Counties project - Thurston

I love maps and I love counties.  So interesting that our states are divided into these counties.  How did they get that way?  What distinguishes them?  Shouldn't I go visit them?

Wish I could figure out MyMaps for this project?  Maybe I could ask some of my geography buddies...

So, in the spirit of appreciating our own space, realizing that we don't always recognize the beauty of our own state (or other), I wanted to explore counties.  Why not start with Washington?

It's summertime, we have some time, we have a pretty new hybrid car, we could take the large dog with us.

So I started with Thurston County, It was a ways away.  Olympia is located there.  We're in King County which seems too hard to start out with.  Pierce County is south of us and Thurston is south of there.  

So we gave it a shot.  I kinda skipped much of Olympia. and went south to the rural parts.

Most memorable surprise not on the agenda:  Tumwater Falls Park.  Pictured top.  Hard to believe it's wedged between between I-5 and the derelict Tumwater brewery

Place I might have wanted to stop for a bit but didn't: Millersylvania State Park.  Nice area with a picnic table.  By a lake.

Saddest town: Oakville.  Technically just across the border in Grays Harbor County.  Still has some logging.  We did get an ice cream bar at Harry's Grocery

Most surprising town: Yelm.  Pretty good size, lots of commercial activity.  On the way to Rainier but not far from JBLM (Joint Base Lewis McCord).  Lower picture taken of Mount Rainier from Yelm.

Wrong turn confusion: I thought a special spot on the map labeled Capital Mall was where the government buildings were (we've been there before).  But, surprise!  It was just a shopping mall.

We didn't do the interaction with the South Sound.  Maybe on the way to July 4 at Harstine Island; we'll go by there.

Next up: Snohomish County just north of us.  But soon, really soon, like Thurston, just to get there would be quite a trek.