I had the chance to visit Seattle and Crater Lake in September of 2015.
We only had a few short days to see the city, so we had to hit the streets and start exploring as soon as we arrived.
Shot from the top of the Space Needle.
I walked all around Seattle but found the most people around Pike's Place Market.
After a couple of days in Seattle we had a long drive to Crater Lake. A place I've been wanted to see since I a little kid.
The sight of the clear blue waters of Crater Lake were truly a magnificent sight, but I was always drawn to the uniquely formed trees that line the rim of the crater.
Standing on the rim looking towards the lake, you can't help to image the scale of the eruption that lead to the formation of a crater this massive.
As we were driving up to the rim, we passed through the smoke from a view fires that were burning in the area. Once at the top, we could see the fires we drove by earlier.
We hung around Crater Lake late into the day...long enough to watch the sunset from the western rim of the lake.
We opted out of taking the major highways back to Washington. Instead we traveled along Rt 96 and a few other smaller byways. The landscapes were like no place I've ever been. And was not at all what I expected from the Pacific Northwest.
Last stop on our road trip was Mt Rainer. The low clouds and light rain meant we didn't actually get to see the mountain, but the drive there made for some stunning views regardless.