Seattle & Portland

 

Hmmm ... memories of Seattle  ... well we, The Goldens, don't have a clue what our humans did, but we, The Goldens,  had a great time at Puppy Camp!  We met a lot of new friends and played our doggie games with them for hours at a time!  Running, jumping, climbing hill and dale and don't forget swimming!!  It was the best!  Meanwhile, we guess our humans did stuff like .......???

Yes, we humans did stuff!  Our first adventure was a tour through the Boeing Space and Flight Center.  We toured the factory where they build and test the famous Boeing aircraft, the world's number one aerospace company! This amazing 1.5-hour tour showcased the magnificent 747, 767 and 777 aircraft used worldwide, as well as the new 787 Dreamliner which is currently in production, all housed here in the world's largest building.



                

Below is the Dream Lifter.  This aircraft is used to fly the pieces into the Boeing site for the new Dreamliner from the various country's and cities that build the units.  All final assembly is done here in Seattle.
 

 

The line up of completed planes below are all  waiting for their owners to send pilot's to pick them up and fly them home.  Unlike Pizza, Boeing does not deliver!

 

 

And as you can see, this place is .... well .... HUGE! The building below is where aircraft is assembled.

 

Of course Boeing also has a museum (and gift shop).  I visited the gift shop and watched everyone else buy 'stuff' ... believe me when I say we do not need anymore 'stuff' in our RV  ... but did snap a few pictures of what the museum had:

 

 

Once done with Boeing we are off to lunch at the shore.  We ate in a restaurant on the Mukilteo Lighthouse Park complex.  We had lunch in a restaurant that is housed in what used to be the City of Mukilteo Bus Garage!  The food was very good and there was a lot of it!  So to work off some of that delicious food we toured the lighthouse which included climbing to the top.

 

The Mukilteo Historical Society is committed to preserving the Mukilteo Light Station and the history of Mukilteo. The Mukilteo Historical Society assists the U.S. Coast Guard and the City of Mukilteo in the preservation, maintenance and accessibility of the light station for all to enjoy.

The Mukilteo Light Station continues to play an important navigational role with its Fourth Order Fresnel lens that has a range of 12 nautical miles. Below are the photos I took of and from the lighthouse:

 

Our next adventure included beautiful trees, gardens and flowers!  The Botanical Gardens of Seattle.
I think photos tell it all:



 

 

As you can see below there were tons of stunning plants.  I am sure I would bore some readers if I include all the pictures I took so I will only include some....if you would like to see more write a comment at the end of the post including your email and I will send additional prints to you personally.  Meanwhile, enjoy the beauty of nature:

 

 

 

 

 

 

You just can't beat Mother Nature :)

 

We also visited a Fire Station Museum.   Not a usual museum but it was very interesting!   The Last Resort Fire Department Museum, located at the Seattle Fire Department Headquarters, built in 1928, along with additional historical memories located in the L.R.F.D. Shop Facility, which we were also fortunate enough to tour became a surprising highlight to our visit to Seattle. 

 

Most interesting to me was the 1834 Hunneman hand pumper - the "Sacramento".  It took 8 to 10 men grasping the rocker arms or the brakes at each side of the wheels to move the 'engine' and 'pump' water.  Whew!

 

 

 

 

 

I was truly impressed with the attention to detail found on all of the various equipment.  Like the wheel on the "Sacramento". 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Then, the next most fascinating to me was the first 'steam pumper', which was horse drawn, known as the  1899 American "Metropolitan" 1st-size horse-drawn Steamer #6.

 

 

The photo on the right shows the seat for the driver and the yokes which connected to the reigns for the horses the pulled it.

 

 

Here are additional photos of historical fire fighter equipment: 



 

More intricate detail above!

" Seagrave" Ladder Truck

 The photo below is a strainer.  When firemen had to pump water out of a lake, river or pond they would attach the hose to the truck and sink the strainer into the water.  As the water was pumped up into the truck the strainer would prevent and debris from being sucked up and plugging the hose.  The rope was used to pull it out of the water, and at clean up the rope would again be wrapped around the strainer for safe keeping.

Below is a really old Fire Extinguisher .... and it still works!  Just not quite as good as the ones we have today.

All the brass was always kept polished as you can see in the photo below.

And before the siren of a fire truck the was the 'fire bell' to alert people of the approaching vehicle.

 

 

 Of course we went to the top on the Seattle Space Needle. Towering  605 feet tall it was built in 1962 for the World's Fair.  Here are some views from the Tower:

 

Hey Stadium fans... check out the Stadiums side by side in Seattle:  CenturyLink Field where the Seattle Seahawk's play and the Safeco Stadium where the Seattle Mariners play.

 

And the Seattle Space Needle from the ground:

 

 

                        





 

 

And here are some whimsical photos from a park located at the foot of the Space Needle:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And on our way out of Seattle we saw Mt. Rainier in the distance:

 

 

Enjoy ... more later :)

Columbia River Gorge

WOW ! We have been busy going to puppy parks, puppy play days and the Columbia River Gorge !  If you have never been there it is really worth the trip.  We were there on a fairly cloudy day and it was still AWESOME !  Here's just a few pictures of what we saw:

It is hard to capture the enormity of the Gorge!  The building above is the Vista House - Samuel Lancaster, Assistant Highway Engineer for Multnomah County in 1913, supervised the Columbia River Highway project. Lancaster’s proposal to construct a building on the summit of Crown Point was another reflection of his desire to inspire the traveler along the highway and to make the wonders of the gorge accessible.
As Lancaster described it, the Crown Point promontory was the ideal site for “an observatory from which the view both up and down the Columbia could be viewed in silent communion with the infinite.” Such an observatory would also be a fitting memorial to “the trials and hardships of those who had come into the Oregon country.” And it could “serve as a comfort station for the tourist and the travelers of America’s greatest highway.” He suggested it be known as the Vista House.
Majestic! It’s the only word to describe Crown Point capped by its venerable Vista House.  Described by its architect, Edgar M. Lazarus, as “a temple to the natural beauty of the Gorge,” Vista House has long been recognized for its historic significance and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.  Here is Vista House today which is now maintained by volunteers:

View to the West:

View to the East:

And of course there are always beautiful flowers to be enjoyed:

 

Once we were finished enjoying the amazing views from Vista House we continued down the path of the river.  Columbia River Gorge is a National Recreation Area so there was a ton of beautiful, magnificent nature to see.  Like this water fall that seemed to "fall" forever!

 

 

 

We went for a hike up this mountain so we could see the falls closer to the top.....that was a workout!!

 

 

And these mountains have REALLY TALL trees!!

From here we journeyed to another water fall that was actually 2 falls in one.  This is Multnomah Falls - stunningly lovely.

Moving on to Cape Horn Conservancy which is an all volunteer non-profit dedicated to providing thoughtful stewardship of this trail and  Columbia Gorge ...stunning!

And Cape Horn Bridge - impressive considering it was built in the 1920's.  It just seems like things built in the early 1900's last so much longer than some modern day items, and the machinery back then was way more limited than it is today.  People complain today of a back ache if they just mow their yard...imagine building this bridge!:

 

Okay, back in the truck and off we go again.  This time we end up at the Bridge of the Gods, which is actually a toll bridge that spans the Columbia between Oregon and Washington:

 

 

From the bridge we saw the Bonneville Locks:

 

 

 

 

 

And graceful views of the river both left and right:

 

 

 

 

And to close our visit to the Gorge...some wild Irises we found:)

More Later