There are more popular campsites in Olympic National Park, but we couldn't be more pleased with the magical atmosphere of Heart O'the Hills Campground. It is the perfect balance of beauty, seclusion, and accessibility. Not only could we roll in on a Saturday afternoon and get a spot but we still had cell access where we could set up a hotspot and work.
They did it for the toilets. They did it for the tides. After a fire decimated Seattle in 1889, the city planners saw an opportunity to correct a massive and pungent civic challenge: sewage.
There are four gun batteries in Fort Ward. One is along the main paved path that most visitors stroll by when exploring this military outpost come public park. The other is concealed by massive trees, elevated well above the main area of the park and accessible from a relatively discreet dirt path. This is where the troubled teens and would be graffiti artists find some solitude to blow off steam and deface historic structures.
Poulsbo, Washington could be called "Little Scandinavia." There is no shortage of viking images, Ollie & Lena jokes, and so very many baked goods.
St. Louis, MO celebrates its role as the launching point of the Captain Meriwether Lewis and Second Lieutenant William Clark expedition with the Gateway Arch. Oregon marks its position as the final destination of the Corps of Discovery with a recreation of Fort Clatsop: where Lewis & Clark wintered before returning to the East Coast and a place in the history books.
The Mary D. Hume was the longest operating service boat on the Pacific Coast and can still be seen, half sunk, one hundred feet from where it was built over a century ago.
After evicting our unwanted visitor, we were wide awake and set out on the road early. The morning mists lounged over the ocean, resulting in photographs that would strive for "atmospheric."
The Avenue of the Giants is is one of so many breathtaking and unique features that make California such an amazing state. Less than an hour ago, we were relaxing on the coast, now we are in the middle of towering redwoods—hearing them creak ominously.
While there isn't much left to see at Hobbiton, USA, there is more than just a defunct roadside attraction to access from the same parking lot. The Living Chimney Tree gained its titular characteristic in 1914 when a fire hollowed out this 78 foot tall tree without actually killing it. The resulting charred inner room is about 12 feet in diameter and stretches so high that it is difficult to see where the chamber ends. I wouldn't have been against setting up camp inside for a night. There certainly was plenty of room. When it comes to burnt out trees, this one is pretty remarkable. It makes for a pretty short stop: walk in, turn around, sing a song to test the acoustics, then exit.
We are programmers. We've copped to that. So, I suppose it goes without saying that Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films were not our first exposure to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. When I discovered that there was the remnants of an old hobbit themed roadside attraction in the redwoods, we were going there.