Eastern Migration: The Pacific Northwest

Travelin' Dog

Where were we?

It's been an embarrassingly long time since I updated the blog. I had grand plans of updating every night from the road, but after about three days, exhaustion - from the move, from the drive - set in.

But we were in the Redwoods. And I mentioned driving through a tree.

So, yes there we are, side mirrors defiantly outstretched.

But as big as this tree was, it wasn't *the* Big Tree, which resides in Redwood National Forest. The giant is 304 feet tall and 21 feet across.

As we walked through the trails, I felt like an extra in the Land of the Lost.

There were a few other surreal sights. Leaving the park, we passed this poncho-clad rider and his three horses...

...and the hippie mobile.

Big trees require big lumberjacks. Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe, can handle the job.

After one last glimpse of the California coastline, we drove up to Oregon to spend the night with a friend.

The next morning, we drove up to Seattle. One of our first stops was the Pike Place Market.

Here, you can watch the fish vendors throw fish to each other. If you are brave, you can be on the receiving end of a flying filet.

The guy in the pink shirt made the catch.
Very impressive.

We wandered happily through the market, buying healthy homemade treats for the Merry Dog and bunches of flowers from this stand.

During our stay, we also visited the Ballard Locks, which boats use to get from the Puget Sound to Lake Washington. Salmon also travel up the locks during their migration through a "ladder". 

A Native American harvests salmon.

A viewing area allows visitors to view the salmon as they
fight upstream.

 We also visited Seattle's most famous landmark, the Space Needle, built in 1962 for the World's Fair.

Requisite shot in front of the Space Needle.

Next door is the Experience Music Project, a museum created by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. The building was designed by Frank Gehry, who also designed the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

We watched kids play in the International Fountain, while the water danced to the strains of Ibrahim Ferrer.

Without doubt, our best meal of the entire trip was at Ray's Boathouse on Puget Sound, on our last night in Seattle.

We watched the sunset from the bank of windows, and dined on gruyere puff pastries, grilled salmon, and smoked sablefish. To drink, I couldn't resist the Dreamboat, a gin cocktail with Ferrand Dry Orange Curacao.

I'll show you photos from Big Sky Country tomorrow. In the meantime I leave you with a perfect sunset on Puget Sound.