Seattle/NW Washington -- July 2-7

Two questions regarding a trip I'm about to take to Seattle this coming week:

 

1) I have one day to go to either Mt. Ranier or Olympic Natl. Park and wanted

to get an idea of which I should go for. I'm primarily interested in grand

scenics and wildlife, but am also aware that it's entering wildflower season on

Mt. Ranier. In either case, what are some sunset locations?

 

2) Where can I buy Fuji slide film in the Seattle area? The only other time I

was up there I couldn't find a camera store catering to professionals.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

You can't miss by going to Mt. Rainier for grand shots, flowers, and wildlife. The Olympics have a pristine rain forrest on the west side and your close to the ocean; there's some outstanding rocky beaches and cliffs. Given the choice, I'd go to Mount Rainier and go on one of the many trails.

 

Mt. Rainier charges admission unless you have a Rainier or a federal park pass. Passes are avaliable at the gates.

 

Seattle has a few nice large fireworks shows on the fourth if you'll be in town.

 

Check out www.glazerscamera.com for a proshop in Seattle, they have a very wide selection of cold stored slide film and other gear (even minox film!). I've done a lot of (hobbiest) business there and they have a great sales staff.

 

Happy shooting!

www.nps.gov/mora/home.htm

 

Here is the website for Mount Rainier NP. You might want to take a look at trail conditions. You are a little early for wildflower season with the exception of some avalanche lilies. Paradise still has a few feet of snow on the ground. The good thing is that most of the roads in the Park are now open so access is available.

 

Personally I would opt for Olympic NP, particularly the beaches such as Second, Ruby, and Rialto. The tides should be ideal for sunset (high tide at sunset becomes problematic) and I believe there are minus low tides in the morning which is good for tidepools at Rialto.

 

If it's overcast you can hit the Hoh and/or Quinalt Rain Forests as well as the Sol Duc area.

 

Hurricane Ridge is another possiblity for sunny days although there may still be some snow up there.

While I agree with Mark, not sure about your travel time. Doing Oly in a single day AND taking time to shoot might be tough. The only reason I say that is because of the ferry schedule. Unless you hit it right, you may spend more time in line than driving<g>. Or go the southern route. The good news is the weather, low 70's and no rain scheduled (really!). True, it's probably too early for the flowers but it's still nice. Especially if you could swing an overnite at one of the two park hotels. Also, did you consider Mt. St. Helens? It's only ~3 hours to Coldwater Ridge from downtown.

I'm with Keith. Getting to the good stuff (the western area if you want to stay

close to the car) in the Olympics and back in a day isn't really feasible. Although I

generally prefer the Olympics, I would opt for Mt. Rainer if I only had one day. I'll

second the vote for Glazers. They should have everything you need.

Unfortunately you picked one of the busiest weekends for tourist and locals going anywhere away from Seattle (except the firework shows). I agree with the others, travel will take a good bit of your day, especially if you want to go to Hurricane Ridge (2+ hours with ferry wait/ride). Even Mt. Rainier will be a long drive to Sunrise and/or Paradise (2 hours for the former and 3 for the latter from Seattle). If you decide on Mt. Rainier, best advice is go early. Parking lots fill up near noon and NPS have closed lots on occasions. You can contact ORIC at http://www.nps.gov/ccso/oric.htm for the latest information.

 

If you're in Seattle, Glazer's is the best store for equipment and film. OpTech is a mile east and also good for film and some equipment.

 

Good luck.

 

--Scott--

I missed the fact that you had only one day for your trip. In that case I would opt for Rainier. Olympic NP is too much of a haul for the time you have.

FWIW, I was at Mt. Rainier NP two days ago for a couple of days. Mind you next weekend will be an order of magnitude worse than last weekend. I was out taking pictures by 0500 at both Sunrise and Paradise (different days). On Sunday Paradise was absolutely packed by 1030, but the parking lot at Sunrise never filled up at all on Saturday.

 

At Paradise there are a few nice patches of Avalanche and/or Glacier lilies, but essentially the area is still snowed in and we hiked many miles almost entirely on snow. Sunrise is more open. I suspect you just might hit the peak of the Glacier lilies there.

My family and I were in Seattle in 2000 and the fireworks were spectacular. We stayed at the Marriot on Lake Union and watched the great fireworks over the harbor, and off to the left we could watch the Ivor's fireworks over Elliot Bay with the Space Needle in the foreground. I shot many rolls of film that night.

Tom

Your best option is Rainer.. Olympic will be too far. At rainer there

are many many places to take pictures, but many times there are many

photographers than the avaliable space to stand there!!!!!!

 

Space needle fireworks is an interesting event to watch!<div></div>

Many thanks to you all for your responses. As it happens, I didn't manage to

get to either Rainier or Olympic and I watched the fireworks from a boat in the

middle of Lake Union -- not the most stable platform for photographing

fireworks!

 

Nevertheless, this is all great information for the next time I'm up that way,

hopefully soon.