Washington Woes

We would not classify our extended drive through Washington State as thrilling.  This lack of excitement may or may not have accounted for the extra bickering between the two of us or it may be because we haven't been out of each other's sight for over six months!  However, after all was said & done we climbed Castle Rock, were skunked by Mount Saint Helen, toured another state capitol building, saw unexplainable mounds of dirt & made it to the gates of Olympic National Park.

Castle Rock Exhibit Hall in Castle Rock, WA - Obviously under a bit of construction
After our failed attempt to see Mount Saint Helen in person, Katie had to check out this museum retelling stories of those who lived & died during the volcanic explosion on May 8, 1980

Disappointed Babbitt at the Mount Saint Helen Visitor Center in Castle Rock, WA
We were only 5 miles away from this attraction & thought it would be tragic to miss it on
 such a nice day, but once we arrived we were informed that if the clouds stayed steady, that we wouldn't be able to see anything even if we were standing on top of the volcanic rock

Washington State Capitol Dome in Olympia, WA
While similar to other capitol buildings we have seen the Tiffany chandeliers &
homage to President George Washington made this building unique in its own right 

Katie rubbing George Washington's nose at the Capitol Building
During our tour we found out that George's nose is so shiny, because it's good luck to rub it

Babbitt at the Mima Mounds in Olympia, WA
Babbitt was sure the Native American's built these evenly spaced mounds, but the kiosks
around the park informed us that they are actually mysterious natural occurrences

The Rig inside Olympic National Park on the road to Hoh Rainforest
This is the strangest place we've spent the night & getting here before the sunset made it even weirder