- Oyster Dome (wa100.dnr.wa.gov)
Take an invigorating hike up Blanchard Mountain, located south of Lake Samish, to the geologic treasure known as Oyster Dome—a rounded, rocky promontory with spectacular views of the San Juan Islands and the Olympic Mountains. Oyster dome is located in the 4,500-acre Blanchard State Forest, the only place in Washington where the Cascade Mountains meet the Salish Sea.
- Another Icy Bay - Alice Bay (washingtonlandscape.blogspot.com)
I enjoy our periodic short burst of true winter weather. The cold periods in western Washington are short. I will say that while the areas subject to Fraser River outflow winds are a bit rough - 50 mph winds when the temperature in the teens and single digit range is not pleasant.
- Soo Line High Bridge (Wikipedia)
The Soo Line High Bridge, also known as the Arcola High Bridge, is a steel deck arch bridge over the St. Croix River between Stillwater, Minnesota and Somerset, Wisconsin, United States. It was designed by structural engineer C.A.P. Turner and built by the American Bridge Company from 1910 to 1911. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 for its national significance in the themes of engineering and transportation. It was nominated for its exceptional dimensions, beauty, innovative engineering techniques, and importance to transportation between Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Washington Trails Association
- Oyster Dome (wta.org)
Oyster fishing and logging were the dominant industries in the Chuckanut area from the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries. The forest lands of Blanchard Mountain became state trust lands in the 1920s and 1930s, giving the forest a needed respite. Much of the forest on Blanchard is second-growth; logging artifacts can be seen on the trail, and giant stumps inspire imagination about the towering cathedral forests that blanketed the mountain prior to logging.