Interstate 5 in Washington

Huge walk through ancient tree stump on I-5 Rest Stop

/ Roadtirementvintage / 4 Comments

Usually interstate rest areas are straight forward: a truck and RV parking lot and a separate car parking lot. In between are the restrooms, vending machines and a scattering of picnic tables and a doggie “poop here but pick up” park.

The story

However, the Northbound I-5 Smokey Point Rest Stop at mile marker 207 north of Seattle has the above mentioned features (including an RV dump station) and a huge tree stump. Yes, it is a piece of local history. The story of this artifact is fairly well documented on the story board. The size of the stump is obvious in the photo.

The stump

When I first saw this I thought that it was some kind of new picnic table shelter. Then I saw the story board. Strange but true are the things you find when traveling!

A huge tree remnant on I-5

/ Roadtirementvintage / 3 Comments

An interesting sight at a rest area.

A quick stop at the Rest Area on the northbound side of I-5 at mile marker 207 (north of Seattle, Washington) led to a surprise. There next to the rest room building was a huge tree “stump” with a roof mounted on top. I had to investigate! It turns out that this huge tree has quite a history, including being moved for display more than once.

The story of this Western Red Cedar reads like a historic novel. If only it could talk and give some details about those who over the years came in contact with this magnificent tree. Loggers like Ole Rodway and Ole Reinseth must have been real characters.