AK Trip - Day Thirty Two - Tuesday, July 17th.,

Blaine, WA to Tacoma, WA

Leave it to us to break a heat spell. We woke to a light drizzle (Welcome to Seattle!) and mild, low 60 temps.

This morning we rode eighteen miles north to visit The Peace Arch State Park at Blaine, WA. While there, we walked through the park and collected the Washington state sign picture.

The Peace Arch – Blaine, WA

The arch commemorates the shared history and sisterhood between the US and Canada. It is located in Peace Arch State Park, between the US and Canadian custom check points. Canada's customs check point can be seen directly behind the flower bed, between the arch.

It is always nice to be back in the US.

Welcome to Washington - The Evergreen State

Blaine, Washington - One of the Four Corner cities.

Leaving Blaine, we rode over to Sedro–Wooley, where four National Park Stamps were located. The Cascades NP and Mount Baker National Forest are the two primary parks. Just to the east lies the Cascade Mountains.This picture is self-explanatory. Quintessential Seattle, directly under The Space Needle. Traffic in downtown Seattle and on I-5 was very heavy.

After a winding trip up and down small, one way city streets, we finally arrived at The Gold Rush National Historic Site, only to find the office had moved. Upon further investigation, we found the new address listed on their old office door did not exist. That led to a search of the nearby neighborhood and, eventually, finding the stamp on Jackson St., in a Klondike Merchantile store, three blocks away. Both of these stamps celebrate the historic begining and ending points of the origninal Alaskan Gold Rush. We felt it was important to have both the Seattle, and Skagway stamps.

Today was a short mileage day. We are staying in Federal Way, a suburb of Tacoma tonight. Ted will visit family and friends in this area this afternoon and tomorrow before we continue on.

Heroes take journeys, confront dragons, and discover the treasure of their true selves. ~Carol Pearson~