Washington: Part 1

July-Aug 2024

Welcome to Washington! I crossed over the Columbia River at Hood River, Oregon on a very narrow metal bridge. Seriously, I was sucking in trying to make room for the 2 lanes. Think thin!

Heading west, the scenic route is too windy for pictures. I travel along the north side of the river to Washugal, Washington.

Note from random couple I met at a waterfall in Oregon: add to destinations Horsetail Falls in the Columbia Gorge. They showed me a photo. Well worth a stop on the next time through this area.

Have you ever been in the mountains surrounded my trees on twisty roads and wondered: who lives out here?

I now know!

My long time friend and client, Paul Kuthe is a business coach. He’s been hearing me talk about my east coast trips and asking me for years when I’ll head his way.

Be careful what you ask for. I will, at some point, show up on your doorstep with a bag. 😂

It was fun to meet his sweet family of four after all this time. They live on a smaller river with breathtaking views of crystal clear water.

Seattle Bound

The next day is my longest stretch of interstate on this trip! Going straight north I met up with another marketing friend for coffee in Snohomish. 

Matt Wolfe specializes in marketing strategy and copywriting. We played with Legos at a marketing conference a few years ago. Turns out playing like a kid will open up different parts of your brain for problem solving. We all need more Lego time. 

Matt gave me a run down on ALL the places to visit on my trek south and a tour of the Snohomish downtown and river walk . It’s full of cute shops and cafes. My photos don’t do it justice so I’ll let your imagination run.

The coffee shop we met at looked like an old-tyme soda fountain. Mom, you’d have liked it! 

Their specialty is a honey something latte. Deliciously different!

We bid farewell and I’m off to meet up with family next. My cousin’s family lives in a Seattle suburb and his mom (my aunt) flew out from Kansas to drive back with me. 

The weekend was full of good food and amazing wine! Ya know how Seattle is known for being grey and rainy? That’s not a rule! The sun came out for the weekend so we got to enjoy the outdoors. 

I’m a sucker for a waterfall.

Snoqualmie Falls

I feel like I’ve seen this before in a picture. I j herniated the travel bug from my grandma. I’m 99% sure she visited here and brought back a stack of photos.

See the hotel overlooking the water? That’s the view engrained in my memory. I have a new bucket list listing to stay the night here once. I could listen to the water for hours.

Oh, look! A museum! 

Just down the road, across the river was the power museum in the old train station. The curator was happy to give us a tour through time. 

Charles Baker saw an opportunity with water power and talked his dad into investing in 300 acres that included the water fall. Construction for a power plant started just a few years later bringing electrify to rural areas. The country folk didn’t know what to do with it at first!

Eventually more innovation happened in agriculture that required electricity including a sandblaster egg cleaner. Ha!  See full story in photo above.