Holiday Inn Express Centralia, Wa

We dropped our daughter off at the Portland Convention Center and then drove east on Interstate 84 along the Columbia River. We exited the interstate and took the historic highway past three waterfalls.

We drove north through the Gifford Pinchot National Forest to the Windy Ridge area of Mount St. Helens. The forest was alive with the fall colors. At one point, during the drive ...

... am a tree hugger I can’t complain).

TUESDAY: We decided to visit Mt. St. Helen and thought…. where was I on May 18, 1980 when the earthquake happened and the side of Mt. St. Helen blew. The main entrance is off of I-5 but since that was too far to go we went in the back side and the view was unbelievable, 29 years later. The ground is still a yellowish color (now pumice) and trees have started growing but ...

... valley below. I didn't remember than an entire lake disappeared and two new ones were formed. I didn't remember that ships got stuck in the Columbia River because the mud and sludge that flowed into the river made its depth decrease from 40 feet to only 15 feet in places. I didn't remember the scientist Johnston's last message: "Vancouver, Vancouver. This is it." Had he chosen to stay, thinking he would live to witness geological history? Or had he chosen to stay ...

... and they were extremely accomodating and hospitable (thanks mom and dad). The first half of June was relatively quiet, but soon the excitement began... - Camping at Newport State Park on the Door Peninsula of Wisconsin - Interview in Seattle, WA - Maid-of-honor in my cousin's wedding in Duluth, Minnesota and then a camping trip in Jay Cooke State Park and then a few days in St. Paul, Minnesota - One week family vacation in ...

... we had yet to see anyone else hiking and other than the echoing sounds of the reconstruction project of the Paradise Lodge. This old time example of National Park system lodging had suffered severely during the past years storms so it had been decided to renovate the lodge and then build an additional ...

... although I think the prospect of returning to work may have made it harder for some of the others! At least we had something to look forward to. We met up again with just Tyler, his sister, a few of his mates, and John and Kelly to see the Seattle Mariners baseball team, and we had some redemption! This time we didn't leave early - and guess what, the Mariners, who were trailing the whole game, game ...

... Away. The weather was very nice (if not a little TOO nice) and we all had a grand 'ol time (even though against my recommendation we stayed stone-cold sober). Tonight, some swing dancing is on the menu and then tomorrow I head further south to see what Portland has to offer. To view the pictures that go along with my tales of summer travel, please check out the pic's page! Aye aye and good-bye!

... there really good and though it was a small collection I was in there for about 3 hours. The main pieces I liked were ( and I will try and explain them as well as I can): * Painted Face - 4 pictures of the same man, each one with more and more writing on his face until finally he is all covered in black - very creepy looking. It took 8 hours and the people writing on him had to only write on him in Chinese - and use only one word. *Plaited string Face - A massive photograph with ...

So today I travelled from Vancouver to Seattle, it took about 4 hours and was quite uneventful, apart from the driver who could not seem to find the clutch and nearly stalled at every single stop. It was the first time I really listened to my iPod and had it on shuffle, so it kept making me laugh when I would hear Frank Sinatra, followed by Queens of the Stone Age, followed by some classical, followed by something else quite random. I like the fact that it chooses the ...

... acre park overlooking Capitol Lake and Budd Inlet. On the grounds are Japanese cherry trees and many fountains. The rare Olympia oyster lives in beds nearby named Big Skookum, Little Skookum, Mud and Oyster. Tumwater Falls Park has trails along the Deschutes River; Olympic National Forest is 630,000 acres of rivers, ridges, peaks, canyons, and Douglas fir, with a large herd of Roosevelt elk. Olympia Washington Population 43,519 Elevation 100 Pacific time zone