~ Carmen The Cascade Mountain Loop Road Trip is a 451 mile (726 km) scenic drive through some of the most scenic landscape in northwestern Washington State.  On this road trip, you pass through the Cascade Mountains twice, seeing the lush western side, and barren eastern side.  You drive through quiet valleys and pass by......

~ Carmen Leavenworth, Washington is a picturesque town located along the Cascade Mountain Loop in Northwestern United States.  You can easily reach it from Seattle in under 3 hours.  A trip to Leavenworth is like stepping into European Bavaria.  From Oktoberfest celebrations in the fall to intricate Bavarian-inspired architecture, Leavenworth will have you singing “The......

~Carmen Joe and I love a good road trip.  We have made some of the best memories exploring the great USA by car.  Come to think of it, we’ve also had some of our biggest arguments on those same road trips.  Our most recent road trip through the San Juan Islands would be no exception!......

~Carmen Orcas Island is the largest of the San Juan Islands, which are located in the northwest corner of Washington State. The island can be accessed through the Washington State Ferry system.  It can also be reached by small (and I mean very small) aircraft or chartered boat.  Just a day or two is all......

~Carmen Seattle is one of our “family visit” places.  Joe grew up just south of Seattle, and most of his family still lives in the area.  I had been in the area a couple of times growing up (Uncle lived in Aberdeen, WA), but I was really little and only remember a few of the......

~Carmen If you have been reading the blog, you know that we have been chronicling our epic road trip around the Olympic National Park in Washington State.  If you want to see a variety of biomes and landforms, this road trip is for you!  From rainforests to mountain ridges, this national park road trip has......

~ Carmen The last day of our 3-day road trip through Olympic National Park, our 120 mile itinerary covered Hoh Rain Forest, Ruby Beach, and Quinalt Rain Forest. This would be the last “touring day” of our road trip and the most relaxed!  We had started our road trip on the eastern and driest side......

~ Carmen It’s hard to see all that Washington’s Olympic National Park has to offer.  We only had four full days, three for driving around the park and one to make it back to Joe’s family’s house.  Our first day was full of seeing snow covered mountain tops and the deep blue Crescent Lake (see Hurricane......

~ Carmen About this time each year, we start planning our summer vacations.  Since Joe’s family lives in Washington state, we frequently make our way there.  It gives us not only a chance to see family, but Washington is one of the most beautiful places you could ever hope to visit.  From the Seattle Harbor......