A couple after Danny's wedding, Jonas, Jeff and I flew to Seattle. Last year, for Christmas, Jeff gifted me a trip. Originally, he wanted us to go explore the Canadian Rockies by train, but with my knee injury and recovery, I wouldn't have felt up to going until after the season to explore that area had ended. So we decided to skip Banff and Calgary and simply explore Seattle, Whistler, Vancouver, Olympic National Park, and Mt Rainier National Park. To be honest, with everything that transpired before this trip and the cruise that we scheduled at the end of the month/beginning of November after we had planned this trip, I wasn't really sure I wanted to go...but I'm so glad we did. It was a week of being out in God's creations. Yes, we spent a little bit of time in Seattle and Vancouver, but for the most part, our days were filled with hikes and gorgeous Fall drives. Each day, I was astounded by the beauty of this part of the world. I was in awe of the giant fir and cedar trees. I felt so insignificant as I wrapped by puny little arms around their trunks or as I walked under their towering branches. But that feeling of insignificance didn't make me feel bad; in fact, it endeared me to my Savior even more. If I could be so small in the grand scheme of things, He must really love me to have sacrificed His life for me. Does that make sense? I can't describe it any other way. I really am just a blip on this timeline; just a speck of existence on this earth and yet He still came here to die for me. I felt so much love. I felt embraced by His majesty as I viewed His creations along side Jeff and Jonas. As physically exhausting as our vacation was, because of how fast paced we took it to cram in all the places we wanted to visit, I felt emotionally rejuvenated in the end.
We flew to Seattle early in the morning on Tuesday, October 13th...and hit the ground running! We grabbed our rental car and headed to the downtown area. We (of course) grabbed a little breakfast snack from Starbucks (because when in Seattle...) before proceeding to our first adventure of the day, the Underground Tour. When I came to Seattle with Nichole and Kate a few years ago, I did this tour and loved it. It was informative and entertaining then and thankfully it was now too. We learned about the history of Seattle then explored the world forgotten underground. We had an engaging tour guide that Jonas even enjoyed. From there, we headed to Pike's Market to explore the various venders and to enjoy a late lunch/early dinner. I think Jonas was a little overwhelmed with all the sites, sounds, and smells. We watched them throw fish at the fish market, wandered through booths full of flowers, and even found a fun woodworking vendor. I found an olive wood (from Jerusalem) dreidel that I splurged on. After the market, we headed to the Space Needle. We had a little time before our tour so we stopped for Jonas to play on the playground then popped into the Chihuly Glass Garden. I am amazed at the amount of effort that went into these displays. Jonas, however, was only mildly impressed. Haha! Actually, he thought it was pretty but it didn't really draw his attention. He did love watching the glass blowers make a vase though. We got there just in time to see them form this vase from beginning to end. Finally, we made our way to the Space Needle. We didn't really stop to read all the history about the edifice, but I filled Jonas in on the basics while we made our way to the top. Once there, we all enjoyed the incredible views. It was so pretty to see all the Fall colors. Jonas was a little intimidated by the full glass walls, but overall, he just enjoyed the experience. We really liked the rotating glass floor too. That evening, we stayed in Bellingham, but before leaving Seattle, we made one more quick stop at Kerry Park to enjoy the view of Seattle's skyline.
Wednesday (Oct 14th) we headed to Canada. Yup...Jonas not only got to check another state off the list, he made it to another country too! We spent two days exploring this region of Canada. We stopped at the border and took some pictures under the Peace Arch that was built as a symbolic representation of the friendship of our two countries. From there, we headed to the Capilano Suspension bridge. We actually crossed a few more of these types of bridges while we were exploring this part of British Columbia. Jeff and Jonas loved nonchalantly bouncing on these bridges. They tried to make it inconspicuous, but if someone was really paying attention they could tell it was them. They thought it was the funniest thing to get everyone bouncing. We explored the tree top and cliff walks while we were there. Before leaving, we grabbed a little lunch. We introduced Jonas to poutine for the first time. It wasn't his favorite (like it is currently Jeff's), but he still enjoyed it. I couldn't get him to try any of the maple flavored treats (he's not a fan of maple flavor), but there were a lot of huckleberry treats that he was willing to indulge in. After we left Capilano, we started chasing waterfalls...literally. We hiked to three different waterfalls that afternoon: Shannon, Brandywine, and Alexander Falls. The longest hike was to Alexander Falls, which was actually our favorite. You could access views of the waterfall from the parking lot, but supposedly there was a trail there too. When I put it into the All Trails app, we found an overgrown area that was the start of the trail that would lead to the river. After walking in brush for 50 yards or so, the trail opened up and was quite evident. We hiked along the trail until we got close to the river. At first, we couldn't find a way down to the river's edge. We decided to hike the trail a little more but quickly realized it was heading away from the river so we turned around. On the way back, we left the groomed trail and found a rope someone had fastened to get down the steeper embankment to the river. Jonas was a little unsure about the safety aspects of our proposed descent, but once he saw Jeff go down, he realized it was safe. We were so thankful to that unknown individual who left the rope because the river was AMAZING! There were actually two rivers converging into one at that point. One river was a pristine light blue color. It was gorgeous! After that, we called it a day and headed to Whistler Village for dinner. We wandered a couple of stores, stopped for a picture at the Olympic rings, had dinner, and grabbed some ice cream before heading to our lodging that night. There were two nights on our trip where it was cheaper to stay in an Airbnb. This was one of those nights. It was such a cute little condo with a bed in a loft area. That's were Jonas slept. It was his own little cozy space.
Thursday (Oct 15th) we started to head back to Vancouver, but not before a couple more hikes. We started the morning hiking to Rainbow Falls. This was the other favorite hike of this area. It was a lengthier hike with several cascades along the way. For the most part, we had these hikes to ourselves. A couple of the hikes were more popular and more crowded, but, especially in the morning, we usually hiked alone. It made the hikes more enjoyable to not be surrounded by others. Next, we made our way to the Train Wreck trail. This hike was more popular and a bit more crowded, but still ok. Thankfully, we were traveling during their shoulder season so the crowds were less overall. To get to the wrecked rail cars, we had to cross another suspension bridge. This was by far the bouncy bridge we came to...and Jeff and Jonas bounced as much as they could. Once on the other side, we discovered 7 wrecked rail cars that had been abandoned there. In 1956, the train pulling these cars was late for a delivery and decided to speed up. Unfortunately, they were unable to remain on the tracks as they hit a curve in this area. Most of the train derailed. The rail company salvaged all that they could then left these seven cars here. Now people hike to these cars and use spray paint to decorate them. I didn't mind the spray paint on the cars, but I didn't like how some people expanded their creativity to the trees and rocks nearby. Still, this area was very colorful and unique. From there, we continued to drive the Sea-to-Sky Hwy back to Vancouver. We made one more stop to take a gondola ride to the top of a mountain. I have to admit, I was a little freaked out. There was literally nothing saving us if this gondola failed. Thankfully, it didn't. On the top, we had lunch and did a couple of little hikes. Again, there was another suspension bridge (and yes, more bouncing) and spectacular views of the lake below. After taking it all in, we descended and headed into Vancouver for the evening. We explored the Granville Market where we enjoyed dinner (clam chowder pot pie) then moved to the Gas Town district to see the famous gas town clock. At each quarter hour, the clock plays a little tune from the steam and pipes built into it. This part of Vancouver is much older than the buildings on Granville Island. I loved the cobblestone streets and older facades mixed with newer buildings. We wandered into a couple of stores before we walked down to the harbor where we watched float planes take off and land. (We also got a picture next to the Olympic cauldron when Vancouver hosted the Winter Olympics in 2010.) At the end of the trip, when I asked everyone what hikes or activities were their favorites, Jeff and Jonas agreed that our time in British Columbia was the best.
Friday (Oct 16th) was Jeff's birthday. We didn't get an opportunity to celebrate it with family before we left, but we celebrated him today. We woke up that morning and headed back to Washington where we stopped in Bellingham to gather some food supplies for the rest of the trip. (We like to eat lunch on the go so we don't have to stop our activities. It also allows us to splurge a little more for dinner.) While in Bellingham, we also decided to hike to Whatcom Falls. This pretty hike is right in the middle of the city. There is a beautiful stone bridge that was built during the Works Progress Administration following the Great Depression. I wished we still appreciated this type of craftsmanship. We hiked the trails above and around the falls for a bit before making our way towards Coupeville. There we stopped at Admiralty Head Lighthouse and Fort Casey. The lighthouse was closed so we didn't get to go inside, but we had some time for Jonas to explore the abandoned Fort Casey before catching a ferry to Port Townsend. He enjoyed running around the fort while Jeff walked the rocky beach. Finally, we made our way to the ferry terminal for the short 30 minute ride to the other side. In Port Townsend, we stopped to get some birthday ice cream treat for Jeff and wander the cute downtown. Because of how many hikes (and the drive time between those hikes) we wanted to do the next day, we decided to squeeze one in tonight before the sunset. It meant that we had to drive a little further than our lodging destination that night then double back, but we decided it was worth it. We made our way to Lake Crescent and Marymere Falls in Olympic National Park. This was a beautiful, serene way to end our day. The hike wasn't too long and was the perfect hike to introduce Jeff and Jonas to the beauty of the mountain side of Olympic. We finished the hike about sunset. We stopped at the lake to skip rocks before finally heading to our hotel.
Saturday (Oct 17th) was probably another favorite day for Jonas because we eventually made it to the beach! We started the morning with a couple more waterfall hikes. The first one (Madison Falls) was super short, but worth it. We made our way to the end of the short trail and got to scramble down to the base of the small falls. I think that's what Jonas enjoys most - being able to go off trail and scramble on the rocks. The next waterfall was Sol duc Falls. There was no scrambling to the bottom of this one, but it is so pretty! It's hard to grasp the amount of green and growth in this region. Coming from a desert, this is very unusual and so gorgeous to us. After Sol duc, we headed to Cape Flattery where we hiked out to the north-western most point of the lower 48 states. You have now been to the southern most point (Key West) and the north-western most point. This was another hike where there were a few more people on the trail, but it didn't detract from the beauty of the trail and its wooden walkways. The point is literally a cliff. There was no scrambling down to the ocean's edge but the views were breathtaking. After we got our fill of those views, we headed back to our car and on to our final destination, Forks. Before calling it a day though, we made one last stop at Rialto Beach. We finally made it to the ocean. Jonas has always been drawn to the water. He loved baths as a baby and has loved swimming, boating, etc. We actually spent more time at the beach that evening than we did on any of the hikes. This was a rockier beach which wasn't as fun, but Jonas (and Jeff) found a stick that stuck with us for the next two days. There was nothing particularly special about the stick. He used it as a walking stick, but it also became a spear and a two-pronged "trident" (more like a "bident"). The sun eventually started to set and our tummies indicated that we were all hungry so we made our way to Forks where Jeff found a cute and very delicious restaurant. We were luckily able to finish dinner before the end of the BYU vs Notre Dame game. Jeff and Jonas were trying to keep tabs on the game online. It was a nail biter! BYU won in the end and we got to watch that final quarter in our cute mini cabin Airbnb.
Our trip was winding down. We had one more day in Olympic before we headed to Mt. Rainier. Sunday Oct 18th) morning, we headed straight to the Hot Rainforest. We had seen ample amounts of moss growing on trees on our other hikes, but nothing compared to the rainforest. We were all fascinated with the amount of green we saw! We loved the trees growing out of the deadfall. There was even two trees with their roots intertwined. God teaches us so much through His creations. As I stopped to look at these trees, I had the overwhelming feeling that He used these to illustrate how interdependent we all are. I loved contemplating the idea of giving life, even after death. These dead trees left enough of themselves behind to spark new growth. I can only hope that I leave enough behind to give life to those that follow. We walked a few trails then headed back to the beach. This time we explored Ruby Beach. This was more sandy and more calm. Last night, we made it to the beach at high tide. Today, we were there near low tide, which meant we got to see a couple of tide pools with anemones and star fish. We grabbed some food and hiked to the beach for a picnic before exploring. Jeff and Jonas were more adventurous on the rocks. I got caught by a wave at Rialto beach and I didn't want to dry my shoes again so I played it a little more safe. Still, we all enjoyed our stroll. Again, we stayed for a couple of hours before Jonas decided he was ready to leave. From there, we had a bit of a drive to make it inland and closer to Mt. Rainier. We stayed in the capitol of Washington, Olympia, that night. Once again, Jeff found a great place for us to eat in their historic downtown district, and, as luck would have it, it was right next to an ice cream shop. I get out-voted on dessert choices with Jeff and Jonas. I prefer pastries, but they both love ice cream. Still, how can I complain with a little evening treat.
Our final day (Monday, Oct 19th) was spent exploring Mt Rainier National Park. I had already experienced Olympic National Park with Kate and Nichole a couple of years ago so I knew what to expect and where to take Jeff and Jonas, but Mt Rainier was new to all of us. We could tell it was a little more drier as we moved inland, but still gorgeous and green. The mountain was breathtaking! We only had a day to explore so we chose a couple of hikes we felt we could fit in. The whole drive throughout the park was breathtaking. We were so lucky to have clear skies that day. We saw Mt. Rainier from various perspectives. Our first hike was to Narada falls. It was a quick stop. I think, by this time, we had our fill of waterfalls, but it was beautiful nonetheless. We then chose to hike to two lakes, Bench and Snow Lakes. This hike and these lakes were probably our favorite thing we saw/did in Mt. Rainier. It was a longer hike but not difficult. Snow Lake was such a vibrant blue-green color. I'm not sure the pictures do it justice. All along the hike, Jonas threw his stick like a spear. At the start of the trail, Jeff saw some walking sticks others had left behind and decided that he was going to leave the stick he found at Rialto Beach there. Jonas wasn't so sure. He wanted to bring it home, but there was no way it was going to fit into his carry-on. He lamented leaving it behind though. He had grown attached to it. When we got to the end of the trail, he ultimately opted to leave it behind, but he was pretty sad about it. At that point, we decided to make our way back to Seattle for our flight home the next day. We drove along the road and found one more trail to hike. This trail was completely abandoned. The main site along this trail had been washed out years earlier and never cleared; however, there was an adjacent trail that was clearly not traveled. The fall leaves were in abundance. We walked about a mile down the trail until we decided to turn around and head back to the car. It was such a peaceful way to wrap up our week. I needed this trip. I needed the serenity of nature and the rejuvenation the exploration brought. I am so glad that we have the opportunity to travel and see and experience so many things. I realize how lucky we are...and spoiled. Next week, we can literally say that we will have traveled from sea-to-shining-sea. Stay tuned!
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