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Go to At John & Lucy's, Colorado Go to Colorado to Wyoming Go to The Grand Tetons, Wyoming Go to Harlowton and Two Dot, Montana Go to Glacier National Park, Montana Go to Calgary and the SIAFU reunion, Alberta Go to Vancouver, BC Go to Salt Spring Island, BC Go to Victoria, BC Go to Seattle, Washington Go to Portland, Oregon
"Nearby Crowheart Butte was the site of a battle between the Crow and Shoshone American Indian tribes in 1866. According to legend, following a five day battle for rights to the hunting grounds in the Wind River Range, Chief Washakie of the Shoshone and Chief Big Robber of the Crow agreed to a duel, with the winner gaining the rights to the Wind River hunting grounds. Chief Washakie eventually prevailed, but he was so impressed with the courage of his opponent, that rather than scalp him, he instead cut out his heart and placed it on the end of his lance."
"In 2003, the lodge was listed as a National Historic Landmark. Designed by architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood and completed in 1955, the lodge is an example of the National Park Service's interpretation of the International Style which was commonly seen in structures built on U.S. Government parklands in the mid-20th century. The lodge combines elements of the more rustic structures of the earlier decades of the 20th century with a more modern design elements that became standard for the next couple of decades."
"Harlowton is a city in and the county seat of Wheatland County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,062 at the 2000 census. The city was once the eastern terminus of electric operations (1914Ð74) of the Milwaukee Road railroad's "Pacific Extension" route, which went all the way to Avery, Idaho. Here, steam or diesel locomotives were changed or hooked up to electric locomotives. Harlowton was founded in 1900 as a station stop on the Montana Railroad, a predecessor to the Milwaukee, and was named for Richard A. Harlow, the Montana Railroad's president."
"The St. Ignatius Mission is a landmark Roman Catholic mission founded at its present location, St. Ignatius, Montana, in 1854 by Father Pierre-Jean De Smet and Father Adrian Hoecken. The current mission church was built between 1891 and 1893, and listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
The mission church is a simplified, vernacular example of Gothic revival architecture constructed of bricks made from native clay. The most exceptional feature of the interior are the 58 murals painted by Brother Joseph Carignano, an untrained artist who worked as a cook in the mission." http://www.rockymtnmission.org/index.php?page=st-ignatius-mt
"The Lake McDonald Lodge, initially known as the Lewis Glacier Hotel, was the second hotel on the site. The first, the Snyder Hotel, was built by George Snyder in 1895. It was accessed by s steamboat that ran the 10 miles from the Apgar area to the hotel, preceded by a two-mile trip on a horse-drawn carriage and a ferry trip over the Middle Fork Flathead River.
The Lewis Glacier Hotel lodge was built in 1913 by John Lewis, a land speculator from Columbia Falls, Montana. He bought the land, amounting to about 285 acres, in 1904-5 and had the hotel built during a period when the Great Northern Railway was building other hotels and backcountry chalets, including Many Glacier Hotel, Glacier Park Lodge, Granite Park Chalet, Sperry Chalet, and Two Medicine Store. This movement was part of a trend by railroads during that time to build destination resorts in areas of exceptional scenic value. Railroads wanted to attract tourists and create resorts that were equal to the scenery, and private operators like John Lewis had to build equally impressive facilities in order to keep up. The Lewis hotel, designed by the Spokane firm of Kirtland, Cutter and Malmbren, was a much more ambitious undertaking. The hotel was built in 1913-14, working through the winter months, and opened in June 1914. The new hotel was designed to continue the Swiss cottage theme already developed by the Great Northern railway hotels. Artist Charles M. Russell was a frequent guest at the hotel in the 1920s, and is claimed to have etched pictographs in the dining room's original fireplace hearth.
In 1930, the Great Northern Railway acquired the hotel through its subsidiary, the Glacier Park Hotel Company. The hotel's name was changed to Lake McDonald Lodge in 1957. It was damaged in a flash flood in 1964 that destroyed the fireplace and the Russell etchings. The Glacier Park Hotel Company was sold to the Dial Corporation in 1981, then spun off with the Viad company. The lodge was extensively renovated in 1988-89, restoring details that had been obscured over time or damaged by the Snyder Creek 1964 flood. Today, the lodge maintains its historic character.
The Lake McDonald Lodge faces the lake, where early visitors arrived. With the construction of the Going-to-the-Sun Road, visitors began to arrive at what had, until then, been the rear of the hotel, which still retains its character as a secondary entrance despite the traffic it receives. Road access arrived by 1921. The main building is 3-1/2 stories high, with a stone foundation and wood framing above. Exposed stone surfaces on the exterior have mostly been covered with white stucco. The upper floors are clad in brown wood clapboards, with sawn fancy trim patterns picked out in white on the upper levels as frieze bands. The white stucco fireplace chimney dominates the present entry elevation, offset around the window above the fireplace.
The hotel features a large lobby near the northeastern end which faces southeast, centered on a large stone fireplace set in an inglenook recess on the south wall, surmounted by a large window. The lobby is three stories tall, decorated with skins and taxidermy mounts of native species acquired or trapped by John Lewis, who supplemented the hotel business by trapping, often in the park. There are balconies on the second floor to either side, and on the second and third floors at the rear of the lobby. The building's heavy timber frame is exposed in this area. Stairways to the upper levels feature natural burled log elements. This element is flanked by guest room sections with perpendicular gables on either side. Guest rooms are primarily on the two upper levels. The dining room is to the southwest of the lobby on the main floor in a 1-1/2 story wing,facing the lake, with a 1-1/2 story kitchen wing adjoining. The exterior features balconies on all elevations on the guest room levels and porches on the ground levels. Exposed framing is a mixture of sawn heavy timbers and log framing, often with the bark remaining. Sawn railings with decorative patterns have replaced some of the log railings on the balconies. Log railings remain in the upper levels of the lobby."
"The area was named Banff in 1884 by George Stephen, president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, recalling his birthplace in Banffshire, Scotland. The Canadian Pacific built a series of grand hotels along the rail line and advertised the Banff Springs Hotel as an international tourist resort."
"The Library Square Project was the largest capital project ever undertaken by the City of Vancouver. The decision to build the project came after a favourable public referendum in November 1990. The City then held a design competition to choose a design for the new building. The design by Moshe Safdie and DA Architects was by far the most radical design and yet was the public favourite. The inclusion of the 21 story office tower in the design was required in order to pay for it and as part of a deal with the federal government to obtain the land; the federal government has a long term lease on the high rise office tower portion of the project. Construction began in early 1993 and was completed in 1995."
"Saltspring Island was initially inhabited by Salishan peoples of various tribes. The island became a refuge from racism for African Americans who had resided in California. Settled in 1858 by ex-slaves from Missouri who travelled to California, and then north to British Columbia at the invitation of Governor James Douglas, himself a Guyanese mulatto, the island was the first of the Gulf Islands to be settled. Demographically, early settlers of the island included not only African Americans, but also (largely) English and European, as well as Irish, Scottish, aboriginal and Hawaiian. During the 1960s the island once again became a refuge for US citizens, this time for draft dodgers during the Vietnam War. The island was known as "Chuan" or "Chouan" Island in 1854, but it was also called "Saltspring" as early as 1855, in honor of the island's salt springs. In 1859, it was officially named "Admiralty Island" in honor of Rear-Admiral Robert Lambert Baynes by surveyor Captain Richards, who named various points of the island in honor of the Rear-Admiral and his flagship, HMS Ganges. Even while named "Admiralty Island", it was referred to popularly as Saltspring."
"Where did Ganges get its name? It is named after the British naval ship HMS Ganges. The first HMS Ganges was built in England and launched in 1782, and finally broken up in 1816. The second HMS Ganges, that visited Salt Spring Island, was built in in Bombay, India. construction was of Malabar teak. She was launched on November 10, 1821. She sailed to Portsmouth, England, in 1822 for fitting out and was commissioned in 1823. The HMS Ganges was in the Pacific region from 1857 to 1861. During this three year commission, she sailed 60,100 nautical miles. She was the flagship of the Pacific Squadron under Rear Admiral Sir Robert Lambert Baynes. The proper name for Mt. Maxwell is Baynes Peak. Fulford Harbour is named after Captain John Fulford. After a period as a training ship and a hospital ship, she was finally broken up in 1929."
"Salt Spring IslandÕs oldest church was founded in 1878 by Father Donckele, the first Roman Catholic missionary to the Gulf islands. Erected between 1880 and 1885 by members of the community, the windows, door and bell were acquired from father RondeaultÕs ÒButter ChurchÓ in Cowichan Bay. The materials were brought in Indian canoes from Cowichan Bay to Burgoyne Bay, then by ox-drawn stoneboat to this site. The church was formally dedicated on May 10, 1885, by Bishop J. B. Brondel. Coloured stonework was added about 1973."
"A masterful Art Deco pavilion topped with a shining white obelisk rising high above the Inner Harbour. It would be a tribute to the taste and vision of city tourism officials, except that it started out life as a gas station." http://www.frommers.com/destinations/victoria/0185020033.html#ixzz24ThCkAcA
"In 1892, a 25-year-old Yorkshireman arrived on the west coast just as an architectural competition for a new Legislature Building in Victoria was announced. Francis Mawson Rattenbury had no professional credentials but was blessed with both talent and ambition. He submitted a set of drawings and, to the surprise of all, beat out 65 other entries from around the continent." http://www.frommers.com/destinations/victoria/0185020033.html#ixzz24Thdt2sr
"There is a view, when the morning mists peel off the harbor, where the steamers tie up, of the Houses of Parliament on one hand, and a huge hotel on the other, which is an example of cunningly fitted-in waterfronts and facades worth a very long journey." Thus spoke Rudyard Kipling during a visit to the city in 1908. If he'd come only 5 years earlier, he would've been looking at a nasty, garbage-choked swamp. The causeway was then a narrow bridge over the tidal inlet, and as Victorians made a habit of pitching their refuse over the rail, the bay was, not surprisingly, a stinking cesspit of slime. In 1900, the ever-shrewd Canadian Pacific Railway made an offer to the city -- we'll build a causeway and fill in the stinky bay if you let us keep the land. The city jumped at the offer. Little was expected -- the land was swamp, after all. But taking their cue from the good folks in Amsterdam, the CPR drove long pilings down through the muck to provide a solid foundation. And on top of that, they built the Fairmont Empress. The architect was Francis Rattenbury, and his design was masterful, complementing his own Provincial Legislature Buildings to create the view that has defined the city ever since." http://www.frommers.com/destinations/victoria/0185020033.html#ixzz24ThRzp1z
"This bronze statue was commissioned by the Victoria Environmental Enhancement Foundation and was unveiled on July 12, 1976 by the Honourable Bill Bennett, the Premier of the Province of British Columbia.
The inscription reads:
Capt. James Cook, R.N.
1728-1779
After two historic voyages to the South Pacific, Cook was cruising the waters of the Pacific Northwest on his third and final voyage with his two ships, Resolution and Discovery. He was searching for the Western exit to the legendary Northwest Passage. In March 1778, they put into Nootka Sound for repairs and to trade with the native people. With him on the voyage were Mr. William Bligh as Master of the Resolution and Midshipman George Vancouver."
"In 1907, the developers of Uplands purchased the area for the sum of $275,000 and hired the leading landscape architect John Olmsted as the designer. Olmsted designed famous neighbourhoods and parks in North America. The Uplands of today is faithful to Olmsted's vision: an elegant neighbourhood with estate-sized lots, serpentine streets and the signature green, globed, ornate lamp posts. The houses are built to impress and the sprawling gardens are carefully manicured."
"Pike Place Market is a public market overlooking the Elliott Bay waterfront in Seattle, Washington, United States. The Market opened August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continually operated public farmers' markets in the United States."
"The Market Theater Gum Wall is a local landmark in downtown Seattle, in Post Alley under Pike Place Market. Similar to Bubblegum Alley in San Luis Obispo, California, the Market Theater Gum Wall is a brick alleyway wall now covered in used chewing gum. Parts of the wall are covered several inches thick, 15 feet high for 50 feet."That night we went to the recital and concert at Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle and got to see those who had been rehearsing at the Greene's, do their stuff. Very impressive. I was taken by the geometry of the hall's ceiling.
The wall is by the box office for the Market Theater, and the tradition began around 1993 when patrons of Unexpected Productions' Seattle Theatresports stuck gum to the wall and placed coins in the gum blobs. Theater workers scraped the gum away twice, but eventually gave up after market officials deemed the gum wall a tourist attraction around 1999. Some people create small works of art out of gum.
It was named one of the top 5 germiest tourist attractions in 2009, second to the Blarney Stone."
"The Seattle Center Monorail is an elevated monorail line in Seattle, Washington, that runs a little under one mile along Fifth Avenue between Seattle Center in Lower Queen Anne and Westlake Center in Downtown. Seattle Center Monorail is a fully self-sufficient public transit system with a top speed of 45Êmph. Owned by the City of Seattle, the line has been operated by a private contractor, Seattle Monorail Services, since 1994. The monorail trains and their tracks were given historical landmark status by the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board April 16, 2003."
"The Space Needle is a tower in Seattle, Washington and a major landmark of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and a symbol of Seattle. Located at the Seattle Center, it was built for the 1962 World's Fair, during which time nearly 20,000 people a day used the elevators, with over 2.3 million visitors in all for the World Fair. The Space Needle is 605 feet high at its highest point and 138 feet wide at its widest point and weighs 9,550 tons. When it was completed it was the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River."
"Rem Koolhaas and Joshua Prince-Ramus of the Dutch firm Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), working in conjunction with the Seattle firm LMN Architects, served as the building's principal architects."Sunday 29 July 2012. Marty dropped me off at the King Street Station and I was soon on my way to Portland aboard Amtrak. A very relaxing 4 hours or so. Some interesting things to see along the way, one being the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
"The original Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened on July 1, 1940. It received its nickname "Galloping Gertie" because of the vertical movement of the deck observed by construction workers during windy conditions. The bridge became known for its pitching deck, and collapsed into Puget Sound the morning of November 7, 1940, under high wind conditions. Engineering issues as well as the United States' involvement in World War II postponed plans to replace the bridge for several years; the replacement bridge was opened on October 14, 1950."
"The initial design for the station was created in 1882 by McKim, Mead, and White. Had the original plan been built, the station would have been the largest train station in the world. A smaller plan was introduced by architects Van Brunt & Howe, and accepted in 1885. Construction of the station began in 1890. It was built by Northern Pacific Terminal Company at a cost of $300,000, and opened on February 14, 1896. The signature piece of the structure is the 150Êft. tall Romanesque clock tower. The neon signs were added to it in 1948. The signs read "Go by Train" on the northeast and southwest sides and "Union Station" on the northwest and southeast sides. The station was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975."Arrived at Union Station in Portland and walked to the Benson Hotel, not too far away. A very nice hotel, well located. Later Sunday I walked around a bit and got my bearings. That evening I decided to eat in the hotel's lounge.
"Now a wealthy man, Benson's interests expanded beyond the timber industry. In 1912, he began building a fine hotel because he felt it was needed in Portland to attract tourists and more commerce to the city. It was modeled on the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago, a brick structure with the same type of French mansard roof. It opened in 1913 and was known as the Oregon Hotel. For sixteen months it lost money and finally Benson took over management, at which time it became known as the Benson Hotel."
"Simon Benson was a tee-totaler and he wanted to discourage his workers from drinking alcohol in the middle of the day. In 1912, Benson gave the City of Portland $10,000 for the installation of twenty bronze drinking fountains. These fountains, known as "Benson Bubblers", are still in use in downtown Portland. Today there are 41 Benson Fountains, forty in Portland and one in Sapporo, Japan, one of PortlandÕs Sister Cities."
"Pioneer Courthouse Square, affectionately known as Portland's living room, is a public space occupying a full 40,000 sq ft city block in the center of downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. The square is bounded by Southwest Morrison Street on the north, Southwest 6th Avenue on the east, Southwest Yamhill Street on the south, and Southwest Broadway on the west. It is ranked as the world's fourth-best public square."
"Powell's was founded by Walter Powell in 1971. His son, Michael Powell, had started a bookstore in Chicago, Illinois, in 1970 which specialized in used, rare, and discounted books, primarily of an academic and scholarly nature. In 1979, Michael Powell joined his father in Portland, right after his father lost its lease; within a year, they found the location that became its current headquarters. Michael bought the bookstore from his father in 1982."
"Jake's Famous Crawfish is a seafood restaurant in Portland, Oregon, founded in 1892 by Jacob "Jake" Lewis Freiman.After dinner I returned to the hotel, picked up my bag, and took the shuttle to the airport where I caught my flight home, arriving the next morning. A long and enjoyable trip.
Rachel Dresbeck described the restaurant as having a "turn-of-the-last-century ambiance, with its maze of booths snug against brick walls, its antique oil paintings, deep wood paneling, beautiful bar and crisp white linen."
