My Mom came over to the PNW from Maine, and my Niece came with her... we had a great time visiting, and I had fun showing off some of the Northwest to them!

Skagit County
After a light day for them to rest and visit, I hauled them about 1900 miles around the area... our first stop was up to Skagit Valley, where the Tulip Festival was underway.

Olympics
We stopped at an overlook that really gave a good view of the Skagit Valley, the Puget Sound, and the Olympics across the Sound

Little Mountain Park
Little Mountain Park, near Mount Vernon, has quickly become one of my favorite stops in the area

A ways up there
You can really get a good view from the overlook.

Padilla Bay
Another stop was at the Padilla Bay visitor's center. Unfortunately, it was closed, but we still went out to the viewing deck.

The Puget Sound
The view from the deck is a good one, I think.

Checking out the beach
Checking out the water from the 'other' ocean.

Tulip Town
From there, we went to check out the tulip farms, who welcome the tourists, and the revenue they bring

Carpets of color
More tulips are grown in Skagit County than they grow in the Netherlands... its an impressive site.

Impressive!
The colors are amazing!

The Tulip Fairy
It was for kids... we had to patiently wait our turn. =]

The Not so Tulip Fairy
But being for kids didn't stop me!

Taking close ups
We made our way through the fields and rows of tulips.

In with the Flowers
There were notches cut in the rows so folks could get good pictures

More 'I was there' Pictures
We really enjoyed the colors!

Checking out the Bulbs
On the way out, we went through the bulb displays they had set up for sale.

Seattle from Queen Anne
This is one of the more popular places to take a picture of Seattle from...

Its in the PI
This was the iconic emblem of Seattle's oldest newspaper (they closed their doors a year ago or so)... it inspired the 'Daily Planet' globe for the Superman comic book.

Mt St Helens Visitors Center
I don't think ANY trip is complete without a stop to the most famous volcano in the US...

Checking out artifacts from the blast
They enjoyed the various displays set up in the welcome center

Wow
This image, no matter how many times I see it, amazes me. That's David Johnston's umbrella... he didn't like the sun.

The Bulge
This shows the portion of the mountain that slid away... known as 'the bulge' in the weeks leading to the eruption.

Before and After
These pictures, too, are amazing.

The Truck: 2010
I have pictures of this truck going back to 1995.

The A-Frame House
The guy who built this house was going to move in the weekend the Mountain blew... the mudflow that swept down the Toutle enveloped the house, and it was a total loss.

Toutle River Valley
Several welcome centers overlook the valley that was forever changed by the eruption

Above the Snow Line
On the way there, we found ourselves above the snow line.

Cold Water Creek
Cold Water creek, formed by the mudslide which dammed the Cold Water River, looked cold.

'I was there'
The lake is a visible reminder at just how different the area was before the blast.

Mt St Helens
Unfortunately, clouds covered most of the Mountain, but it was still impressive anyway.

Morning Dusting
It snowed a bit during their visit... they were pretty sick of snow, though... they'd been dumped on not long before they flew out to visit us.

Snow Line
The snowline was just a few trees above us.

Space Needle
Down in Seattle, it was warmer, with sunny skies... a sharp contrast to the foothills of the Cascades...

Aquarium
The Aquarium was a big hit

The touch pools
We spent most of the time there in the touch pools...

Getting info on the different types of Star Fish
The Staff honed in on my mom's cane, and a naturalist came to give my mom first hand information.

Octopus
The Puget Sound actually has more Octopii per square mile than anywhere else in the world... this one came out of the Sound, actually.

Checking out the Scene
Everyone enjoyed the display put on by the interesting animal

Fingerlings
In the Salmon Ladder, the fingerlings were massing to make the move into the salty waters of the Sound.

Otter
We spent some time watching the Otters play...

Watching them Nap
And, we checked out them sleeping, too

Ferry with the Olympics
This ferry has a nice backdrop... the Olympics are an impressive Range.

Snow in the foothills
Heading back into the foothills, we left the sun behind us, and made our way into the flurries again

Drive into the Mountains
Another of our jaunts were up into the Cascades

Nice Drive
The drive there is pretty impressive

Cold!
The higher elevations came with colder temperatures

Buried
This 'digger' stopped digging...

At the Airport
The week flew by... hopefully, they had a good time... I sure did!

 

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