Seattle, WA

A bit of a sleep in this morning (9.30am is the worst it has been in a while).

After a shower, I walked the block south to the Seattle Art Museum. Here I walked through the two floors, which contained a huge variety of art. On the first floor I particularly liked the Chinese and Japanese rooms, as well as the Pacific Northwest Native American room – I have instantly fallen in love with this type of art. By using very simple shapes and minimal color, these artists are able to project images (usually of animals and their relativity to the human spirit) that is very distinctive. On the next floor there was a Liechtenstein exhibit. Roy Liechtenstein was a leader in the pop-art movement of the 60’s and 70’s. More new art I was exposed to and enjoyed. I also liked the exhibition from the original Seattle Camera Club. Black and white photos from the early 30’s.

I had just enough time to make my way from the art museum down to pioneer place, to join the 1pm Underground Tour. When fire ravaged Seattle in 1889, it was decided to raise the level of the city. Roads were raised by using landfill from the debris of the fire, but sidewalks were covered later and left empty underneath. The 90 minute tour takes us through some of these areas, showing us where shop fronts and homes used to enter into the street, but are now covered by the footpath above. Our tour guide, John, was informative and funny. His detail of the history of the city was very interesting.

John suggested that a look in the Klondike Gold Rush Museum was worth the effort. So after lunch I walked the few blocks in the rain to the museum in Main Street. The museum is run by the National Parks and Wildlife people. Unbelievably I was the only one there. The ranger was more than happy to tell me about the history behind the area. Gold was discovered by prospectors in northwest Canada at the same time as the Depression in the late 1800’s. To get to these fields people had to leave Seattle via boat to the Canadian coast (1000 miles), climb a pass and then make there way some 500 miles down the Yukon River. Seattle boomed economically at this time as boats had to be built to transport the people, supplies were needed, as Canadian authorities demanded that entering prospectors had a years supply of food and clothing, as harsh winters bought shortages. Because 4 train lines lead to Seattle, the city boomed financially from a gold rush 1500 miles away.

I walked around 4th and 5th Avenues before heading back to the hostel for a banana roll dinner. A phone call to Amy lead to an hour and a half chat.