Skip to main content

2017 Washington State Trip Part 1; The Cascades and SeaTac

By
After returning to California from the Southeast region I was back on a plane headed to Washington State.  My flight was from Fresno Yosemite International Airport to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport which is much better known as SeaTac.






I had a little bit of a rarity in that the weather over Washington was completely clear and I could see the Cascades unobstructed out the window.  I had views of just not just Mount Rainier but also Mount Adams and Mount St. Helens.





The Cascade Range roughly runs from California State Route 36 north through British Columbia and is far more volcanic in nature than the Sierras.  Most of the high peaks of the Cascade Range are volcanic and have a large prominence. 

When I visited Washington in 2015 I did go to Mount Rainier National Park.  Most of the day was extremely foggy and I missed being able to see Mount St. Helens from the park overlooks.  Mount St. Helens is a 8,363 foot high stratovolcano that is mostly known for the 1980 eruption.  Prior to the 1980 eruption Mount St. Helens had height of 9,677 feet above sea level.





To the east of Mount St. Helens is the 12,281 foot tall Mount Adams.  Mount Adams is also a stratovolcano but has not had an eruption in about 1,000 years.  The peaks of Mount Adams are covered in active glaciers.


Mount Rainier is probably the most well known mountain peak in the Cascade Range and is the highest in the range at 14,411 feet above sea level.  Mount Rainier is considered to be highly active which is worrying considering the amount of glaciers located on it.  Mount Rainier has a prominence of 13,210 feet which is the 21st highest in the world.  When I visited Mount Rainier National Park in 2015 I took; WA 706, Paradise Road, WA 123, and WA 410 to circle from the Seattle-Tacoma area.





SeaTac is one of my least favorite airports.  I've always found the facilities at SeaTac to way overwhelmed for the passenger volume it receives.  It doesn't help that SeaTac has an off-site rental facility which is probably my largest pet-peeve about airports aside from delays.  After making my way out of the maze of the rental car parking I pulled out of the airport and made my way to southbound I-5.





I-5 was surprisingly a breeze driving south to Tacoma mid-day.  I passed the junction with I-705 and WA 7 in Tacoma.  Back in 2015 I turned south on WA 7 here towards Mount Rainier after returning from Olympic National Park.





My direction of travel was ultimately across Tacoma Narrows on WA 16, but that is worth a blog post dedicated solely to that topic.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crescent City Connection (New Orleans, LA)

By
The Crescent City Connection is a massive dual-span steel truss bridge that spans the lower Mississippi River at downtown New Orleans, about 95 river miles upstream from the mouth of the great river at the Head of Passes Light. If counted as a single bi-directional highway bridge, the parallel spans combine to form the single busiest bridge on the Mississippi River and its importance as a linchpin in the region’s transportation network cannot be overstated. While there have been various schemes over the years to construct bridges downriver from Algiers Point, this bridge has been the southernmost bridge on the Mississippi River since its initial construction in the 1950s. The years immediately following the end of World War II were a transformational period in the history of New Orleans. Already one of the great economic and cultural centers of the American Deep South, it was recognized at this time that major changes and improvements to the city’s transportation infrastructure would b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old US Route 99 through Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch

By
This summer I had a look into the alignment history of US Route 99 through the Tulare County communities of Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch.  While this slab below might seem like much it is one of the few remaining reminders of how US Route 99 was during the 1920s in Tulare County. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page Part 1; the history of US Route 99 in Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch Tipton and Tulare were both founded in 1872 as sidings of the Southern Pacific Railroad.  The Southern Pacific Railroad laid the groundwork for development of southern San Joaquin Valley.  Previous to the Southern Pacific Railroad travel via wagon or foot in Central California tended to avoid San Joaquin Valley in favor of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road.  The Stockton Los Ange...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 101 and California State Route 41 through Paso Robles

By
Paso Robles is a city located on the Salinas River of San Luis Obispo County, California.  As originally configured the surface alignments of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 converged in downtown Paso Robles.  US Route 101 originally was aligned through Paso Robles via Spring Street.  California State Route 41 entered the City of Paso Robles via Union Road and 13th Street where it intersected US Route 101 at Spring Street.  US Route 101 and California State Route 41 departed Paso Robles southbound via a multiplex which split near Templeton.   Pictured above is the cover of the September/October 1957 California Highways & Public Works which features construction of the Paso Robles Bypass.  Pictured below is the 1935 Division of Highways Map of San Luis Obispo County which depicts US Route 101 and California State Route 41 intersecting in downtown Paso Robles.   Part 1; the history of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 i...
Post a Comment
Read more