Alone. I was truly all alone in Seattle as Selma boarded her plane back to Europe and I stood at the parking lot trying to figure out where I parked my car. Everything is easier when you are together. So I braved my way to the Ramada Hotel at the airport where I would spend my first night in the USA alone. I booked a room on the third floor and felt very safe. Selma and I had a early start into that day, and the airport hustle was a chore, so I was actually very tired and didn't do much on that first night. I did drive around to a nearby mall and BestBuy, bought some gifts and had dinner. My solo journey through the Pacific Northwest actually started the next day, when I left the hotel in the morning, ready to venture out into the unknown...
A Return to Snoqualmie
As a big Twin Peaks fan I had to return to North Bend and Snoqualmie which were on my way to Richland, WA, my ultimate destination for that day. I actually went back to some locations I didn't really get to capture properly on the day, Selma and I visited. I returned to the famous Snoqualmie waterfall and the Salish Lodge hotel. There weren't that many people there on this day and I also made a hike down to the river, which leads through some amazing woods. Some nice people took my photo at the falls, something I wasn't used asking before.
In the town of Snoqualmie
Before we actually didn't have a chance to visit the town center of Snoqualmie, so that was something left on my list. The name Snoqualmie is derived from the Lushootseed name sdukalbix, generally interpreted to mean "ferocious people", a name applied by another Coast Salishan people in reference to the Snoqualmie people. The most prominent sight is the Northwest Railway Museum which features historic trains and train tracks not being used today. So I could walk on them safely and the the images below. I also loved the small gazebo in the town center surrounded by the blooming trees.
The Northwest Railway Museum
The Northwest Railway Museum was founded in 1957 as the Puget Sound Railway Historical Association and took its current name in September 1999. The mission of the organization is to develop and operate a railway museum where the public can see and understand the role of railroads in the development of the Pacific Northwest, and experience the excitement of a working railroad. The museum's collection also includes a variety of railway cars and locomotives that document that development of the railway in Washington from the 1880s through the 1960s. It also includes a 3,000-volume library and archives that focus on the history of railroads in the Northwest, and on technical and other engineering aspects of railroading.
Eastbound towards Richland
As I crossed the mountains in the west, I entered desert like land in the east of Washington State. It was a very monotone car drive and I didn't pass through my cities in the east. I did stop at one gas station for water and a mall along the way for lunch. I was headed for my aunt's place in Richland, where my mom was staying during the two weeks I was on the road trip. More on Richland and what I did there in the next post.
End of Part Fifteen
To be continued...
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