The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Pacific Northwest Roadtrip
Fagatron
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
And I have no idea where to go or what to do.
Leaving Friday afternoon July 2nd when I get off work. The route is gonna be like this.
Going to Montana to visit a friend. Not 100% how long we're gonna stay there. Have to be in Vancouver by the 8th for a concert. Going to Seattle before that because I have to be back at work by the 11th (maybe the 12th, thinking about requesting an extra day). Planning on getting up earlyish after that and going to Portland, OR for the afternoon/evening. At this point if I get the extra day off we'll wake up in the morning and go to Crater Lake, get a hotel in Crescent City, and visit Redwood National Park before heading home. If I don't we'll probably just drive straight back and MAYBE stop in Redwood National Park for a couple hours.
Now help me think of things to do/eat/see in Seattle, Vancouver, and Portland. I could have 2 or more days in Seattle/Vancouver depending on how we decide to split things up. Portland I don't really have enough time to visit so only tell me about the most awesome things there. I know next to nothing about these places. Will parking be a problem in any of them? I guess I'm supposed to visit Pike's Place Market in Seattle? I thought that was just the new crappy coffee from Starbucks, had no idea it was a place.
Leaving Friday afternoon July 2nd when I get off work. The route is gonna be like this.
Going to Montana to visit a friend. Not 100% how long we're gonna stay there. Have to be in Vancouver by the 8th for a concert. Going to Seattle before that because I have to be back at work by the 11th (maybe the 12th, thinking about requesting an extra day). Planning on getting up earlyish after that and going to Portland, OR for the afternoon/evening. At this point if I get the extra day off we'll wake up in the morning and go to Crater Lake, get a hotel in Crescent City, and visit Redwood National Park before heading home. If I don't we'll probably just drive straight back and MAYBE stop in Redwood National Park for a couple hours.
Now help me think of things to do/eat/see in Seattle, Vancouver, and Portland. I could have 2 or more days in Seattle/Vancouver depending on how we decide to split things up. Portland I don't really have enough time to visit so only tell me about the most awesome things there. I know next to nothing about these places. Will parking be a problem in any of them? I guess I'm supposed to visit Pike's Place Market in Seattle? I thought that was just the new crappy coffee from Starbucks, had no idea it was a place.
Fagatron on
0
Posts
We both definitely like eating things, and looking at nature since we don't usually see a ton of it. Let me know if I'm missing anything really special with the way I have the route plotted now. I basically just went to Google Maps, plugged some places in, and adjusted for the maximum amount of driving through forests.
www.groundkontrol.com
Worth the time to see one of the best remaining arcades out there. While your in that area- Voodoo doughnuts( http://voodoodoughnut.com/menu.php )and possibly ( http://www.montageportland.com/ )
If you get in during the afternoon, a stop at the portland international test rose garden is fantastic.
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&sugexp=ldymls&pq=voodoo+doughnuts&xhr=t&cp=10&qe=cG9ydGxhbmQgag&qesig=hd8EdDKB3pwgT3jmdn1M6g&pkc=AFgZ2tkGzmtQtXCvkkn_svaQh2Ks5Q6OpkDJo4TpEwW8Nd81yCSyWdzsL_gnrCgyysGCpOwRVAMugx8jRfgaFUMiSFeY43FhPA&safe=off&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1115&bih=655&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=portland+japanese+garden&fb=1&gl=us&hq=portland+japanese+garden&hnear=portland+japanese+garden&cid=0,0,11424717693547273965&ei=P2H6TevVCOjUiAKzooz1BA&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&resnum=2&sqi=2&ved=0CFEQnwIwAQ
Which is why I would take the extra day.
Oh right
If your set on crater lake, You might consider silver falls on the way. it's magnificent.
http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_211.php
Some really impressive falls.
Weird, Google Maps says that it's only 4 1/2.
Deception Pass is awesome. Whidbey Island and the surrounding area is some of the best camping in Washington.
Crater Lake is also awesome, but definitely out of the way. I went with family for a few days (stayed at the cabins) when I was 17, and to be quite honest there's not a whole lot to do there, other than take pictures and go on the boat tour (which is great).
But by god, that view!
And holy shit man. Visit Pike's Place Market in Seattle. Then come up to Vancouver and visit Granville Island. If you have time, spend a few hours in Stanley Park - either walk around the seawall, explore the trails or check out the Vancouver Aquarium.
Yeah do US Highway 2 past Spokane, hit up the Dry Falls near Coulee City and pack a picnic meal to eat there, it is super rad. From there you can stay on 2 or if you want to get some more vistas, go SW through Ephrata and roll through the Columbia River Gorge, pretty rad. Then you are kind of stuck with I-90 the rest of the way to Seattle. Modified route.
Also, Pike's Place Market in Seattle is full of tourists but I've always enjoyed it.
Big-I did raise some good points though, because along that Spokane to Ellensburg route you can see Dry Falls, and if you take a small detour, Grand Coulee Dam. In fact, you should probably skip I-90 entirely from Spokane to Seattle and travel through Route 2, which, with a small detour, would take you by Grand Coulee Dam and Lake Chelan, and take you right through some beautiful mountains, forests, and Leavenworth. You can take a detour on the way down from Seattle through Mt. Rainier National Park if you still want to see that.
Really I guess I'd only do Rainier in that leg if you can get a place to stay in the park that night. That's a LONG ass drive with the detour to Rainier no matter how you do it if you're headed all the way to Seattle.
edit: Though, this guy's going to be driving through fucking Nevada. I-90 isn't going to be the most boring drive of the trip.
Rainier is a destination worth driving past Yakima for.
It costs I think $5 per carload of people to get in (you pay at the visitors center). Some things you might see there: Bison, elk, black bear, mountain lions, big horn sheep, white tail deer, mule deer, pronghorn, coyote, bald eagles, golden eagles, red tailed hawks, and tons of other birds. Usually you will see bison, pronghorn, and both types of deer, and hawks. If you have them, bring binoculars.
A closer alternative to victor is Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refuge, which is just outside Stevensville, which is about 20min from victor. It's quite a bit shorter drive inside there, and takes maybe 10 -20 min to drive through. It's got a few nature trails that are very leisurely, and you can sometimes owls and bald eagles on these trails. At Lee Metcalf you will primarily see water birds: Various ducks, osprey, herons, geese, sometimes swans, loons, and mergansers, and white tail deer.
Yakima represent! Born and raised there myself, and I got the hell out of dodge as soon as I could. May I ask, what do you consider to be the one awesome part of town?
I happen to think it's the best place in the world, but that's just me. It's quiet, it's green, I can't see my neighbors, and it's not far from several different towns so it's very convenient. You'll drive by it on I-90 on your way to BC so consider stopping for some gas and maybe driving around the woods. There's a small mountain you can drive up not far from the gas station (which is right next to the freeway), and you can almost see the whole puget sound from up there, it's beautiful. Particularly at sunset. Sometimes hang-gliders jump off it, which is cool to see.
It's a nice little mountain town. Get lunch at Tacos Jalisco. Best Mexican food I've ever had.
Truckee also happens to be my hometown, so I'm a little biased, but if you like charming small towns, it's worth a stop, I promise.
Heh, been there done that. Grew up in Grass Valley.
The portland people have given the highlights of that place, some good stuff there. Also check out some of our fine local breweries and their brewpubs, if you're into that. Bridgeport and Widmer are the big ones, but there are also a lot of much smaller ones, New Old Lompoc, hair of the dog, HUB, lucky lab... lots more that I can't remember offhand.
This and the Ice Caves for Washington.
If you can plan it around hitting San Francisco around dinner time on your trip that's when a lot of cool stuff is happening there too.
I also hear Vancouver has some great surfing, if that's something you're into
One more thing for the OP: are you coming through Peace Arch to get into Canada? Because this is pretty much the worst week you could possibly pick for trying to get through the border. Canada Day and July 4th. Ugh. I have NEXUS and I still wouldn't dare attempt peace arch unless I had an hour or two to kill.
edit: I guess if you leave crossing till the 7th or the 8th it wont be so bad. Just be careful because it will be relatively busy everywhere regardless.?
Really? I was told there was a place with excellent surfing. Can't remember where exactly near Vancouver though
Definitely not. We do have the currents but it's not nearly powerful enough for surfing. But as this website says, under just the right conditions, you might be able to do it around Third Beach off Stanley Park, if it's especially windy. Which makes sense, since the currents curve around the Wreck Beach and the UBC peninsula and hit English Bay. So it's possible I suppose but definitely rare.
This is backed up here too: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110412170417AAncGii
We don't really get large waves, or at least like the type you'd find on the open ocean around the Pacific Rim. Too much interference. Lots of fast moving chop during PNW windstorms but not especially large waves. That's why windsurfers are a common sight in English Bay, and especially Squamish Inlet. Surfing pretty much has to be on the west coast of Vancouver Island (Tofino and Long Beach being one of the best places in North America) or Olympic Peninsula of Washington State (think La Push and you've got the idea).