So your girl over here decided to check out some of the Pacific Northwest since I had such a blast there last year.

Problem was, I quickly found, that I was there in June and July of last year, and this year visited in April instead, which meant s n o w.

I’m so used to winters in my East coast town meaning the snow falls from late December through maybe early March, whereas in the mountains out west, the span can fall more from October through May. So this go around, I kept painstakingly coming across snowdrifts and active snowfall, which was frustrating and stressful.

I traveled up to Oregon from Northern California, hoping to catch a glimpse of Crater Lake National Park. Problem was, I found, they had had six feet of snow dumped on them the day prior, and although the roads were largely cleared, the gate up to the lakefront was closed off. I got all the way up to it, basically, but couldn’t catch the view. Which was frustrating, but them’s the breaks, as they say. I’ve been checking the national park webpages (necessary to do), and unfortunately missed this. Oh well. These are the views I could see.

I left the park, continuing up, and caught a magnificent sunset just outside.

Drove, slept, grabbed a small town breakfast with a pal.

I wanted to visit a hot spring but it was raining. So from there on out it was a short shot up to Sahalie Falls, and had to drive through a snowstorm to get there. There was so much snow the parking area was blocked so I had to tromp in.

After this, I traveled up to Portland, Oregon. There was a neat artisans’ farmers market going on which I visited and grabbed some local art at. Then visited Voodoo donuts and waited in a long ass line, hit up the famous Powell’s city of books bookstore which spans a whole city block, and had the best Thai food I’ve ever had at Thai Peacock. Looooved it.

The next day, I grabbed some breakfast and then headed up the Columbia River scenic highway (phenomenal drive) to see Multnomah falls. There’s a bunch of waterfalls to see on this drive, as well as Oneonta gorge. It’s a beautiful, wet, mossy area. But SO CROWDED. I visited on Easter so I thought I’d be safe but I was not. I had to wait in gridlocked traffic for over an hour just to grab a glimpse.

Worth it? Who knows. I’m glad it’s off the list so I don’t have to force myself to return.

I headed about three hours North to Seattle and walked around the downtown area around the Pike Place Market. I went to the gross gum wall, I rode the Seattle great wheel, all that.

During my time in Seattle, I also checked out the Gas Works park and saw a nice view of the downtown. Also ate some cheap cheeseburgers at Dick’s, checked out some local bookstores, etc etc.

Seattle is a great place. I love the area, but especially the company I have there. I was here for just a short time. The stress of the snow had gotten to me and made me want to return home and not have to deal with being on the road and feeling unsure about my itinerary. After this stop on my trip, I’d begin heading East again.