[A777R]

Well, this has been long overdue, given how much my wife and I enjoy the beautiful pictures posted here by all members. One comment my wife consistently makes about the blogs is how refreshing it is to see posts without excessive filters and humblebrags, and I completely agree. So, here's my attempt to share some pictures from our slice of the earth called the Pacific Northwest.

The Pacific Northwest (PNW) area of the US is marked in the map below.

I moved to Seattle,Washington in Dec 2023 and am trying to make the most of my stay here with my limited budget given that I am trying to aggressively get rid of my student debt and also hoping for the visa gods to rule in my favor.

These pictures are from Mt. Rainier National Park which I visited in early May. Since I was with a few elderly people, I did not get a chance to hike it but it certainly looks like a hike worth doing.

Mount Rainier, the tallest peak in Washington State, was named by Captain George Vancouver on May 8, 1792, in honor of his friend Rear Admiral Peter Rainier. According to the USGS, it’s one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the Cascade Range due to its height, frequent earthquakes, active hydrothermal system, and extensive glacier cover.

In the Pacific Northwest, you'll also find Mt. Baker, Mt. Hood, and Mt. St. Helens. Captain Vancouver named Mt. St. Helens after another friend and Mt. Baker after one of his Lieutenants. Interestingly Mt. Hood was named by William Broughton but he was under Vancouver’s command at the time. And believe it or not, there are cities named Vancouver in Canada and in Washington state, both after Captain Vancouver!

Captain Vancouver passed away in relative obscurity on May 10, 1798, at the age of 40, less than three years after completing his voyages and expeditions. Yet millions of people still mention his name and that of his friends every day.

Anyway, enough of history, in the pictures you will see Mt. Rainier and Alder lake. It really gives a vibe that only Switzerland can beat.







Christine Falls Bridge



Lake Alder







Next trip was to a town called Leavenworth. The town is designed to look like a Bavarian town and is one of the major tourist draws in the PNW. The drive to Leavenworth is one of the most beautiful drives in the US and you are constantly struggling to concentrate on the long windy roads at 100+ kmph while trying to look outside at the views. On the way back we stopped at Lake Wenatchee which is one of the several large and pristine lakes in the PNW.

















Continuing on the European theme, the PNW is also the home of Skagit Valley, which hosts an annual Tulip festival and looks as picturesque as the Netherlands during the bloom season.










We also got a chance to see the cherry blossom bloom at the University of Washington.










Another day trip to Snoqualmie Falls and Seattle to see the Space Needle and visit the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum.









And another one to Discovery Park in Seattle. (a beautiful Mt. Rainier is also visible in the pictures)







As I have reached the 30 picture limit for a post, I will post the remaining pictures in the next part of the post. Thank you for reading and I wish that all of you get a chance to visit the PNW once in your life.

[Rudra Sen]

Mod note: Thread moved to Travelogues. Thanks for sharing.

[mobike008]

Welcome to Seattle !!

You have nicely covered some of the main spots. And, I urge you to visit them again and again in different seasons as they become totally a different place.

For example :

Visit Leavenworth during winters (especially for Christmas) :

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ml#post5462181 (Leavenworth, WA - Visit in a BMW to the most X'massy Town in USA + Experiencing a snow blizzard)

Snoqualmie Falls during Fall :

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ml#post5194895 (Washington, USA 2021 Photo Blog #1 - Mt.Baker, Snoqualmie Falls, Fall Season)

Or, the North Cascades Loop during the summer :

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ml#post5615238 (2 BHPians and a Porsche Boxster S | Road trip of 400 miles in 11 hours doing the North Cascade Loop)

There are tons of other photoblogs that I shared on the forum.

Hope you are enjoying your stay here.

Cheers !!!

[A777R]

Now coming to the most memorable trips of the summer. The first one was to the North Cascades National Park. This park is home to more than 300 glaciers and is full of wilderness as there is only a single road passing through the entire park. The highlight of this park is Lake Diablo which has a beautiful turquoise shade. The distinctive turquoise color of the lake is the result of suspended fine rock particles refracting sunlight. These rock particles, called glacial flour, enter the lake when rock from the surrounding mountains is eroded by ice and flows into the water through glacial streams.



















And the final and the longest trip to the Oregon Coast which was over 3 days where we visited several points of interest on the coast as well as visited Portland for a day. The sheer number of pristine beaches with ample parking is such a stark difference from India. This country really knows how to market and maintain all the possible natural wonders it has. Every point has its own name with detailed history mentioned about them making them appear way more than a simple viewpoint. If you go on the internet, you will find hundreds of people creating itineraries around these viewpoints with each one of them curating their own "must-see" lists. But as a recurring theme that I have noticed since coming here, everything in the US seems overbuilt and that goes with the coastal attractions as well. Funnily, when I asked a local about which viewpoint I should prioritize, he said just go to whichever one is on your way as its the SAME DAMN COAST!!

This is "Haystack Rock" at Cannon Beach



These are the adjoining rocks to Haystack Rock with each one having its own name



This is the Horse Tail fall in Portland. This has several named hikes around it.



This is a picture from the International Rose Test Garden in Portland. It serves as a testing ground for new rose varieties.



Sea Lions resting at Newport,OR. Males travel upward to the cold waters in the PNW while female Sea Lions just rest throughout the year in the warm Californian Waters. Each one of these male sea lions weighs around 300 kg!



Yaquina Head Lighthouse at Newport OR. There are tours available for this lighthouse.



Cobble beach below the light house. I have never seen a beach only lined with shiny cobble stones. There were seals around and taking a cobble stone from this beach is considered bad luck (There was a sign stating how a lady sent the cobble stone she took from this beach back to the ranger at the beach as she believed it only bought her bad luck).




This formation is called the Devils Punch Bowl. This part of the US has some strong connection with the word Devil as they also have something called the Devil's lake.



Surfers surfing in the icy cold waters of the Pacific Ocean near Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint



The lighthouse at Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint



The famous Octopus Tree at Cape Meares



Some other scenic views from Cape Meares




One of my favorite spots on the trip was Cape Kiwanda with this majestic rock completely dominating the coastline



Cape Kiwanda also has huge sand dunes along the coast



Another viewpoint on the way



The highlight of the trip though was Depoe Bay. Depoe Bay has the world's smallest harbor (pictured below) and is home to several Grey Whales. Watching whales has been a long standing dream of mine so I was really excited to go on a whale watching tour in Depoe Bay. The boats take you 2-3 miles away from the coast and we spotted several whales. Capturing them is really difficult as the waters are very choppy and whales usually do not come above the surface for more than a few seconds but it was surreal nonetheless. You are constantly looking in all directions to spot a whale and suddenly you will see a spout or a tail popping out.

World's smallest harbor at Depoe Bay



Catching a glimpse of the whale spouting



This was a wonderful summer for us and I never thought that I would be able to explore so much while spending so little. I am grateful to my wife for being a wonderful travel companion, to god for giving me this opportunity and to all the fellow members here for constantly sharing their travelogues and motivating me to post mine.

Next trip will most probably be to California and I am sure that will be equally great. Thank you for reading!

[Kkumar]

Thank you for sharing such an excellent article with incredible photographs. You are lucky indeed to have been able to visit these beautiful places. Eagerly waiting for your next travelogue. Keep on munching miles.

[A777R]

Originally Posted by Kkumar

Thank you for sharing such an excellent article with incredible photographs. You are lucky indeed to have been able to visit these beautiful places. Eagerly waiting for your next travelogue. Keep on munching miles.

Thank you so much for your kind words! I wish I could pay more attention to the cars I rented for these trips and how they performed but I guess the excitement of the trip kept my brain occupied.

I am saving up for a trip to Alaska which should happen some time next year. Me and my wife joke that maybe some ancestor several hundred thousand years stepped in Alaska and now we will be the first ones revisiting their footsteps!

[A777R]

Well I think I should have named this thread a Summer and Fall on the US west coast, given that I now got a chance to visit some family in California before the year is over.

Anyway, first some pictures from a day trip to Seattle where we visited the Seattle Public Library and the famous ferris wheel during the sunset.



















And the next and the final trip of the year (I think ) was to the beautiful state of California.

First stop was Chinatown in San Francisco which is one of the oldest and the largest ones in the country. Chinese folks were primarily used to build the railroads during the gold rush and the chinatowns were a way to keep them away from the richer neighborhoods. Today they are filled with Chinese shops selling Chinese goods and other Chinese spices and teas.



Next stop was Pier 39 via Waymo which is a driverless taxi service and that was a different experience to say the least. The famous Alcatraz Penitentiary visible in this picture.



Then a short walk led us to the famous Ghirardelli Square. The Ghirardelli Chocolate Company was incorporated in 1852 in SF and has a store in the square which serves the world famous Hot fudge sundae which we grabbed during our visit.



Post the calorie filled sundae we hopped on a SF cable car. The San Francisco cable car system is the world's last manually operated cable car system and an icon of the city of San Francisco. It has been operating since 1873.

This picture is from Wikipedia-



The cable car dropped us Lombard street which is claimed to be "the crookedest street in the world" and is another famous tourist spot.





Now we were off to the most famous landmark on the west coast - The Golden Gate Bridge. The Golden Gate Bridge is described in Frommer's travel guide as "possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world." It is truly majestic to see it in person and the views surrounding the area are exactly like some of the MacBook wallpapers. It was extremely windy but the views were definitely worth it.







On our way back to Palo Alto, we caught the sign board which showed Bangalore as a sister city of SF.




Next day we visited the famous California Route 1 and the 17-Mile Drive in Monterey which is often called the most beautiful drive in the world and I certainly would not argue against that title.













On the last day, we had the chance to visit the Stanford University campus, and since it was a Sunday, it was very peaceful. As I walked through the campus, it was hard to fathom that the next several trillion dollars of wealth would be created in the buildings around me.








Overall, this last-minute trip to California was definitely worth it, and I can say with certainty that it is one of the few places in the U.S. that isn't overhyped. The weather, the places, and the food are all world-class, and I would love to visit again many more times. Thanks for reading!

[car_guy1998]

I must say that you have documented well about Washington state.

Even I too had visited Seattle in Dec 2023 during my vacation (I stay in California Bay Area BTW and here for pursuing my Masters) since my maternal uncle lives there and I had visited each and every place you have mentioned in this thread.

I hope to visit Seattle once again in Jan or Feb to meet my maternal uncle, who lives in Bothell and hope to revisit the places I visited during my last visit.

[nevinfrancis]

nice to read the travelogue.

Actually, I live in the neighborhood, in Canada - Abbotsford.

[Mystic]

Great photos and even great articulation of your experience in words. I enjoyed reading it. America is blessed with so many breath taking views and more importantly on how Americans protect the same and keep them pristine for posterity to cherish and enjoy.