422 and Counting!

422. That's how many pictures I have, so far, in my saved folder from Geoff's dad's visit! 422 opportunities of moments captured, sites seen, and breathing-taking views we witnessed. I couldn't have asked for a better road-trip partner! I'm a picture-taking fiend, bah-lee-dat, and come to find out, so was he! Geoff's dad had a bucket list of WA sites he wanted to accomplish during his visit out West, so on my days off I happily joined him on his ventures to see the greater parts of WA.

But before this driving duo took off, the three of us were able to spend some time exploring more local spots like the beautiful sites of Mt. Rainier and energetic streets of Pike's Market in downtown Seattle.  We easily coerced him into catching a fish at Pike's and explore the many random, odds and ends the Market streets and underground have to offer.  Did I mention random and odd? :)  The streets are lined with vendors of all sorts. Two of my favorites are the endless amounts of colorful and fresh produce stands! You'd be amazed at what you can find! My other favorite, the rows and rows of fresh cut flowers with eye-catching colors you'd swear were painted by hand on each individual petal. My sweet lil' hubby must've picked up on my awe-struck fascination with the flowers because he spontaneously bought me a few to take home. Chivalry is not dead with this man.

Weighing in at 14,000+ feet, Mt. Rainier is one of the more impressive works of God I've had the pleasure of setting my eyes on. Geoff and I go on a regular basis and it never gets old. In fact, we'll be taking my parents there on their visit here soon! We were lucky enough to have a 19 inch snowfall before getting to the mountain.  Seeing this place with fresh snow is literally like jumping into a wintery wonderland set for a movie scene.

 22 degrees, and Geoff's in Summer gear

Bambi!

I had two days off and plenty of ground to cover.  Our first road trip was to see the Pacific Ocean followed by a quick drive over to the Olympic National Park Rainforest. Come to find out, WA has the longest continuos beach front in the country, so finding a spot worth seeing wasn't hard at all!

Dark sand and blue skies

Y'all know what those rocks are off in the distance?! I'll give you a hint ... 'Heyyy youuu guyysss!!'

This is Quinault Lake inside the Park. We stopped here for a yummy bagged lunch with a lake side view.

Peek-a-boo!

This is the same plant as the lake shot below, with yellow blooms sprouting out ... except these were Jurassic Park-sized!

 As we made our way into the National Park we pulled into the Information Center to get a Cliffs Notes version of this spectacular place! I quickly told the lady our time frame and asked where we could find this said rainforest. She replied with a 'honey, you're in it!' The entire park was the rainforest! What constitutes a rainforest from any other forest, you ask? Well, a rainforest needs an average of 100 inches of rain a year, this particular beast of a place brought in an average of 140 inches a year! (PSA for the day people, *the more you know*.)

I'm not even sure the pictures do this place justice.  It was truly one of the most beautiful places I've ever witnessed! And that's with a drive across the country.  The timing couldn't have been more perfect, with the sun out and bursting through the trees, this place was be-a-utiful! It was as if we'd shrunk and experiencing our very own life-size terrarium. And the smell! This might sound weird, but it was the cleanest air I've ever smelt! With a crisp chill in the air, the bright beaming sun, and hours of exploring it was definitely a trip worth making.

The water was crystal clear with this pretty emerald green hue

 These blooms smelled like honeysuckle ... you could smell the sweetness from the road driving by!

On our next day of travel we set off to see the Columbia River Gorge.  Known as Lewis and Clark's gateway to the Pacific, this massive river stretches over 80 miles through the WA and Oregon border and reaches up to 4,000 feet deep! (PSA #2 *the more you know*).  During our drive along this infinite-seeming abyss, we came across a few unexpected nuggets of nature. We stumbled upon a huge rock know as Beacon Rock. We then crossed over the Oregon border to see the Multnomah Falls.

This is the name of the bridge we had to cross in order to get on the Oregon side of the river ... pretty cool considering God's the one who created all the sites seen!

This here's the Columbia River (aka B.A.R = Big A** River!) Look off, way off, in the distance and you can see the B.A.R #2 (Big A** Rock)

Beacon Rock was named by Lewis and Clark in 1805.  It reaches a height of 848 feet! (yep, that's PSA #3!)

This beautiful place is Multnomah Falls.  It reaches a towering height of 620 feet and is the second highest year-round waterfall in the country! (and.... #4, you're welcome :)

Below are a few other pics we snapped along our trip ...

say whaaaaaat?! Is that little cartoon of a man escapping the massive tsunami supposed to make us feel better? 

That's a piece of kelp...

That's me, attempting a push-up position for perspective :D

This lil' guy is the world's largest spruce tree! It's about 1000 years old and reaches 191 feet with a 58 foot circumference! and we thought the trees in Mt. Rainier were big... talk about perspective.
(I'm losing count ... is that #5?!)

Geoff and I thoroughly enjoyed our time with his dad during his visit! I especially enjoyed just our time together, just us two, exploring the sites of WA State.  It was so special to have that time with him. I honestly don't know anyone else who's gotten the chance to just drive, hang, and explore with their father-in-law like I did...it made for some pretty special memories I'll always have to cherish.  Thanks F-I-L for flying out here just to see us, hang out, and treat us with your company!

Lemons to Love,

Lindsay

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