Lake Crescent, Olympic National Park, Washington, USA

Lake Crescent in the Olympic National Park, Washington, USA, is a very popular recreation spot with a lodge on the southern shore where we had an outstanding catered picnic lunch before setting off to hike the Barnes Trail to Marymere Falls

 

After hiking on Hurricane Ridge at the Olympic National Park, Washington, we drove to Lake Crescent on the northeast border of the park (the lake is approximately 17 miles (27 kilometers) from Port Angeles, Washington.  It is the second deepest lake in Washington, at an official depth of 624 feet (190 meters) — informal soundings have been recorded at more than 1,00 feet (300 meters).  We had an outstanding catered picnic lunch at lakeside before setting off to hike the Barnes Trail to Marymere Falls (1.8 miles / 2.9 kilometers one-way) through an old-growth lowland forest consisting of fir, cedar, hemlock, and alder trees.  Marymere Falls is 90 feet (27 meters) tall and flows into Barnes Creek.

 

Kayaking, canoeing and swimming are very popular at Lake Crescent, Olympic National Park, Washington, USA

 

Hiking from the southern shore of Lake Crescent, Olympic National Park, Washington, USA, we came to the old-growth lowland forest entrance to the Barnes trail which took us to Marymere Falls

 

The Olympic Peninsula contains coast, forest and mountain ecosystems that combine to create a spectacular wilderness area.  The Olympic Peninsula is home to eight Native American tribes that developed complex hunter-gatherer societies and continue to keep their traditions alive.  European explorers who ventured here in the late 1700s heralded the way for homesteaders.  The Olympics were set aside as a national monument in 1909 and further protected as Olympic National Park in 1938.  Today the park is internationally recognized as a Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site, testimony to the rich resources of the region.

 

At various points on the trail the fir, cedar, hemlock, and alder trees were covered with moss and lichen due to the high average moisture in the forest; Lake Crescent, Olympic National Park, Washington, USA

 

If these were oak trees covered with moss, then we could be in the southeastern section of the U.S., such as Florida, Georgia and Louisiana; Lake Crescent, Olympic National Park, Washington, USA

 

Marymere Fall, 90 feet (27 meters) tall, flows into Barnes Creek near Lake Crescent, Olympic National Park, Washington, USA

 

Legal Notices: All photographs copyright © 2017 by Richard C. Edwards. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Permission to link to this blog post is granted for educational and non-commercial purposes only.

 

Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park, Washington, USA

Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park, Washington, USA, is named for the often-powerful winds that blow across the Olympic Mountain Range’s backbone (panorama)

 

Hurricane Ridge is a mountainous area in Olympic National Park in northwestern Washington State, about an hour’s drive from Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula on the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  At an elevation of 5,242 feet (1,598 meters), Hurricane Ridge can be accessed year-round.  In the summer there are hiking trails, although in early July we found several trails closed due to snow on the trails.  The trails offer spectacular views (see photographs, below).  In the winter, downhill skiing is offered at the family oriented hurricane Ridge Ski and Snowboard Area

 

Looking east with the Strait of Juan de Fuca barely visible on the left (north) side of the photograph; Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park, Washington, USA

 

The Olympic Peninsula contains coast, forest and mountain ecosystems that combine to create a spectacular wilderness area.  The Olympic Peninsula is home to eight Native American tribes that developed complex hunter-gatherer societies and continue to keep their traditions alive.  European explorers who ventured here in the late 1700s heralded the way for homesteaders.  The Olympics were set aside as a national monument in 1909 and further protected as Olympic National Park in 1938.  Today the park is internationally recognized as a Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site, testimony to the rich resources of the region.

 

Rolling hills in front of the mountain ridge of snow-capped peaks, Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park, Washington, USA

 

Purple wild lupine on one of the hiking trails on Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park, Washington, USA

 

A view from one of the hiking trail summits at Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park, Washington, USA

 

Snow-capped peaks nicely framed by the tall conifers on Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park, Washington, USA

 

One of several deer roaming the meadows on Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park, Washington, USA

 

The lupines in the meadow provided quite a contrast with the snow capped peaks above the timberline at Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park, Washington, USA

 

Legal Notices: All photographs copyright © 2017 by Richard C. Edwards. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Permission to link to this blog post is granted for educational and non-commercial purposes only.

 

Port Townsend, Washington, USA

The downtown section of Port Townsend, Washington, USA, contains numerous brick buildings dating back to the 1880s

 

Designated a National Historic District in 1976, the Victorian era seaport of Port Townsend, Washington (population 9,300) has been hailed by National Geographic as “one of the most sophisticated places west of Seattle.”  A walk around town reveals two dozen or so buildings holding National Historic Landmark status in their own right, including the imposing Jefferson County Courthouse, the stately blue and white Hastings Building and the Ann Starrett Mansion.  Dozens of lovingly restored buildings now hold art galleries, cafés and interesting shops. Port Townsend’s waterfront/downtown area encompasses the City Hall, Jefferson County Courthouse, commercial buildings and residences that reflect its appeal as a late-19thcentury port town.  The uptown district is known for its stunning Victorian homes.  Additional points of interest include Fort Worden State Park, a small Aero Museum and the Northwest Maritime Center.

 

The Hastings Building dates back to1889 and is located a stone’s throw from the current tender pier, Port Townsend, Washington, USA

 

The front portion of this beautiful brick building from 1890 today houses the Jefferson County Museum of Art and History, while City Hall occupies the back section, Port Townsend, Washington, USA

 

Located near the Strait of Juan de Fuca (through which all ships headed to Seattle, Washington and Victoria and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada must sail) and the site of a safe harbor, Port Townsend became an important shipping port in the late 1800s.  The town grew rapidly on speculation as investors banked on Port Townsend becoming the largest port north of San Francisco – premised on the planned construction of a railroad to the south, a plan that crashed with the USA financial crash in the 1890s.  Called the City of Dreams, the downtown waterfront was once an active seaport complete with chandleries, shipyards, commercial docks taverns and brothels.  In the 1970s the town was rekindled as a wave of people, beginning with numerous “hippies”, rediscovered Port Townsend.  Attracted to the blend of history, rugged natural beauty and inexpensive property, people came to start businesses, pursue art and restore the town.

 

Boats in the downtown marina (Port Hudson Marina), Port Townsend, Washington, USA

 

Restored private home #1 on our driving tour of Port Townsend, Washington, USA

 

One of many lovingly restored churches in Port Townsend, Washington, USA

 

Restored private home #2 on our driving tour of Port Townsend, Washington, USA

 

Restored private home #3 on our driving tour of Port Townsend, Washington, USA

 

The Jefferson County Courthouse (1892) is one of the two oldest government buildings in Washington state; it now houses offices and the United States Postal Service post office; Port Townsend, Washington, USA

 

Port Townsend Lighthouse, Port Townsend, Washington, USA

 

Restored private home #4 on our driving tour of Port Townsend, Washington, USA

 

Restored private home #5 on our driving tour of Port Townsend, Washington, USA

 

Legal Notices: All photographs copyright © 2017 by Richard C. Edwards. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Permission to link to this blog post is granted for educational and non-commercial purposes only.

 

Grand Old 4th (of July) at Bainbridge Island (Seattle), Washington, USA

Celebrating American Independence Day — a Grand Old 4th (of July) — at the annual community celebration on Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA

 

The Grand Old 4th of July annual community celebration on Bainbridge Island (population 24,000 and a 35-minute Washington State Ferry ride across Elliot Bay from Seattle) is produced and sponsored by the Bainbridge Island Chamber of Commerce, with the help of dozens of volunteers and a handful of loyal sponsoring businesses.

 

Four locals sing together throughout the year as a Barbershop Quartet, singing here at the Street Fair at the Grand Old 4th on Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA

 

We attended this year’s celebration with one of my college roommates (who lives on Bainbridge Island) on Tuesday, July 4th, 2017.  This was a really classical all-American community celebration of American Independence Day and provided entertainment from sunup to sundown.  The celebration included a traditional pancake breakfast and an all day street fair with vendors offering food, hand-crafted art, local business and non-profit information booths, and talented young artisan vendors.  The Street Fair included more than 20 food vendors; international cuisines were well represented, with Peruvian, Thai, Asian fusion, Bavarian, Vietnamese, and Middle Eastern choices.  During the day there were also foot races (to benefit Bainbridge Youth Services), the 2^nd annual young artisan marketplace, a classic car show, a beer and wine garden, pony rides, a big purple slide, a fireworks show after dusk and, the most popular event – a mile-long hometown parade at 1 p.m.

 

The Street Fair included more than 20 food vendors — international cuisines were well represented, with Peruvian, Thai, Asian fusion, Bavarian, Vietnamese, and Middle Eastern choices; Grand Old 4th on Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA

 

We had the opportunity to enjoy the street fair, listen to a Barbershop Quartet sing old and new songs, and then eat excellent Malaysian fare while listening to a local band and watching young kids throw balls to dunk members of the Bainbridge High School water polo team in the dunk tank.  The highlight of the afternoon was the hometown parade (see photographs). All in all, a wonderful glimpse of old-fashioned patriotism and community spirit in America.

 

The “queens” of the local strawberry festival were early participants in the mile-long hometown parade, Grand Old 4th on Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA

 

Bremerton Base (on a neighboring island) United States Submarine Veterans (mainly from World War II) had a float in the parade with a replica of the USS Bonefish submarine, Grand Old 4th on Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA

 

This classic car was sponsored by the local Kiwanis Club, Grand Old 4th on Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA

 

Many locals came out and marched in support of climate action, Grand Old 4th on Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA

 

Part of the climate action group, this biker’s sign read “I bike for a healthier planet”, Grand Old 4th on Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA

 

Your intrepid explorer and blogger with posters for sale at the street fair of the Grand Old 4th celebration on Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA

 

Legal Notices: All photographs copyright © 2017 by Richard C. Edwards. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Permission to link to this blog post is granted for educational and non-commercial purposes only.

 

 

Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle, Washington, USA

Dale Chihuly, considered one of the most innovative and iconic figures in contemporary art, has a dedicated museum and garden exhibition in the downtown Seattle Center at Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle, Washington, USA; a section of the glass “garden” called “Mille Fiori” 

 

The Chihuly Garden and Glass is an exhibition (in a combination of a museum building and an outdoor garden directly next door to, and underneath, the Seattle Space Needle in Seattle Center in the heart of the city) that explores the inspiration and influences of Northwest artist Dale Chihuly. Dale Chihuly is considered one of the most innovative and iconic figures in contemporary art. Chihuly has been working with glass as an artistic medium for over fifty years, to increasing critical and popular acclaim. His work is in the permanent collections of more than 200 museums worldwide.

 

In a 1977 visit to the History Museum at the Washington State Historical Society Chihuly was impressed by a collection of Northwest Coast Indian Baskets and then created a series of Baskets, freeing himself from the tradition of symmetry in glassblowing; Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle, Washington, USA

 

A true Northwesterner, Chihuly has pioneered new techniques in art and influenced generations of artists.  His creativity and generosity of spirit led him to be invited by Space Needle LLC to help create the exhibition at Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle Center, Seattle, Washington.  The exhibition includes both indoor and outdoor spaces and a new Glasshouse.  Chihuly Garden and Glass brings together all the elements of Chihuly’s work, including drawings, signature glass series, large architectural installations, and personal collections.  The artwork in the exhibition reveals how Dale Chihuly has pushed the boundaries of glass as an art medium in concept, execution and presentation.  A walk through the Galleries, the Garden and into the Glasshouse is an immersive experience that sparks wonder and inspiration.

 

These glass sculptures, known as the “Persian Ceiling”, are viewed through a glass “shelf” above visitors and appear as an “aquarium” full of sea life; Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle, Washington, USA

 

A small segment of the glass “garden” called “Mille Fiori” which occupies a very long gallery floor, Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle, Washington, USA

 

In another gallery are the “Ikebana and Float Boat”, Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle, Washington, USA

 

Three pieces from the Macchia series that Chihuly began in 1981 with the desire to use all 300 colors available to him in the hotshop; they are named Macchia after he asked his friend Italo Scanga the word for “spot” in Italian; Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle, Washington, USA

 

Dale Chihuly began the Macchia series in 1981 with the desire to use all 300 colors available to him in the hotshop, and named it such after asking his friend Italo Scanga  (who he befriended as a visiting professor at the Rhode Island School of Design when he was a graduate student) the word for “spot” in Italian.  Thinking about the colors and intensity of stained glass windows, Chihuly realized that the glass panes looked more clear and vibrant against a cloudy sky than a blue one.  This idea inspired his experimentation to separate the interior and exterior colors by adding a white layer in between, a “cloud”,  and as he mastered the technical complexities, pushed the scale up to four feet in diameter.  Each work is speckled with color, which comes from rolling the molten glass in small shards of colored glass during the blowing process.  To complete the piece, he adds a lip wrap of a contrasting color.

 

Details of one piece from the Macchia series, Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle, Washington, USA

 

The Glasshouse Sculpture is an expansive 100-foot-long (30.5 meters) installation in a palette of reds, oranges, yellows and amber that is made of many individual elements Chihuly calls Persians; Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle, Washington, US

 

The Glasshouse is the centerpiece of Chihuly Garden and Glass.  Throughout his career, Chihuly dreamed of working on the design for a glasshouse and the artwork within it.  This is the first opportunity he has had to realize that dream.  The design draws inspiration from two of his favorite buildings: Sainte-Chapelle in Paris and the Crystal Palace in London.  Chihuly signed a bean during the dedication ceremony at Chihuly Garden and Glass on 21 May 2012.  The Glasshouse Sculpture is an expansive 100-foot-long (32 meters) installation in a palette of reds, oranges, yellows and amber.  Made of many individual elements, it is one of Chihuly’s largest suspended sculptures.  Chihuly calls the intensely colored blown-glass forms of this monumental work Persians.  The perception of the artwork varies greatly with natural light and as the day fades into night.

 

A segment of the Glasshouse Sculpture with the Seattle Space Needle visible through the roof of the glasshouse, Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle, Washington, USA

 

Garden sculptures, Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle, Washington, USA

 

“I want people to be overwhelmed with light and color in a way they have never experienced.” – Dale Chihuly about Chihuly Garden and Glass

 

Pacific Sun, 2011, 15.5 feet x 15.5 feet x 15.5 feet (4.72 x 4.72 x 4.72 meters), installed 2012, Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle, Washington, USA

 

Close up of garden sculptures, Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle, Washington, USA

 

Legal Notices: All photographs copyright © 2017 by Richard C. Edwards. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Permission to link to this blog post is granted for educational and non-commercial purposes only.

 

Seattle, Washington, USA

The main section of Seattle’s downtown district (with Pike Place Market on the waterfront) faces Elliot Bay (on Puget Sound) to the west, Seattle, Washington, USA

 

Seattle, Washington, the Emerald City, offers a diversity of attractions — from the iconic Space Needle and Pike Place Market to the Olympic Sculpture Park and the avant-garde interactive rock ‘n’ roll museum known as EMP (recently renamed the Museum of Pop Culture).  Outdoor enthusiasts enjoy hiking, biking, boating, kayaking, and skiing.  Oenophiles have many wineries within easy reach and beer lovers can sample the suds from a slew of craft brewers.  For coffee lovers, Seattle is the world center for coffee roasting and coffee culture.  Home of Starbucks, Tully’s, Seattle’s Best Coffee and many outstanding independent roasters, there is never a lack of caffeine in the city.  The city is home to two of the five leading, large American technology giants – Amazon and Microsoft, as well as the headquarters of the retail chain, Costco (Apple, Alphabet (parent of Google), and Facebook are headquartered in San Francisco’s Silicon Valley).  Surrounded by water on three sides with the Olympic Mountains looming in the distance, Seattle is spread over six hills in a series of appealing neighborhoods, each with its own creative character.

 

The Space Needle, built for the 1962 World’s Fair, located in a huge civic complex known as “Seattle Center”, is known far and wide as the symbol of the city; Seattle, Washington, USA

 

Pike Place is known far and wide for its restaurants, cafes, and market shops offering fresh produce, fish, flowers, herbs wine, and household items; Seattle, Washington, USA

 

Our ship docked at Pier 66 (the Bell Harbor Marina) which has a great view of the downtown high rises and the Ferris wheel; Seattle, Washington, USA

 

Southeast of the city and ascending to 14,410 feet (4,392 meters) above sea level, Mount Rainier stands as an icon in the Washington landscape; it is an active volcano and the most glaciated peak in the contiguous U.S.A., spawning six major rivers; Seattle, Washington, USA

 

When we sailed on the Washington State Ferry over to Bainbridge Island across Elliot Bay (part of Puget Sound), we got this beautiful image of our ship docked in downtown Seattle, Washington, USA, near Seattle Center and the Space Needle

 

Legal Notices: All photographs copyright © 2017 by Richard C. Edwards. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Permission to link to this blog post is granted for educational and non-commercial purposes only.