U.S.A. Attractions Part 2

Second part of the museum 2024 museum tour! My one regret was not being able to visit the Squatch museum which is by appointment only. Just a passionate dude’s garage!

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Pioneer Park

A free and open park where they relocated a bunch of vintage homes from around Washington state. There are paid tours during the day where they’ll take you through each house and give a talk. I assume.

Crime rate must not have been high

There's a few old growth trees here as well

Some kind of pre-industrial horse torturing device

Kind of interesting to see them use cement in between the logs

Well anyway, you get the idea

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Orcas Island Museum

Small museum built inside reconstructed log cabins that were moved from elsewhere on the island. It mainly talks about the history of settlement on Orcas.

Kind of interesting wooden statue at the entrance

Reconstructing a typical turn of century home.

Meanwhile people now bitching about rents. 11 people on 425 square feet...

The electrification of Orcas. Definitely a challenge to modernize these islands.

I can't tell if these things are worth money. Is this just garbage or do people pay money for this?

I need this, then I'd be the king of all coffee hipsters with a bike

It's interesting just how much stuff seems to have survived from the Industrial era. Mass production I guess.

Fun diagram of the island

The bison skull they make a big deal of. Found in the early 2000s on Orcas

Shows that humans visited/lived on Orcas over 12 000 years ago!

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Maritime Heritage Center & W.T.Preston

Very small and free museum ( 1 room ) talking about the maritime history of Anacortes. The main draw is the W.T. Preston “Snagboat” which you can visit for a small fee.

Snagboats are used to clear large debris from waterways like floating tree trunks

You can visit almost the entirety of the vessel and see how life was like for the crew

Huge boiler / engine room with everything nicely preserved

What's the story behind this sign you think?

You can go outside and climb up the boat to the cabin. Crows hanging on the chimney here.

You get a good view from the top of this ship as it's about 4 storeys tall.

The inside of the actual museum

You can read all about cod fishing and ferry schedule history!

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Anacortes Museum

Very small and free museum located not far from the Maritime museum. Seems more of an archive/research building. Focuses mainly on photography.

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Brezeale Interpretive Center

Close to Samish Island, so why not? This is a very small and free aquarium talking about the ecology of Padilla bay. There’s a walking path outside that takes you to a beach on the bay where you can watch thousands of waterfowl that stop during their winter migration. Sadly I was there too early.

The place is geared more towards kids

"Hey we found this salmon and medusa lamp, is that teaching kids anything? Let's just put them here I guess".

There's a few very nice and tightly packed aquarium filled with local sealife

Rock fish just watching me

Wolf eels. Definitely one of the weirder things you'll find in the ocean

There's a little touch tank where you can grab/touch various cucumbers and starfish

Huge and probably delicious shrimp taking like half its tank

Flat fish with the distorted mouth so it can breath while hiding on the sea floor

Cliff swallows nesting outside the building making a racket and still freaking out when people walk by. Get over it, you picked this place.

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Heritage Flight Museum

Started by a former Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders. It features the story of his life, the Apollo 8 mission and hangars with many planes, many of which he flew during his military career before and after the moon mission. I don’t even have ONE plane! This guy had like 10.

You can see Baker here. Looks way bigger in person. I thought this shot would be so badass but you can barely see :,(

You start with a walk down memory lane for the year where the mission took place

Capsule replica

Legit piece of moon rock. Kind of small. Go get me a bigger one.

Interesting tidbit about this plane that didn't get blown up.

I do believe most of these planes get flown to this day. Amazing how well maintained these are for being almost 100 years old.

Cool, cool

This is the best plane. Looks like the LEGO planes I used to build.

Protip: You can put guns on TOP of the wings too

A bunch of engines on display

1600hp Spitfire WW2 engine.

What's great about this museum is you walk around the planes and can admire them from any angle

What a nerd

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Skagit Historical Museum

Quite small museum focusing on life in the Skagit region. It features a few room reconstruction of the typical early 1900 household for rich people.

Just tons and tons of small artifacts / antiques

It's always interesting to see all the info about the locals and their ancestors

Basically the "Grandma's House" museum

This used to be okay. What a time to be alive.

This is not okay to do anymore, no matter how many people you roast in an oven.

People really really hated smiling until about the 1920s is what I learned

Legit grandma bedroom, right?

Vintage "stump puller" tractor. One of the first John Deere contraptions!

Ok that thing was really cool

Early carriage type car and Ford Model T next to it. Cool to be able to see them from up close!

They also have a small exhibition about a local sign artist

The interesting contrast of flat farmland and Mt.Baker which I SWEAR LOOKED BIGGER IN PERSON

Thanks for stopping by. I go to the museums so you don’t have to!

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All the links to Salish Sea Adventure:

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