All In

Monday, August 3, 2026

Hello! I am back with a new series of blogs about a brand new adventure. 

Turnagain Arm today, shortly after take-off

But first I have some housekeeping.

Let me begin by welcoming my new readers. Here are some things to know about my blog.

About the blog

1. Please feel free to comment through the Blogger app. I love getting comments.

2. Unless you put your name in a comment or use a Google screen name, I can’t tell who wrote a comment. (It’s ok if you wish to post anonymously.) I also can’t tell who opens any given blog post.

3. This is a travel blog. I try to keep politics out of it. Do not assume I am unaware of current events just because I don’t mention them.

4. You are receiving this blog because you asked to be placed on my mailing list. If you wish to stop receiving it, I will not hold it against you. I understand that reading about someone else's vacation might not be fun for you. Just let me know and I will remove you from my mailing list.

5. Please look at “Why Do I Blog” for a better understanding of this blog.

6. Most of the photos were taken by Ken. I took a few of them. If someone else took one, I try to give them credit.

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On my last trip I had some technical problems and had to switch to Wordpress. When I was home this summer I was able to fix the technical problems, so I have returned to Blogger.

This was a very exciting summer for us because our daughter got married. I am only going to make you look at ONE wedding picture, and then we will return to the theme of this blog:

TRAVEL

The happy couple

Now I will change the subject and talk about AI. I used AI to help plan our last two trips. There is a bit of a learning curve, but I like the results enough to keep using AI.

I initially used Copilot, but for this upcoming trip I mostly used Claude. I like it better, though it’s hard to articulate what I like better about it. Maybe it seems to be more helpful. Maybe it seems to “get” what I am asking for a little better. 

I have also used Google’s AI. It doesn’t have a name - I asked it. It’s hard to avoid using Google’s AI because it seems to be automatic when you “Google” something.

If you are using AI to plan your itinerary, be as specific as you can about what you would like AI to tell you. 

• Indicate whether you want a relaxed pace or a faster pace. Telling AI the ages of those in the group will help.
• State the date or dates you will be visiting a particular area. This will help AI to avoid sending you to a museum on a day that it is normally closed.
• Tell AI where you want to start and end your day to minimize backtracking. For example, “at the cruise terminal” or “at the Hilton hotel.”
• Be sure to mention areas of personal interest to you: are you a foodie? A birdwatcher? A gardener? Are you into architecture, nature, or culture? 
• The planning process yields better results when it is iterative. Read the suggestions AI makes and ask more questions, or ask for an alternative to one of the sites suggested. Look at a map and find the places AI suggests. (You can ask AI to show you on a map.) Does this raise any questions about transportation during the day?
• AI’s responses are not convenient to copy or save. When you are satisfied with the plans AI has given you, ask for a Word document or a “printable document.” Then you can save it and print it to bring with you. You can even edit the printable document later.
• I do recommend going through your final plan and looking up each activity and location to make sure it is not permanently closed, or too far away, or too expensive, or completely booked up already. AI does not always get these kinds of details right.
• Give AI a test run. Ask it to plan an itinerary for a 6-hour visit to the city you live in. Do you agree with AI’s suggestions? Can you get better results by changing your prompt?

I can’t wait to find out how Claude did with this trip. I certainly saved a LOT of time by using Claude.

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We took off from ANC this morning and had a mostly uneventful flight to Seattle. At one point the flight attendants called for a doctor or nurse. There was not a lot of commotion after that, so it must have been easily resolved. We did not learn what happened.

We made our way to a hotel near near the airport where we will spend the night. We had dinner at a pleasant Thai restaurant. And that’s all she wrote.

Today’s fabric is World Traveler in White, by Rifle Paper Co, sourced by Hawthorne Supply Co on Etsy.

I don’t think the place we are going to is on this fabric.

Here’s a hint for those of you who don’t know where we are going: Our first city is on an island.

April 26 — South Hill

April 26, 2022

In 1907 the Olmsted Brothers were retained to draw up plans for Spokane’s parks. The foresight shown by early city planners has resulted in some delightful neighborhoods, not the least of which is South Hill. 

South Hill is full of adorable Craftsman residences, Bungalows, and other Arts and Crafts-style houses. Each one is different, most have been lovingly maintained, and many have wonderful landscaping.

We saw plenty of Little Free Libraries during our walk. Some even matched their houses.

We were impressed by the towering trees on Manito Boulevard, a double-sided street with a strip of land in the middle, designed by the Olmsted Brothers. 

Then there was High Drive, which followed the edge of a dramatic bluff and provided a spectacular view.

Manito Park is the crown jewel in the Spokane park system. It includes formal gardens, a conservatory, rose gardens, lilac gardens and a Japanese garden. 

Observations: 

People here are proud of their beautiful neighborhood. They want to engage with their neighborhood. Many houses have outside seating areas in their front yards: On porches, on patios, around a fire pit, under a pergola, or just under an overhang. People in this neighborhood like to share: There were several dog-watering stations and Little Free Libraries.

The cherry blossom trees were ay their peak, and they were gorgeous.

Total distance covered: 7km

April 25 — O-Mo-Spo

April 25, 2022

We spent most of today driving from Olympia to Spokane. It is a 5-hour drive, but it seemed longer. Most of it is frightfully boring, and the rest is just plain frightening. 

We started out by driving toward Seattle on I-5. Seattle, of course, has some of the worst traffic in the US. In addition to all the usual traffic, there are logging trucks loaded with giant trees everywhere. Both sides of the highway seemed to be lined with RV lots and huge enigmatic warehouses. Fortunately, we got to turn off I-5 before we reached the worst of the Seattle congestion. 

Between I-5 and I-90 we passed small farms, lots of horses, and a few cows. Also, a surprising number of Indian casinos. Who goes to them?

We entered the foothills of the Cascades and the scenery changed dramatically. We found ourselves driving through dense inaccessible evergreen forest.

As we gained altitude, the weather began to deteriorate.  We were headed for Snoqualmie Pass (elevation 2,726 ft), where we would cross over the Cascades to “the other side.”

At the top of the pass there was snow on the slopes, but fortunately, it was only raining. Driving along at 70 mph next to big semis was terrifying, especially when the spray from the wet road got really bad. Up, up, up we climbed. The trees thinned out.

A big lake, then down, down, down. I hope all of these semis have good brakes. Suddenly, we are in the middle of a flat, arid expanse. It’s mostly empty. The logging trucks have given way to trucks loaded with bales of hay — an important crop in this area. And so begins the boring part.

I picked Moses Lake for our walk today because it seemed like a good place to stop and break up our trip. It did break up our trip.

It’s not that Moses Lake was bad. It wasn’t. But it wasn’t especially good (though I may have missed the good parts during my brief visit). It was just sorely lacking in charm and character. I tried to find some interesting history or facts about Moses Lake, but the internet did not oblige.

We started our walk on a nice enough lakeside path. Well, it would have been nice if the sprinkler system hadn’t been blasting the path. It was impossible to walk there without getting soaked. We got wet during the first five seconds we tried to walk there. We improvised a detour and came back at the end of the walk to take a picture.

From the lakeside path we passed through “downtown.” There were a surprising number of Mexican restaurants and bars here. Maybe not surprising, given the prominent role of agriculture here. Then we passed a middle school and a large sports field. 

At McCosh Park we saw tennis courts, a picnic shelter and public restrooms (closed). We continued to the Peace Memorial. This could just as easily have been called a War Memorial or a Veterans’ Memorial. But it was a nice idea.

There was a very nice-looking public pool (closed for the season). Public restrooms (closed). Playground (empty, but presumably open). Then a Japanese Peace Garden and public restrooms (both closed for the season).

There was a locked gate, but the camera allowed us to see what lay inside the Japanese Peace Garden

Police station (open). Civic Center Park. Library (open). 9/11 Memorial. A Drought Tolerant Garden. Public restrooms (closed). Civic Center, City Hall, Museum and Art Center (nice building).

Municipal Court. Veterans’ Memorial. Community gardens.

Public sculptures and Town Clock. 

And back to the car. 

We saw very few people, walking or driving. It seemed so empty. The town wasn’t run down. Much of it looked rather new. And rather dull.  There were some nice pieces of public art, though.

My favorite thing in Moses Lake

Are those bullrushes growing by the shore?

And there you have it. Olympia to Moses Lake to Spokane.

April 24 — Zootopia

 April 24, 2022

Eatonville, WA

Today’s walk was in Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. This park features northwest animals in their natural habitats. 

We were fortunate to have a gorgeous day for our walk. The park itself is both dramatic, with massive Douglas firs, and accessible, with interpretive signs wandering staff members to answer questions or provide depth to the park experience. 

Mt. Rainier also made a magnificent appearance.

But the stars of the day were definitely the animals. Most of the animals here are “rescues.” Some of the large birds (eagles, owls) are disabled and cannot fly. Some of the bears were orphaned and brought here as babies. Other bears were brought here from “bad zoos.”

As we walked through shady woods, from one animal area to the next, we had an opportunity to read signs about conservation and the uses of native plants. It was delightful.

Here are some of the new friends we made today.

Snowy owl

Bobcat

Cougar

Lynx

The wolf ignored us, but the fox seemed curious about us.

One of the black bears decided to take a bath today. He spent quite a bit of time splashing and playing in the water.

Good rules to keep in mind:

While the grizzly bears, also called brown bears, were segregated in another area, a zookeeper wandered through the habitat and hid bits of food here and there. This is intended to engage the bears in foraging behavior.

We learned that there are believed to be only 10 grizzly bears in the wild in Washington, while black bears are estimated to number 25,000.

More forest friends:

Raccoon

River otter

Badger

 And the elusive wolverine

While wandering in a separate area called the Nature Trail, we saw (and heard) a red-headed woodpecker and . . .

. . .the remains of an Ewok village?

It is always so restorative to spend time in the woods, especially when you are able to enjoy an excellent facility such as Northwest Trek .

Total distance covered: 6 km