The Pacific Northwest – the Olympic Peninsula to the Columbia River.
Love lift us up where we belong
Where the eagles cry
On a mountain high
Love lift us up where we belong
Far from the world below
Up where the clear winds blow
From the song “Up Where We Belong” from Officer and a Gentleman, by Jennifer Warnes, Joe Cocker & Maxine Green
The Pacific Northwest drive continues. This post will take us from Seattle, Washington, all the way to Hood River, Oregon, on the Columbia River.
We started out at the ferry terminal on the Seattle waterfront and took a car ferry to Bainbridge Island. From there we made our way to our first stop on the Olympic Peninsula, Port Townsend. Why the lyrics from “Up Where We Belong”? The 1982 film Officer and a Gentleman was filmed mostly in and around Port Townsend. In the set below you’ll see the building where the former Town Tavern was located in the old downtown at which the bar scene in Officer and a Gentleman was filmed. After the photos of Port Townsend you’ll see a few shots taken at the former Fort Worden, now Fort Worden Historical State Park. Those historic buildings appear in the film and are right by the Parade Ground where Zack Mayo (Richard Gere) arrives to begin his training at Aviation Officer Candidate School, and where he later graduates, at what is called Fort Rainier Naval Training Base in the movie. In actuality it was a US Army Coast Artillery Corps base originally constructed to protect Puget Sound from a seaborne invasion.
The welcome center in one of the former US Army buildings had a helpful handout with the various Fort Worden filming locations. We didn’t get to very many of them. For fans of Officer and a Gentleman reading this, here’s some deep background on the filming there back in 1981. Some googling turned up several sites with detailed filming location information. This site seems pretty good.
From Port Townsend we made our way to Olympia to stay with my travel companions’ family. A big shout-out to our hosts for their kind hospitality and for showing us around the beautiful Olympic Peninsula and elsewhere! (They get my blog emails so I expect they will see this.) Having locals give a tour is always something special on these drives.
In the set of photos below we’ll leave the Olympic Peninsula and head inland via the White Pass Scenic Byway (US Route 12) in the Cascade Range to the Yakima Valley and a stop in Yakima. A spectacular drive with stunning views of Mt. Rainier. Click here for a more detailed map than what follows below.
After crossing over the Cascades we’ll be in agricultural country for the balance of the set. The Yakima Valley region is one of the world’s leading producers of apples. Other tree fruits, such as cherries, peaches, pears, nectarines, and apricots, are also grown there. Today’s factoid: the region produces about 75% of all of the hops grown in the United States. The Yakima Valley AVA was the first American Viticultural Area established within Washington state (in 1983) and is now part of the Columbia Valley AVA.
The city of Yakima – meh. It does have some great vintage signs. A few standout art deco buildings, too. The drive southward through the valley was very enjoyable.
When we cross the mighty Columbia River to Oregon’s Hood River Valley we’ll be in another important agricultural area with 14,500 acres of pears, apples and cherries covering the valley. There’s even a drive one can take called the Hood River Fruit Loop. Plus, there are also wineries and vineyards in the valley (Columbia Gorge & Mount Hood AVA). That’s one common theme in both Washington and Oregon — some very good wine. We did tastings at wineries on both sides of the river.
Stonehenge on the Columbia River? (See photos below.) What’s up with that? Near Maryhill, Washington, right by the Columbia River and three miles away from the Maryhill Museum of Art, is a full-scale replica of the real Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain in England, built by museum founder Sam Hill. The Maryhill version of Stonehenge (in reinforced concrete) is a World War I memorial dedicated in 1918. It was completed in 1929 and re-dedicated on Memorial Day of that year. The plaque reads: “To the memory of the soldiers and sailors of Klickitat County who gave their lives in defense of their country. This monument is erected in hope that others inspired by the example of their valor and their heroism may share in that love of liberty and burn with that fire of patriotism which death alone can quench.”
The Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge (1924) across the Columbia River connects Washington State Route 14 with Interstate 84/U.S. Route 30 on the Oregon side and is a real beauty. We crossed over to Oregon on that bridge.
Get ready for some more amazing bridges when we hit Portland, Oregon, and later start the Pacific Coast drive in Oregon.
In Hood River we visited a friend from my hometown, Berkeley, California, and I very much thank her, too, for the warm welcome and for being such a great Hood River Valley tour guide and local wine expert. She, too, is a subscriber to my blog emails, and I hope she sees this. We have known each other since elementary school in Berkeley. That’s a long time!
Next post: the magical Columbia River Scenic Byway as we make our way to Portland.
Off we go now starting out with the ferry to Bainbridge Island.
Click on (or tap) an image to expand it (and use the arrow to the right on an expanded image to go through the set, if preferred over scrolling down in the post).
Bainbridge Island ferry arriving at the Colman Dock, Seattle waterfront, Seattle, WA, 2015.
Port Townsend at the Puget Sound on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, 2015.
Point Wilson Light (1879) at the Puget Sound, Fort Worden Historical State Park, Port Townsend, Olympic Peninsula, WA, 2015.
The location of the former Town Tavern (used for the bar scene in "Officer and a Gentleman") on Water Street in downtown Port Townsend, Olympic Peninsula, WA 2015.
Haller Fountain (1902), Washington & Taylor Streets, Port Townsend, Olympic Peninsula, WA 2015.
Ghost sign in downtown Port Townsend, Olympic Peninsula, WA 2015.
The Starrett House (1889). Port Townsend, Olympic Peninsula, WA 2015.
"Officer and a Gentleman" filming site - former US Army building, Fort Worden Historical State Park, Port Townsend, Olympic Peninsula, WA, 2015.
"Officer and a Gentleman" filming site - former US Army building, Fort Worden Historical State Park, Port Townsend, Olympic Peninsula, WA, 2015.
Puget Sound pier with Port Townsend Marine Science Center building, Fort Worden Historical State Park, Port Townsend, Olympic Peninsula, WA, 2015.
Near Union, WA, by the Hood Canal fjord and Kitsap Peninsula, 2015.
Near Union, WA, by the Hood Canal fjord and Kitsap Peninsula, 2015.
Hunter Farms cattle ranch (1889), Union, Mason County, WA, 2015.
Centralia, Lewis County, WA, 2015.
Centralia, Lewis County, WA, 2015.
Farm near Centralia, Lewis County, WA, 2015.
Rainier Viewpoint on the White Pass Scenic Byway, Cascade Range, WA, 2015.
A.E. Larson Building (1931), Yakima, WA, 2015.
A.E. Larson Building (1931), Yakima, WA, 2015.
Yakima, WA, 2015.
Yakima, WA, 2015.
In the Yakima Valley, WA, 2015.
In the Yakima Valley, WA, 2015.
Washington wine country en route to the Columbia Gorge, WA, 2015.
Vineyards by the Columbia River near Maryhill, Klickitat County, WA, 2015
Stonehenge Memorial (dedicated 1918 and completed 1929) by the Columbia River near Maryhill, Klickitat County, WA, 2015
Stonehenge Memorial (dedicated 1918 and completed 1929) by the Columbia River near Maryhill, Klickitat County, WA, 2015
Stonehenge Memorial (dedicated 1918 and completed 1929) by the Columbia River near Maryhill, Klickitat County, WA, 2015
The Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge (1924) across the Columbia River, Hood River, OR, 2015.
The Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge (1924) across the Columbia River, Hood River, OR, 2015.
Another view of the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge (1924) across the Columbia River, Hood River, OR, 2015.
Yet another view of the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge (1924) across the Columbia River, Hood River, OR, 2015.
The Mighty Columbia River from Hood River, OR, 2015.
Hood River, OR, 2015.
Restored Kresse Drug Co. ghost sign, Hood River, OR, 2015.
Keir Medical Building (1905, art deco remodeling 1927), Hood River, OR, 2015.
Hood River area vineyards, Hood River Valley, OR, 2015.
Hood River area vineyards, Hood River Valley, OR, 2015.
Hood River area vineyards, Hood River Valley, OR, 2015.
Driving the Hood River Fruit Loop, Hood River Valley, OR, 2015.
The Hood River Fruit Loop, Hood River Valley, OR, 2015.
The Hood River Fruit Loop, Hood River Valley, OR, 2015.