I wish I had a dollar for every time I proposed a trip to my wife and failed to generate even the slightest interest on her part.  So imagine my surprise when, in the spring of 2015, I floated a trip proposal past her and she immediately said “Lets Go!”.  I think the key to my success was to make the focus of the trip locations and activities I knew she would enjoy —  a visit with our nephew Hart Leggett and his lovely family in Seattle, and a visit to the iconic Butchart Gardens in Victoria.  So, a trip was conceived, approved, and planned.  Little did Dorothy know that we would be spending just as much time hiking to waterfalls in National Parks as we would strolling the manicured grounds at Butchart Gardens.  Or, that for every castle we would visit, there would also be an anthropology museum hidden within the itinerary.  I guess this trip is a good example of how to make a marriage work — give a little, take a little, and everyone can be happy!  We scheduled our adventure to begin the day after my last final exam for the spring semester at Texas State.  My head was still full of strange names and a myriad of obscure facts about the Archaeology of the Inca Empire as we set out to see if our plans would result in an enjoyable trip for us.

Tuesday morning, May 12, 2019, we flew to Seattle.  Since we gained a couple of hours, we had plenty of time to check into our motel before heading downtown to see a few sights before meeting with Hart and Hadley Leggett, and their three little ones, at their home.  Our research on Seattle traffic convinced us that we should stay on the far north side of town and avoid rush hour traffic.  So we stayed at a Courtyard by Marriott, which was very convenient for our purposes (it was in Lynnwood, right on the Interurban Trail —  a location that would give us easy access to the ferry that would take us to the Olympic Peninsula on Wednesday Morning).  That afternoon we visited Pike Street Market before heading over to Hart and Hadley’s home for a late afternoon visit.  Their house was a beautifully restored older home in an very nice neighborhood.  Hart told us that Jimi Hendrix, the famous musician, had lived in the house as a youth.  We enjoyed playing with Owen and Reed, and holding baby Tessa.  Hart and I went and picked up some food and we enjoyed a nice dinner at their home.  It was a very enjoyable evening for us!

We got up the next morning and took a nice long walk on the Interurban Trail.  By the time we finished our walk and had some breakfast, it was time to head back into Seattle for more sightseeing.  We spent part of our time that day taking a tour of underground Seattle —  it was interesting, informative, and unique.  We also went back to the Pike Street Markets and spent several hours exploring this magical place.  Dr. Clark Wernecke (Executive Director of the Gault School on the Texas State Campus) had told me that while visiting the Pike Street Market I should seek out and visit Don Sutton, who he said is recognized as one of the top flintnappers in the world.  I found Don and had an extended visit that was very enjoyable and informative.  I ended up purchasing one of his works,  a fire obsidian (Oregon) blade with a mule deer antler handle that has an owl etched into it.  It is currently on display at the “Archaeology Room” in our home at Lake McQueeney, if you would like to see it.  We decided to seek out the best seafood restaurant in the area for a very late afternoon lunch.  The consensus recommendation was Etta’s Seafood Kitchen on Western Avenue, so that is where we went.  Dorothy had crab cakes and I had salmon — they were both excellent!  We learned that this establishment is one owned by celebrity chef Tom Douglas.  I bought some of his legendary salmon seasoning, which I use often when I cook salmon at home.

We got up Saturday morning, May 16, 2015, and caught a ferry over to the Olympic Peninsula.  We had reservations for two nights at the Olympic Lodge in Port Angeles, just outside the national park.  On the way to Port Angeles we stopped and spent some time at Port Gamble, where there was beautiful scenery, a nice museum, and a large quilting establishment.  After finding our way to Port Angeles, we checked into our lodging establishment, then headed over to Olympic National Park.  After checking in at the ranger station (where they monitor the mountain tops via closed circuit tv) and finding that Hurricane Ridge was fogged in, we headed over to hike to Marymere Falls.  I was very proud of Dorothy for making this hike, as she had to really push herself, especially on the final climb up to the falls.  The scenery was fantastic, as we hiked past Lake Crescent and through old growth rain forest to get to the falls.  After that hike, we drove to the trailhead for Sol Duc Falls and I hiked out to them while Dorothy stayed and read a book.  Sol Duc was beautiful and the trail delightful!

We got up Friday morning, May 15, 2019, and headed back to Olympic National Park.  A stop at the ranger station revealed that it was clear up on Hurricane Ridge, so we headed up there first thing.  What a beautiful hike we enjoyed!  Again, I was proud of Dorothy as she really pressed herself to make this hike.  We saw a lot of wildlife on the hike, and we will never forget the breathtaking views of snow-capped Mount Olympus that dominated the views from the Hurricane Ridge area.

After a great hike high up on Hurricane Ridge, we headed back down and took Highway 112 to the west.  We stopped and visited the Makah Museum and Cultural Center, located on the Makah Reservation.  We continued on to the western most point of the continental United States, also known as Cape Flattery.  It was a beautiful hike out to this scenic site!  I wish we would have had the time to explore the Pacific Coast portion of the national park, as well as more of the rain forest portion of the park to the south.  I would also have enjoyed visiting the Ozette Reservation —  there is a famous archaeological site there as well as some petroglyphs on coastal boulders.  Maybe next time!

We said goodbye to Port Angeles and Olympic National Park on the morning of May 16, 2019, and departed on our second ferry ride of the trip.  After our ferry landed in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, we drove to Butchart Gardens and spent several hours enjoying the magnificent grounds there.  Since Dorothy has a thing for castles, we next stopped by Craigadarroch Castle.  It was not particularly grand or impressive as castles go, but it was interesting and we enjoyed our visit there.

From Victoria and Vancouver Island, we took our third and final ferry over to Vancouver proper.  Having spent and entire day on “Dorothy stuff” (gardens and castles) I figured it was pay back time!  On the ferry ride, I met a young couple who recommended that I hike the “Grouse Grind”.  It is a very steep trail that climbs the face of  Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver.  It is almost two miles long and covers over 2,800 feet of elevation gain.  After settling into our motel in Vancouver, we headed to Grouse Mountain.  Dorothy took a ski lift up to the top and drank wine with the young college kids while I made the climb.  It was quite the experience, and I was the oldest guy I saw on the climb.  We walked over to see the Grizzly bears, before heading down.  Next stop was the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) on the campus of the University of British Columbia.  The MOA is a wonderful museum and is perhaps best known for its vast collection of artifacts from the Northwest Coast early cultures.  I thoroughly enjoyed our visit!  MOA has a great online archive that is easy to access and fun to browse, click here to take a look.  One of the photos below shows elaborate carved vessels used in Potlatch Ceremonies.  What is a Potlatch Ceremony?  Go here to find out!

During our time in Vancouver, we also visited Stanley Park, as well as did a little exploring downtown.  I would like to return there some day, as I am sure there is much more to see and experience in that beautiful city.  But it was time to head back to Seattle and fly back home, so we drove south, and crossed the international border.  On the way to Seattle, we stopped and visited North Cascades National Park, also known as the North American Alps.  We enjoyed some beautiful scenery that day, and I have added yet another place to the list of places I would like to go back to someday!  We made it to the airport in Seattle and then on home without incident….thank you God!

We enjoyed this trip!  It had the right mix of social, cultural, and physical activities.  It was so good to see our nephew Hart Leggett, his beautiful wife Hadley, and their three darling children, Owen, Reed, and Tessa.  The sights, sounds, and tastes of Seattle will not soon be forgotten.  And the relaxing ferry rides, the mountains, the gardens, the castles, and the museums combined to make this trip very enjoyable for us.  We are both grateful to have the resources for modest travel adventures like this, and the good health to still be able to pretty much do what we want…Thank you God!