Adventures in Washington State with the McMahons

06/24/2018

Tim and I visited Cama Beach State Park and Camano Island Inn on another perfect PNW Saturday. Even though it’s high tourist season here, both places were uncrowded, and we soaked up the peace and quiet, sunshine and sea breezes. The natural surroundings, cool temperatures, and wonderful Washington State wines restored our souls and spirits.

06/16/2018

Ferried from Edmonds to Kingston and drove around Hood Canal and back to Kingston. First time touring that route. We stopped at Rocky Brook Falls, which was spectacular. We tried to visit two more waterfalls in the area, but their access roads were closed. The Canal waters were a beautiful turquoise color. Low tide and oyster season brought out the locals digging for dinner. Beautiful day in the PNW!

05/13/2018

On a picture perfect Mother’s Day, we visited one of our favorite waterfalls, Deception Falls. It’s an easy drive along Hwy 2 between Skykomish and Stevens Pass. The Falls are just off the highway and accessible via an easy hike. Snow melt into the Tye River was feeding the Falls all the way down. The Falls were pumping harder than we’ve ever seen before. The thundering sound of the water was deafening! We took stills and video of the Upper, Middle, and Lower Falls. Enjoy the stills and scroll through to see the four videos.

01/19/2018

Yippee! It may be dark and rainy today, but Tim and I are busy planning our summer adventures. These books arrived on our doorstep today to help us choose our destinations.

01/15/2018

12/29/2017

After viewing the total solar eclipse from Prineville OR together as a family, our adult children headed off on their own adventures. Tim and I pointed the car East to see some of the regions of Oregon and Washington that we haven't seen yet.

12/29/2017

Explored Paradise Inn in Mt. Rainier NP and hiked the surroundings with visiting friend Phyllis. The day was picture perfect and Mt. Rainier flaunted its magnificence, as these highlights show. The wildflowers were in full bloom and added interest along the way. We saw waterfalls and even Mt. Adams to the south. Enjoy!

12/29/2017

July 2017. It took us 11 hours to drive 350 miles from northern CA to Lincoln City OR because we couldn't resist stopping to admire and explore the huge redwood forests and the breathtaking coastline. We took a short hike in Redwood Nat'l and State Parks, then headed for the Oregon coast where the marine cloud layer persisted into midday. Still, the scenery was beautiful, and the OR beaches were more accessible than those at the bottom of cliffs in CA. We managed to whittle our 1075 photos to 39 of our favorites. We'll be back to explore this coastline again, and we'll allow much more time to linger and let these natural wonders feed our souls. Enjoy these as you cue Peter, Paul and Mary singing "This Land is Your Land" in your head.

12/29/2017

Tim and I headed to Canada to Peace Arch Park, where we skipped back and forth across the US-Canada border. Afterward we followed the coast to Birch Bay State Park where we lunched al fresco with a bald eagle. Then we drove up the Mt. Baker Scenic Highway as far as we could go before we were stopped by a 10 ft high wall of snow. Notice the two pics of Picture Lake - one taken last August and the other taken in May. What a difference a summer makes! We'll be back to see the sights around Mt. Baker when the area thaws out.

12/28/2017

August 2016. Headed north to Mt. Baker Scenic Byway via the Chuckanut Scenic Byway to see Mts. Baker and Shuksan. Stayed overnight in Bellingham and caught an amazing sunset. Headed to the US-Canadian Border and Peace Arch State Park via Birch Bay State Park and Semiahmoo County Park the next day. Album includes Bellingham sunset sequence and dahlia sequence from Peach Arch SP. Will repeat this adventure for sure!

12/28/2017

Tim and I took Steve and Teri on a whirlwind greatest hits tour of the sights around Seattle: Mt. Rainier National Park, a whale watch in the San Juan Islands followed by Deception Pass, and Lake Crescent, Madison Falls, and Hurricane Ridge on the Olympic Peninsula - all in three days! We hope they'll be back to choose where to spend more time exploring.

12/26/2017

Tim and I took a day trip to see two waterfalls: Snoqualmie Falls and Twin Falls. We also viewed Mt. Baker and Mt. Si from Snoqualmie Point Park. Beautiful!