Hello All... Hope all of you are safe, healthy & have got your vaccinations(if available)....
Let me begin with some pandemic rant....
What a devastating year 2020 & beginning of 2021 has turned out to be....I remember what a great year 2019 was with amazing things panning out all year round.. I even wrote about it in my Utah blog & I was looking forward to something similar in 2020 as well...
Alas, life has its ups & downs & the universe keeps reminding us about realities, albeit in a harsh way....
Last year has turned out to be a colossal nightmare & the darkest year of our lives. I too have lost near & dear ones in this pandemic & witnessed or heard about stories so horrific & tragic that starts to raise questions about reality & our very existence.. If I had a time machine & if I could go back in time, I wish to just erase this dark period from our lives...I wish all of you reading this blog have recovered or still recovering from the effects of this pandemic..
After all, time heals everything...
I am sure the pandemic has taught everyone few life lessons....The one thing that the pandemic has taught me is that taking life too seriously, worrying about the future, being scared, or even assuming that I will be alive tomorrow is a moot point or a mooo point as Joey says...The pandemic has taught me that life cannot be taken for granted, our existence is not guaranteed & that I need live my life to the fullest today as you never know what is going to happen tomorrow...
So enough with the rant as I can go on an on about it forever...I would like to share my recent travel experience in the beautiful Pacific North West of the United States of America..
The Plan
Due to the pandemic lock-downs there was nothing much to do at home other than Netflix & chill...There were no restaurants or theatres or malls to hang out over the weekends...Being home-bound & consuming tragic pandemic stories were leading me to go insane...To keep my sanity in check, I turned to hiking last year & discovered what a mesmerizing/ therapeutic effect hiking has...It was the 2nd best thing for me to indulge in, the 1st best thing being running which gives me great highs and takes me to a transient state of mind...
Me & Wifey loved hiking so much so that the all our trips that we undertook in 2020 & 2021 was centered around hiking. We actively seek out for hiking spots in and around NJ or planned short weekend getaways to places like Maine, Shenandoah valley, Great Smokey mountains where we could hike some beautiful mountain trails...I will write more about our hiking escapades in my next blog....
On a side note, Wifey has created a new Insta page to share our travel escapades -->https://www.instagram.com/
4th of July weekend was approaching & due to recent "Revenge Travel" phenomenon where more people in record numbers were hitting the road, there were rental car shortages in a scale unfathomable, sky high pricing of hotels and flights added more dent to travel plans.. Picture this, when I proceeded to book a rental car 10 days prior to the trip for pick-up at the Airport, Enterprise was sold out :/ Can you imagine cars being sold out at an Airport rental facility 10 days in advance :) Such is the current rental car crisis in the country. So naturally, the other rental companies were surge pricing their cars & since this was a road trip we had to pay 3-4X the price & settle for a very average car..
There were not many options available for us for a long trip.. Any trip was a hole burner in the pocket & few of which were not even worth the money...So me & wifey thought that if we have to splurge anyway then lets go to a once in a life time destination.. Both of us univocally landed on Washington state as our go to destination....
So Road tripping in Washington state it was :)
The Itinerary
As I mentioned earlier we based most of our trip on the central theme of hiking. Below was our 9 day itinerary for a memorable road trip in Washington State
Day 1 --> Fly out of NJ to Seattle & explore a bit of Mt Rainier
Day 2 --> Explore Mount Rainer
Day 3 --> Drive to Portland & visit Mt. Helen, Multnomah falls & Trillium Lake
Day 4--> Explore Mt Hood & the Portland Coast
Day 5--> Drive to North Cascades National park & explore the pristine untouched lakes of North Cascades National Park
Day 6--> Drive to Seattle downtown & explore the downtown
Day 7--> Drive to Port Angeles & explore the Olympic National park
Day 8--> Explore in and around Olympic National park
Day 9 --> Explore the coastal paradise of Olympic Peninsula & head to the airport & back to NJ
Evident from the above, this was a very heavy undertaking as a driver & I was up for the challenge because how often do you get such once in a life time opportunity to drive through these god sculpted landscapes :)
And the Journey Begins....
All prep done the previous day, we were up early & boarded the early morning flight to Seattle.. We landed in Seattle at noon. There were no rental car upgrades due to the car shortages... We picked up our last available pricey Sedan & headed out off the airport.. Thus began our beautiful road trip of exploring the pristine Pacific North West...
Day 1: Crystal Mountain Resort
This was our 1st day in Washington state & we had a tiring flight from NJ, we restricted our travel to just experiencing Mt Rainier from its periphery & did not get into the National Park. We drove to Crystal Mountain resort which is famous for its Gondola rides & the views of Mt. Rainier from the mountain top.We hopped on to the Gondola & headed to the mountain top. The views from the Gondola ride was super.
We reached the mountain top half past 3 & witnessed the magnificent Mt. Rainer from a far off distance. It was our first look at this geological wonder & the views were spectacular & mesmerizing. There is a small restaurant & a sit out area atop the Crystal Mountain. We chose our spot & we raked in the spectacular views of Mt Rainier with some Rainier Beer & fries :)
After spending couple of hours above, we headed back down through the Gondola ride & then drove back to the hotel located in Puyallup. This concluded Day 1 of our journey.
Day 2: Mt. Rainier National Park
During the pandemic house arrest, my browsing activity led FB to suggest travel ads.. One such ad was of Mt Rainier National park... What can I say, it was love at first sight :)
Standing tall at 14410 feet, Mt Rainier is the tallest volcano in the cascade mountain range and the most glaciated peak in the continental united states. Clad in thick layers of ice, one can witness steam emanating from the peak of the mountain thus indicating that Mt Rainier is still an active Volcano.
Due to the excitement of hiking & exploring, we were up early, packed up breakfast & headed out to Mt Rainier National Park. This was our 1st National Park visit in 2021 so we bought the "America The Beautiful" annual national park pass which would get us free entry to most of the National parks in the US for a year.
We started with a stop at Narada falls, followed by a stop at Reflection Lake followed by Jackson Visitor center all while soaking in the beautiful views turn by turn up the winding roads of Mt Rainier National Park & Arijit singh numbers playing in the background :)There were countless pull-outs along the winding roads, each of which having spectacular views of Mt Rainier. The Glaciers & deep sheets of ice gives a spectacular look to Mt Rainier from whichever side you look at it. You will never be bored looking at the mountain & every time you look at it, it is just gorgeous...
We reached Jackson visitor center at noon. We freshened up & were ready for the main activity for the day which was to hike the Skyline loop to Panorama Point & back. Skyline loop trail to Panorama Point was the best hike of my life till date. I highly recommend anyone visiting Mt Rainier national Park to embark on this gorgeous trail. The trail was mostly covered with snow & we had to walk on snow & some places hard ice. It was tricky as we weren't prepared for it & had no snow boots. We literally had to snow board on our butts while descending in some steep sections of the trail ;)The trail was challenging, tiring but overall was exhilarating. There is no match for the spectacular views of Mt Rainier & surrounding landscapes that this trail has to offer. At one specific spot atop the panorama point, you can sit in a meadow of wild flower & just gaze at a spectacular glacier waterfall while birds chirp away in the background. Such a heavenly & therapeutic experience :)
It took us close to 2.5 hours to complete the loop. Overall an amazing hike & a spectacular experience. We also visited the Myrtle Falls which is magical in itself. The backdrop of Mt Rainer gives this falls an out of the world look. A good spot for some great photo ops.
Once we were back at the visitor center, we picked up some souvenirs from the famous Paradise Inn hotel situated next to the visitor center. We quickly munched on the food we had packed & headed off to the next destination for the day - Sunrise visitor Center
The Drive from Jackson Visitor center to Sunrise visitor center took us through some picturesque landscapes & bridges. Once at the Sunrise Visitor Center, we hiked the Emon vista trail to shadow lake. It was a 3 mile loop with great views of Mt Rainier.
This concluded Day 2 of our journey & was truly one of a kind experience.
Day 3 - Bye Bye Mt Rainier, Hello Portland,Oregon
We checked out of our hotel & headed to Portland. We planned to visit Mt St Helens & Multnomah falls on this day.
When I drove from Washington to Portland I witnessed numerous volcanic Mountains, each of which were unique, snow clad & simply breathtaking. The formation felt like some kind of a mountain range filled with active Volcanic mountains. I was curious about these gorgeous mountains & when I researched it, I found out that this region of Western part of North America is referred to as Cascade Volcanic Arc. Which is basically a number of volcanic mountains/volcanos extending from BC(Canada) through Washington, Oregon to Northern California. Each of these volcanic mountains are a treat to the eyes & you will witness these magnificent mountains when you drive from Washington to Portland.
Mt St Helens - This is one of the active volcanos in the volcanic arc of the Pacific North West. The most recent eruption of Mt St Helens was in 1980.The famous adventure columnist Jon Krakauer of whom I am a great fan off(Read "Into the wild" an amazing book about a fearless adventurist) witnessed this event & notes that
"The eruption killed 57 people & caused devastation of plant & animal life for 150 square miles in the vicinity of the eruption. The cloud of ash soared to a height of 60000 feet & turned day into night across much of Washington state & scattered 540 million tons of debris across the United States"
I cannot fathom what a sight that would have been & what a horrific experience it would have been for the people who were caught off-guard in the clutches of the eruption. Also read about the story of Harry S Truman...
Anyway, moving on, we reached Mt St Helens visitor center and hiked up to the view point. What caught my eye was the beautiful wild flowers that are blooming at this spot. Flowers with such variety of colors made the surrounding landscape vibrant & colorful. The debris from the volcano from 1980 has created a valley where Elks & other wild animals graze. Infact the valley is teeming with so much wildlife that, while we were getting back from the mountain, wifey spotted a black bear which I couldn't as I was driving.
After spending some time at the Mt St Helens visitor center we continued our journey to our next destination - Multnomah falls which is situated in Portland, Oregon. Multnomah falls is situated bang on the I84 highway & visible from the highway. The falls was packed with people, thanks to the long weekend. Parking was a bit tight. However, we found some parking after waiting for 5 mins. We clicked couple of pics at the falls when we got some space. We embarked on a short hike to the bridge located at the middle of the falls. We picked up some souvenirs from the shop located at the falls. It was almost dusk & we headed off to the Hood River Waterfront park. We spotted a nice brewery situated at the waterfront which overlooks the Hood river & all the kite boarding/wind surfing happening in the river. I did not know this but this location is surrounded by mountains which makes it very windy & it is one of the best places for kite boarding. We sipped on some craft beers from the brewery while witnessing folks kite boarding in the river.
This was the perfect ending for the tiring day & a perfect end of day 3
Day 4 --> Exploring the Hood river valley, Timberline Lodge, Mt Hood & the Oregon Coast
Driving along Highway I84 past the hood river waterfront park gets you to the highway I35 junction. This is where the scenic Hood river valley byway also known as the fruit loop begins. The ashes/debris from the past eruption of the nearby Mt. Hood Volcanic mountain has rendered this valley very fertile. Owing to the nutrient rich farm lands, a number of fruits, vegetables & crops are grown in this belt & this stretch has been named as fruit loop. The 35 mile scenic fruit loop boasts a number of Wineries, Orchards, Lavender Farms & you-pick fruit farms.
We drove through this beautiful valley & pit stopped at Mt. view Orchards & Brewery. With the majestic back drop of Mt. Hood we tasted some yummy Pizza made with farm grown Pears. We also tasted some amazing wine crafted in this orchard/Brewery. We walked passed the lush Pear orchards as well. Overall an amazing experience at the Mt. view Orchards & Brewery.
We drove through the entire fruit loop and explored the near by rivers & the Trillium lake. From Trillium lake we headed off to the famous Timberline Lodge.
Timberline Lodge is situated at the base of Mt. Hood & has a historic significance associated with it. The lodge is also famous due to the fact that the movie that scared the heck out of most of us when we were kids - "The Shining" was shot at this resort. There are ski lifts/cable cars that take you from the lodge to the top of Mt. Hood. We took the cable cars to the top of Mt Hood & experienced the great panoramic views atop Mt Hood. Wifey made us try some panorama iphone tricks as well :)
After exploring the Fruit Loop, The Timberline resort, the ski rides & the panoramic views of the mountains, we headed off to our final destination of the day - The Oregon coast.
2 hours drive from Portland took us to Cannon beach. The beach has some great volcanic structures. We found an amazing restaurant situated bang on the beach. Sipping on some locally crafted IPA, hot chowder soup, we watched the waves crash on the magnificent volcanic structures as the sun faded into the horizon in the background.
This beautiful experience brought an end to Day4.What an amazing day this was with such diverse mix of experiences. Days like these are what makes traveling & road trips addictive & magical :)
Day 5--> North Cascades National Park
This was another exciting day. The day we were to experience the crystal clear Glacier lakes surrounded by snow capped mountains. We had to drive from Portland to North cascades which was a 6 hour drive.
We woke up early & embarked on our long journey to North Cascades. We passed through Mt Baker which is known for some great hiking trails. Mt. Baker was not on our itinerary due to time constraints. We finally reached the National Park by 1PM.We spent some time at the Diablo Lakefront.
Diablo Lake is a picturesque, crystal clear, Turquoise green Lake surrounded by lush green mountains of the North Cascade mountain range. I dipped my leg into the cold water of this pristine lake & it was almost like hydro therapy. The pain from the 6 hr long drive through heavy traffic & winding mountain roads just vanished in a second :)
We drove along the park road & explored few view points. We also embarked on a short hike to Rainy Lake whose trail head begins at the famous Maple pass trail. Maple pass trail was in our itinerary for day5 but due to the tiring road trip in the past few days, exhaustion kicked in. We just hiked the short Rainy Lake loop, witnessed the amazing crystal clear lake with the background of a waterfall from which the lake gets its name.After this hike we embarked on another short 3 mile hike to Ross dam.Post the hike we called it a day & drove to the nearby Angel of the Winds Casino.This was our abode for the night.... I had some chilled beer, hot wings, made some quick buck in Black Jack & called it a day...
An exhausting but another day well spent exploring the spectacular National Park & landscapes this beautiful country has to offer :)
Day 6--> Seattle here we come
This was a relaxation day. A day to just park your car in a parking garage & explore the down town by foot.
We rode to the top of the famous space needle. walked through the famous Pike Place Market & indulged in some street side delicacies. Though me being a big coffee lover, I did not have the energy or the will to stand in the huge queue to have some coffee from the oldest Star Bucks.Instead we found a nice restaurant atop the starbucks building called "The Pink Door" which had some lip smacking Italian food in the offering.We had sumptuous lunch at The Pink Door & then explored a little more of Seattle before we were back at the hotel.We just wanted to relax & called it a day.
That concluded Day 6
Day 7 Aloha Olympic National park
There was a phase in my life when I used to ingest a lot of documentary TV shows like Ancient Aliens,Finding Big Foot, The Unexplained etc. There was one specific place that used to always come up when there was talk about Big Foot. You guessed it right the place is Olympic National Park.
There were peope who "apparently" always sight Big Foot in the dense jungles of the Olympic Peninsula. Whether to believe or not to believe is for a debate for another day. But at least I picked up a Big Foot Refrigerator magnet in reminiscence of all the time i spent consuming the Documentary series & gawking at my inner conscience to believe or not to believe :)
So When I planned a trip to Washington state, Olympic Peninsula naturally became a must visit place for me.We drove out of the Casino on day 6 & headed straight to Olympic National Park.Our 1st destination of the day was Hurricane Ridge Trail.
Once atop the trail, we can get Bird eye view of the spectacular panoramic viewpoints of the nearby mountain ranges & also see mainland Canada far north of the Salish sea. This is a must visit place while in Olympic National Park.We spent quite some time atop inhaling the breath taking views atop this spectacular hiking trail. Unfortunately we had planned Nia Bay this day but there were Tribal enforced closures for COVID & the bay was closed for visitors. Disappointed, we drove to Port Angeles which was our adobe for the next 3 days.
Back in Port Angeles I downed some local IPA & also indulged in some ELK Burger topped with shredded Crab from the Crab house restaurant ;)
This concluded day 7
Day 8 --> Hoh Rain Forest, Crater Lake & exploring Port Angeles
This day we explored the nearby Crater Lake & the Hoh Rain Forest.
Hoh Rain Forest situated in the Olympic Peninsula is the largest temperate rain forest in the US. The rain forest gets close to 14 feet of rain every year resulting in massive lush green trees clad with lichens & moss giving it a ghostly look :)This is also a designated UNESCO world Heritage Site.
We embarked on a hike in the Hall of Mosses rain forest trail to experience the massive towering trees & the biodiversity this place has to offer.We also hoped to see the Roosevelt Elk which unfortunately we did not spot. However, we saw some really massive trees & the beautiful Hoh river which is a glacier fed River causing it to be a bit silty & very very cold.We had also planned for a stargazing night out on this day. However, the skies were cloudy & it was almost full moon.So we just relaxed at Port Angeles by sipping on some locally crafted IPA & gazing into the vast sea & Mainland Canada.
This concluded day 8
Day 9--> Exploring the untouched Coast of the Pacific North West
While researching about Olympic peninsula, I came across Rialto beach & the concept of Tide Pools.The massive volcanic structures this beach has to offer as well as the beautiful tide pools this place has to offer really caught my eye & became a must visit place in my itinerary. A fascinating discovery on the internet indeed :)
When the tide is low at the beach, the pacific ocean exposes tiny tide pools teeming with plant & animal life.Basically you can walk and explore the rich plant and animal life by walking over few rocks instead of snorkeling. However, the catch is you need to be there very early in the morning when the tide is out to experience the true glory of this place.Which basically meant that we had to drive 1.5 hrs from Port Angeles & be there at Rialto beach by 7:30.Which also meant that we had to check out from the hotel by 6Am & this was also a day that we had our flight back to NJ at 11PM.So we would be on the road from 6AM until 9PM and directly head to the airport to board our flight back to NJ.
Phew!!!
A long & a tiring day lay ahead of us. However, the thought of witnessing these tide pools that I have never seen in my life overshadowed the thought of exhaustion.
We checked out of the hotel as planned & reached Rialto beach by 8.It was a 1.5 mile beach hike upto the tide pools. The tide was coming in faster and since we were 30 mins behind schedule, I started sprinting towards the tide pools leaving wifey behind such was the excitement to witness this phenomenon ;)Panting & with exhaustion i finally made it to the Tide pool on time & witnessed these majestic creations of mother nature. There were small pools teeming with colorful plants, corals, oysters, snails, different colored Star fishes & to top it all the magnificent volcanic structures in full display at the beach. We spent lot of time admiring & clicking pics of these beautiful tide pools until the ocean finally caught up with us & the tides came in with full glory. We had to quickly walkaway to ensure we are not stuck in the high tide. This was such an amazing feeling & once in a lifetime experience :) The early morning exhausting sprint was totally worth it.
We continued our coastal journey & explored couple of more beaches of the pacific north west before heading off to Seattle airport to board our flight to NJ.
When we returned the rental car, the mileage on our bill read 2300 miles :)This concluded our amazing trip to the heavenly Washington state.
This was one of the best road trips we have undertaken covering 2300 miles of sheer god sculpted landscapes. A sheer treat for a nature lover & an avid Road Trippers....
I hope you could make it this far end of such a long blog post...
I hope this has evoked some interest in you to visit the spectacular landscapes, flora & fauna Washington state has to offer :)
Do follow us on our new Insta page for all our travel escapades-->https://www.instagram.com/
So until next time Ciao :)
