A STOP OVER IN SHELTON

July, 2021

Excitedly we left all the wonderfulness we had found in Cle Elum, and were on our way (finally – a year later!) to the Olympic Peninsula. We had hoped to travel to our campground in Sequim, located along the northern coast of the peninsula, but because of the July 4th holiday we had to wait for the long weekend to be over before becoming fully immersed in Olympic National Park. All of that meant one more stop-over.

From Cle Elum we headed west on Interstate 90 easily over Snoqualmie Pass (nothing like pulling Vantage Hill!!) into Seattle and then south on Interstate 5 through Tacoma and Olympia before picking up US Highway 101 north to our 3-day stop-over at the Squaxin Island Tribe’s Little Creek Casino and Resort where we found a level concrete pad, full hook-ups, good wifi and nice bathhouse, with 24/7 security, a motorhome friendly gas station on premises, and, if desired a casino/resort/hotel with full amenities. The campground was just off of the Highway. This would be the first time we had ever stayed in a casino campground, and it was really quite nice.

Barbara was excited to see the Pacific Ocean and our first adventure took us on an adventure to explore Ruby Beach, a favorite Washington Coast viewing location for whale and orcas, puffins, and sea otters. Ruby Beach is located in Olympic National Park (!), and at the southern end of the Park’s 65 miles of Pacific Ocean shoreline. When most of us think of a beach we’re picturing (some shade of) white silicon-based sand; however, the Pacific beaches in Northern Washington are not what most of us would call sandy. The shoreline is rocky and dark gravel; the gravel from rock that has been crushed by the ocean.

We had expected sunny and warm, but what we got was overcast and windy. And, while we didn’t find the sea life we had hoped to see we did find a terrifically photogenic landscape that drew us into the visceral experience of the Washington Pacific coast.

We have been to Seattle before, and Brian and Graham had had a chance to visit during their west coast summer baseball trip some 20 years ago. The touristy sites including Pike Place Market, the top of the Space Needle and the Experience Music Project had been thoroughly enjoyed. This time around we found an additional 7 “not to be missed when in Seattle” sites of which we had interest. Unfortunately, 1 of those sites, the Official Bad Art Museum of Art (or OBAMA(!)), had been permanently closed. Guess that left us 6…

Trip Advisor calls North Seattle’s Fremont Neighborhood a quirky, fun-filled bohemian neighborhood. In addition to its many street fairs, coffee shops (it is Seattle after all!), restaurants and nightclubs, colorful storefronts, outdoor concerts and galleries, the neighborhood is a haven for all. As a matter of fact, we were about 2 weeks late for “The Solstice Parade” – an annual outdoor festival on the weekend closest to the summer solstice. which is ushered in by the appearance of 100’s of naked cyclists.

Ever since the Fremont Neighborhood’s Aurora Bridge was erected in 1932 there have been reports of troll sightings underneath. But it wasn’t until 1989 when the city asked the Fremont Arts Council to launch an art competition to rehabilitate the area under the bridge that the Freemont Troll was born.

According to Atlas Obscura: “Since no one can absolutely prove that it is not, a group of scientists in a bar reasoned in 1991 that the Fremont Neighborhood is as good a Center of the Universe as any. A guidepost was put up that year to indicate as much…”

Quick – name Seattle’s most famous person? We thought of Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Rainn Wilson, Judy Collins, Macklemore, Ryan Stiles, Carol Channing, Adam West, Gypsy Rose-Lee, and Barbara came up with Sir Mix-A-Lot (from her hip hop days in the early 90’s). Well, to be honest it probably is Bill Gates, but the City’s second most famous person?

Jimi Hendrix is buried at Greenwood Memorial Park.

Since1933 “The Wall of Death” has greeted pedestrians, joggers and cyclists using the Fremont Neighborhood’s Burke-Gilman Trail while passing under the University Bridge. It was named by a father-son artist team because of the resemblance to the structure used in the high-risk motordrome sport that was popular at carnivals and sideshows in the early 20th century. Riders on motorbikes or miniature automobiles zoomed around inside a cylindrical track at high speeds, defying the laws of gravity. The structure was known as “The Wall of Death.”

Seattle is the only place we know of where you can get a “bag of dicks.” A true 1950’s style drive-in motif greets diners at any one of the area’s 7 Dick’s Drive-Ins. For the past 37 years this family-owned and run business has been serving burgers, fries, sodas and shakes…only. The product is actually pretty good.

AND, the ownership operates with a genuine practice of treating employees as family – $19/hour starting wage, health care benefits, paid childcare, and tuition assistance are a few of the perks for being an employee.

Seattle’s original farmers market and the center of locally sourced, artisan and specialty foods, a whole bunch of restaurants, street performers, a beautiful view of Puget Sound, and home to the Pike Place Fish Market known for its fishmongers’ skill at throwing fish over the customers heads is the Pike Place Market.

But we weren’t in search of flying fish of any variety or for any reason. We were in pursuit of the infamous gum wall! Started in the 1990s when local patrons in line for an improv show at Post Alley’s Market Theater stuck their used gum on the wall, the Gum Wall has grown piece by piece to cover an enormous expanse of brick wall and continues to expand. It’s not easy to find the wall – we received 3 different sets of direction…but just look for and then descend the staircase behind Rachel the Pig.

A young woman offered her extra piece of hubba bubba to Brian…his DNA is now merged with the 10’s of hundreds of thousands of other pieces of gum adorning the alley.

Shelton turned out to be a great anchor location for some fun exploration and an introduction to our time in the Pacific Northwest. We had one more planned adventure before we headed on up to Sequim – we just couldn’t miss a day in Mount Rainier National Park.

Barbara and Brian

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.“ – Henry David Thoreau