From an Airplane Window

I took these last month when we left SeaTac, which is the Seattle - Tacoma Airport.

Rain in the Corn

The rain started to come down harder as we explored the corn maze. At first it did not bother our hosts. Susan says that in Washington State, people with umbrellas are tourists.

Welcome to the Corn Maze

It looked like rain on the day we went to Spooners Farm so Frank borrowed a jacket from Doug. A light drizzle started as we entered the corn maze but it didn't seem like a problem because rain is practically a daily event in the Tacoma area.

The maze had a circus theme.

Pumpkin Shoot

We went to Spooner Farms to visit the pumpkin patch with the Boyles children. The first attraction they wanted to visit was the Pumpkin Sling Shot.  I was not familiar with this sport but they had fun! (Check out the brief video.)

Field of Pumpkins

In the Puyallup Valley, Washington State

A Vestige of the Fur Trade

I enjoy "living history" museums and events. They seek to entertain while educating, and while the exhibits are probably not completely accurate, they do provide an intriguing glimpse  into the past.

Fort Nisqually recreates an example of a fur trading outpost.  A marker at the entrance to Fort Nisqually starts out with the following:

"Fort Nisqually was established in 1833 by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) of London, England. The fort was one of a vast network of HBC trading posts which stretched across North America by the mid-nineteenth century. It was originally located on Puget Sound about 17 miles south of where you are now standing, near the present town of Dupont. Fort Nisqually began as an outpost of the fur trade which drove the HBC all the way across the North American continent in pursuit of beaver pelts. The main suppliers of the furs were native tribes who traded the pelts for wool blankets, guns and other manufactured goods offered by the HBC."

Blacksmith at Work

Living History, Fort Nisqually

You may also like:

• Blacksmith Shop, Whitesmith Shop
• The Blacksmith's Apprentice

Banjo Player

Living History at Fort Nisqually, Washington

We enjoyed the banjo music and the talk about the history of the banjo, which is descended from an African instrument.

"The banjo is both the voice of an ancient African hunter-gatherer and the voice of the urban American performer of the industrial age."

~ John Salicco, Performer and Historian

Inside Fort Nisqually's General Store

The fort features a number of buildings that depict life in a 19th-century trading post. Here we see items that customers might have purchased. A checkerboard was set up for folks who wanted to pass the time playing a game.

View from the Blockhouse

From the blockhouse at Fort Nisqually you have a clear view of the stockade plus you can look out over Puget Sound.

                                                                              

Fort Exterior and Split Rail Fence

Fort Nisqually

This reconstructed frontier trading post is near Tacoma, Washington. Fort Nisqually was moved several times in the 1800's and was moved again when it was restored in 1934 as a WPA project.

We visited the fort on a rainy day. In western Washington, you have to be willing to go places in the rain or you'll miss out on seeing a lot of places!

Frank at Fort Nisqually, WA

Why is there a gigantic beaver in the visitors center? Well, Fort Nisqually was a trading post, and beaver pelts were a key part of the commerce that went on there.

"Trading actually began in ernest when the supply ship Vancouver arrived in Jun 1833. Trading on the first day netted about 90 beaver pelts and many other animal furs. Each prime condition adult beaver skin was worth one 2-1/2 point blanket, the most popular item among the Indians."

Source: FortWiki.com/Fort_Nisqually

Tacoma Narrows Bridge

View from Fort Nisqually

This suspension bridge crosses Puget Sound, connecting Tacoma and Gig Harbor.

Link: Tacoma Narrows Bridge on Wikipedia

Fun at Browns Point

Doug Inspects the Big Bell

This makes a dozen posts about our visit to Browns Point near Tacoma. If you came here through a search engine and are not viewing these consecutively, here are links to the most informative posts:

• Marker for the Browns Point Light House
• The Keepers Cottage
• Capt. Vancouver was Here (in 1792)

Browns Point Rescue Boat

We admired the beautiful reproduction of a rescue boat at Browns Point. And between the boat house and the water we saw the remains of a track that was used to quickly move the boat from the building to the bay.

In the Keeper's Cottage: Downstairs

They had their own classroom!

Ryley and Josie inspect the old-fashioned stove.

The lighthouse keeper's cottage at Browns Point does not look very large from the outside, but it had adequate space inside. The basement level has a large kitchen and a school room.

See also the Photo Gallery at the Points NE Historical Society Site.

Inside the Keeper's Cottage

 The family who lived at Browns Point made their home quite comfortable.

Vancouver Was Here

Two signs at Browns Point attest that George Vancouver was here in 1792.

"Documented history of Puget Sound began in 1792 when Captain George Vancouver sailing for King George III of England explored and charted this expansive waterway. While Peter Puget explored Clovos Passage to the west, Vancouver explored the Eastern Passage. Names with which we are familiar today were given during this expedition: Admiralty Inlet, Vashon Island, Whidbey Island, Mt. Rainier, Mt. Baker, Gig Harbor and Port Orchard to name a few."

Views of Commencement Bay

Josie is looking out over Commencement Bay, which is off Puget Sound, Washington.

The lighthouse (above) is the Browns Point Light, which I've also pictured previously. We were there on a cloudy day in March.

Lighthouse Keeper's Cottage

Browns Point Cottage, near Tacoma

The home of the lighthouse keeper is available as a vacation rental. It is open to visitors once a week.

An interpretative sign tells about the first light keeper to live there.

Oscar and Annie Brown arrived at Browns Point on a United States Government boat October 26, 1903 with their personal belongings, furniture, an upright piano, and a cow lowered to the beach by a sling. For 36 years Oscar and Annie tended the light and developed and nurtured a landscape that originally consisted of a tideland and a lagoon.

Link: Points Northeast Historical Society

The Browns Point Light Keepers Cottage