while Steve went back to Los Angeles for a few days on business.

Our favorite part of the city was Point Defiance Park. It has a lovely rose garden, beaches, a marina, a zoo and aquarium, hundreds of acres of natural forest with hiking trails, and Five Mile Drive, a scenic road around the periphery.

One of the many beautiful hiking trails.

We saw plenty of raccoons in the park.
They are so much cuter when they aren't digging up your garden!

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge, as viewed from Point Defiance.

Downtown Tacoma was on the quiet side. Traffic wasn't too bad, and parking wasn't a problem.

We saw quite a few old industrial buildings being converted to loft apartments and offices. The old Union Station is now a U.S. courthouse.

Glass sculptor Dale Chihuly was born in Tacoma, and he is celebrated here. His "Bridge of Glass" is a pedestrian bridge that crosses Interstate 705, linking the downtown area to the Museum of Glass. The bridge includes two 40-foot crystal towers, a covered pavilion whose ceiling seems to be filled with sealife, and an 80-foot wall of display cases containing over 100 individual artworks. There is no fee to enter the bridge, which is open to the public 24 hours a day.

More of Chihuly's work is on display inside Union Station, where several very large installations can be viewed inside the rotunda.

Not far from Union Station is the Tacoma Art Museum, which emphasizes art of the Northwest. It isn't a large museum, but the collection is interesting, with both historical and modern works, and, of course, more Chihuly.

 

In a small hallway-like gallery was an exhibit of jewelry from the collection of the late Mia McEldowney. Jewelry in museums often makes me feel a bit sad. These objects were created for a very specific purpose, to give pleasure in the wearing. Looking at them in drawers and cases isn't nearly as much fun as it would have been to see them being worn.

The museum has signs warning visitors that "touching harms the art". Of course, they are right. Yet I couldn't help but feel that this multimedia piece (U is for Utopian by Dennis Evans) was meant to be interactive.

It's hard to find any art that can rival nature in the Pacific Northwest. I took a day trip to visit my friends Sue and Arnor in Port Angeles. Sue and I visited Olympic National Park and hiked up to Sol Duc Falls. The views around every corner were amazing.



Driving around Tacoma, I would suddenly catch sight of Mount Rainier, 40-some miles away, but seemingly right on top of the city. It was always breathtaking.

Next: We cross the border.