No, I don’t mean Washington DC, I recently took a trip to the Pacific Northwest to hang out with family in Washington State. I was greeted by a view of Mt. Rainier, an active, but beautiful, volcano.

There’s plenty to do in the Pacific Northwest and we stuck close to where we were staying on Hood Canal. If you haven’t been to the area, it’s filled with hiking trails and for a Midwesterner, otherworldly sights.

We travel with kids, and this was a kid friendly, casual adventure—no passport or make-up required. As a bonus, we encountered few mosquitos.

We stocked up at Costco and a seafood market,

My dreams of a new life owning a family oyster farm were dashed when I actually had an oyster slider (not shown above. )The water is cool enough that Vibrio was unlikely (more of a Florida thing) but I won’t be doing it again.

We started our hiking at Guillemot Cove. The kids were delighted by the stump house and all the baby crabs on the shore. It’s the dry season right now but we managed to see a few banana slugs.

This area had lots of toxic but pretty foxglove.

The next day we traveled to Ranger Hole Trail and saw a glacial waterfall. Some of us took a cold plunge. I did not.

.

From there we traveled to Mount Walker to look across Hood Canal, a western lobe of Puget Sound, and view the eastern Olympic mountains and Mt. Rainier. It was a narrow, bumpy road to the top. My DIL captured this brave classic car ascending.

We celebrated the 4^th of July in a very US way, with fireworks and unexpectedly viewing a protest. One child didn’t know why ICE would be dangerous.

And let’s be honest, why would we achieve independence from a mad king with divine rights, only to let flies die around our cheese?

The following day, we hiked a small portion of the vast Olympic National Park, viewing Lake Cushman and hiking at Staircase for yet another cold plunge and a climb on a downed Western Cedar.

(The following week, this area was closed due to fire.)

We ended our trip by taking a commuter ferry (from Bremerton) to Seattle for sightseeing and shopping. One of the kids thought the ferry ride was the best part.

Here are a few other details, should you wish to avoid the weak dollar and just stay in the country for an upcoming vacation to Washington. We used the All Trails app to find our hiking spots and our trails were designated as easy. That doesn’t mean they were flat or rock free. We flew into SeaTac and rented a car. The nearest big town was Silverdale. Washington has no income tax but other taxes, including gas taxes, make up for it. I’m not a fan of this tax structure but look at all this beauty ready to be publicly accessed!

Sadly, I returned to Iowa to find out the state was abandoning one of the last shreds of public lands. Outdoorsy folks here have to leave to get satisfaction. I bet every Iowan knows someone who is going to Canada, Michigan, the Smokies, or the West Coast this summer. Meanwhile, I’m back in Iowa itching my new mosquito bites and cursing the stressful corn sweat. Once again, the kids are turning to their screens. Hopefully, Iowa will get new leadership, and our state will stop taking things from the public to reward the private.