Yes, there was a lot of traffic on state highways over the July 4th weekend, according to the The Washington State Department of Transportation. WSDOT released preliminary traffic counts today in the following press release:

OLYMPIA - Preliminary data from WSDOT's Transportation Data Office
revealed more drivers hit the roadways for Independence Day weekend
2009, with just one minor exception. WSDOT's traffic counts show a
slight decrease in travel from the Bellingham area north to the Canadian
border.

WSDOT's initial traffic counts show increase of nearly 15 percent in
holiday traffic on I-90 Snoqualmie Pass compared to 2008, while on US 2
over Stevens Pass there was a 12 percent increase. On I-5 near Olympia,
there was only a 6 percent increase. Further north, on I-5 from
Bellingham to the Canadian border, there was a 1 percent decrease from
2008.

While most traffic counts increased, there were no major delays in the
mountains most of the weekend. A collision Friday on Snoqualmie Pass
slowed drivers in the early evening, but Sunday's commute back into
Western Washington showed only minor delays.

Thursday and Friday traffic on I-5 showed typical commute wait times.
I-5 drivers in the Olympia area heading north experienced delays Sunday
afternoon, while those heading south slowed due to a collision near
Centralia.

WSDOT provides travel information for areas known to be three-day
weekend travel routes so drivers can make the best decisions for their
travel plans.

This is just one of the tools WSDOT offers on its Web site to give
drivers the opportunity to know before they go and know on the road. You
can find these travel tools at www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic.

The Fourth of July fell on a Friday in 2008. The numbers below show the
2009 Fourth of July weekend travel roundup from across the state in
comparison to 2008:

I-90 Snoqualmie Pass
*183,000 vehicles traveled both directions over Snoqualmie Pass between
Thursday and Sunday, an increase of 15 percent (20,000 vehicles).
*4,800 more vehicles Thursday
*19,000 more vehicles Friday
*4,100 more vehicles Saturday
*4,800 more vehicles Sunday

US 2, Stevens Pass
*31,400 vehicles traveled both directions over US 2 from Thursday
through Sunday, an increase of 12 percent (3,900 vehicles) *1,500 more
vehicles traveled Thursday
*1,000 more vehicles traveled Friday
*400 more vehicles traveled on Saturday *1,000 more vehicles traveled on
Sunday

I-5 Thurston/Lewis counties
*269,400 traveled both directions of I-5 south of Olympia into Lewis
County between Thursday and Sunday, an increase of 6 percent (9,800
vehicles).
*Comparison data from Thursday is unavailable due to a 2008 equipment
failure *3,400 more traveled Friday *5,600 more vehicles Saturday *800
more vehicles Sunday

I-5, Bellingham to US/Canada Border
*121,700 vehicles traveled both directions on I-5 from Bellingham to the
Canadian border between Thursday and Sunday, a decrease of 1 percent
(700 vehicles).
*2,900 more vehicles traveled on Thursday.
*1,100 fewer traveled Friday
*1,200 fewer traveled Saturday
*1,400 fewer traveled Sunday

The state’s three national parks are receiving $200,000 in grants from Washington’s National Park Fund, the fund announced this week.

The grants to Mount Rainier, North Cascades and Olympic national
parks come from another successful fund raising year by the fund. The fund is the official philanthropic partner for the state's three national parks and collaborates with them to obtain support
for priority projects.

The parks will use the funds this year for a wide
range of purposes, from site restoration to wildlife monitoring to
public education and enrichment programs.

Contributions were raised from a variety of private sources, including
individuals, corporations and foundations, plus several special events
and proceeds from the sale of the state’s national park license plate.
Donors to Washington's National Park Fund live in every state of the
U.S. plus Japan, Canada and the UK.

Mount Rainier National Park is receiving more than $72,000 to support
Camping Adventures with My Parents (CAMP), Connecting Kids to Parks,
volunteer outreach, and the Paradise Meadow Restoration project.
CAMP is bringing inner city youths and their families to the park this summer to experience camping.

“The Washington's National Park Fund grants will enable Mount Rainier
National Park to create new opportunities for people to establish
meaningful connections with their parks by introducing urban-based
families to the camping experience and young people to the mountain, and
through volunteerism,” said Randy King, Acting Superintendent of Mount
Rainier National Park. “We are very excited about these programs and
deeply appreciative of Washington’s National Park Fund, and of the
generosity of the individuals and companies.”

North Cascades National Park will receive a total of $55,000 for a volunteer shelter at Marblemount, a Botanical Forays project, and a Landbird Inventory and Monitoring project.

Olympic National Park will receive more than $72,000 to study and protect Roosevelt elk, monitor the Fisher restoration, and assess and conserve Olympic marmot populations.

To learn more about the Washington's National
Park Fund, visit the Web site at wnpf.org or call 253-566-4644.