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Pretty Gritty Tours The Puget Sound's most decorated walking tour company. Let’s celebrate Washington together.

24/12/2024

Can you detect a pregnancy with a rabbit? You sure can, but it’s bad news for the rabbit.

17/12/2024

It is that time of year again! Time for Tacoma Elf Storage to light up the PNW skyline. But how did we get here?

“…There'll be scary ghost stories […] and tales of the glories ofChristmases long, long ago…”By Ira Wesley KitmacherHall...
17/12/2024

“…There'll be scary ghost stories […] and tales of the glories of

Christmases long, long ago…”

By Ira Wesley Kitmacher

Halloween isn’t the only time of year to tell scary ghost and monster stories. In fact, telling these
stories is a longtime holiday tradition.
The winter solstice — the shortest day and longest night of the year — is a time of transition and
change between fall and winter, provoking stories about spooky things at a time some believe the
“veil between the living and dead” is at its thinnest.

When it’s dark and cold out, listening to spooky stories with friends and family allows for just
enough of a shiver while basking in the comfort and warmth of home. This was especially true in
days before electricity, huddled around a fire.
Long before there was a Christmas, there were stories of the Norse god Odin, leading armies of
the dead across the sky at Yuletide. Native Americans told tales of frost giants. There was
holiday “monster,” Krampus, the anti-Claus, a horned Alpine figure in folklore — not unlike the
Grinch of cartoon fame — who scared misbehaving children.
He was known to assist Santa Claus, visiting children on Dec. 5, with well-behaved children
receiving a gift from Santa and badly behaved children being punished by Krampus.

One of the first holiday ghost stories was William Shakespeare’s 1623 “The Winter’s Tale,” in
which the author discussed sprites and goblins. The ghost story tradition remained prevalent in
England through the 19th century, with the famous “A Christmas Carol” written by Charles
Dickens in 1843.
As Ebenezer Scrooge, the cold-hearted miser in Dickens’ story said to the ghosts (his former
business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas past, present and yet to come) who
were haunting him on Christmas Eve: “air filled with phantoms... show me no more!”

After their visit, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man who discovers the true
meaning of the holiday — giving and generosity.
In 20th-century America, instead of ghosts, stories and movies featured angels helping and
teaching mortals lessons about the holidays and life. This was the case in 1946’s “It’s a
Wonderful Life” and 1947’s “The Bishop’s Wife.”
As “It’s a Wonderful Life” protagonist George Bailey said to Clarence Odbody, the angel who
was helping him to see how important his life was, “look, little fella, go off and haunt somebody
else, will you?” Interestingly, while the angel Dudley in “The Bishop’s Wife” was more like a
traditional angel (a spiritual being, more powerful than humans), Clarence was more like a ghost
(a mortal who died and went to heaven — now the helpful dead).

In each of these two stories, the protagonists learned the true meaning of love, life, and the
holidays. As the classic 1963 holiday song “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Andy
Williams said, “there’ll be scary ghost stories ...”
More recently, in 1993’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” Jack Skellington, a living skeleton,
attempts to kidnap Santa Claus. As Jack darkly observed: “...monsters are all missing ...
nightmares can’t be found ... good feeling all around ... they’re busy building toys and absolutely
no one’s dead.” Skellington later learned his lesson and apologized to Santa.

Many of these stories follow one of two formulas. The first, a misunderstanding of the holidays,
bad behavior and subsequent learning the true meaning and the second a human asking for and
receiving help from a greater power.

Ira Wesley Kitmacher leads the “Olympia History and Haunted Tour” for Pretty Gritty Tours and
is the author of Haunted Graveyard of the Pacific, Spirits Along the Columbia River, Monsters
and Miracles, Haunted Puget Sound, Pacific Northwest Legends and Lore, and an upcoming
2025 book on dark stories from the Pacific Northwest’s past.

16/12/2024

The mighty Suciasaurus Rex is the only dinosaur fossil ever found in WA so in 2023, thanks to Tacoma’s Elmhurst Elementary 4th grade class, it became our state dinosaur.

14/12/2024

I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Washington state is in fact not officially the Evergreen State. 

12/12/2024

Forget the Evergreen State, in the 1930s Washington was almost called the Christmas State. The PNW is the largest producer of decorative holly in the world and once Gig Harbor reigned supreme, producing more Christmas holly than any other place on the globe.

11/12/2024

Have you been to Clover Island in the Tri Cities?

10/12/2024

Have you ever wondered about thr Zintel Canyon dam in the Tri Cities? The strange dry-dam was built on the Southern edge of Kennewick, WA to prevent flash floods from pouring into the narrow canyon and flooding local homes.

06/12/2024

The goddess of commerce statue was originally on top of the chamber of commerce building in 1885, however it was lost to time in the 1950s and now the new statue sits in downtown Tacoma after being resurrected in the early 2000s.

If you are looking for the perfect gift this year we have you covered! The Pretty Gritty Tours virtual gift card is the ...
05/12/2024

If you are looking for the perfect gift this year we have you covered! The Pretty Gritty Tours virtual gift card is the perfect way to show you care. You can use them for private tours as well in case you want a private or custom experience.

https://prettygrittytours.com/gift-cards.html

04/12/2024

Its offical, the 1200 creosote covered pilings from the former Dickman Lumber Mill are officially being removed. This has long been the plan since the mill cloaed in 1974.

A group of men works on a wooden flume to transport water for irrigation. On the hill above are several small groups of ...
03/12/2024

A group of men works on a wooden flume to transport water for irrigation. On the hill above are several small groups of men and horses. A bridge spanning the Yakima River is in the distance. "The scene took place on the north bank of the Yakima River, west of the Yakima River delta on the hill above where the community of Richland is now. The Kennewick Ditch, now called the Columbia Irrigation District (CID), and the Kiona Irrigation District, (KiID), were begun by the same group of investor/land speculators, the Yakima Irrigating and Improvement Company. Water was filed for the Kiona Canal in 1889. At the time this photo was taken, both irrigation districts were owned by the Northwestern Improvement Company, a subsidiary of the Northern Pacific Railroad. The Columbia River can be faintly seen through a tiny low gap in the far middle distance. Written on envelope: “Break on Kennewick Ditch 1904. Quigley on Horse."

- Washington Rural Heritage digital archive, colorized

03/12/2024

In 1990 they filmed a movie in Tacoma called “I Love You to death“ which has an All-Star cast of remarkable actors. The film itself really heavily features, the city scape of Tacoma.  if you’re not already familiar with it, it’s worth a watch, though I’ll warn you it’s a bizarre journey based on a true story. 

Huge thank you to everyone who made it for our Lantern Ghost Tour of Fort Nisqually! Hopefully we get to lead a few more...
26/11/2024

Huge thank you to everyone who made it for our Lantern Ghost Tour of Fort Nisqually! Hopefully we get to lead a few more in the future. This was one of my favorite ones to lead and always fun to get to explore the history of the PNW in the dark.

Tons of exciting things coming up in Tacoma over the next couple weeks. Have you heard of the Magical Beings Masquerade ...
26/11/2024

Tons of exciting things coming up in Tacoma over the next couple weeks. Have you heard of the Magical Beings Masquerade Ball?

Every year Wizards of Washington hosts free community events to encourage reading, inclusivity and imagination. At the end of the year they host a costumed fundraiser party and it's going to be awesome this year.

Come dressed to impressed with in your magical costume, beautiful gown or wizard robes. We will have music going all night with DJ Glaude and live music from The Nasty Habits! Silent auctions, magical performers, and even a best dressed costume contest.

Check it out.

https://www.wizardsofwashington.com/event-details/magical-beings-masquerade-ball

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Opening Hours

Tuesday 09:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 09:00 - 17:00
Thursday 09:00 - 21:00
Friday 09:00 - 21:00
Saturday 09:00 - 21:00
Sunday 09:00 - 17:00

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+12532424715

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Videos

Pregnancy and rabbits
Pregnancy and rabbits

Can you detect a pregnancy with a rabbit? You sure can, but it’s bad news for the rabbit. #washington #history #trivia #pregnancy #weird #fyp #strange #rabbits

It is that time of year again! Time for Tacoma Elf Storage to light up the PNW skyline. But how did we get here? #washington #pnw #tacoma #elfstorage #history #didyouknow #fyp #local

The Suciasaurus
The Suciasaurus

The mighty Suciasaurus Rex is the only dinosaur fossil ever found in WA so in 2023, thanks to Tacoma’s Elmhurst Elementary 4th grade class, it became our state dinosaur. #wa #washington #pnw #dinosaur #didyouknow #history #tacoma

I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Washington state is in fact not officially the Evergreen State. #washington #evergreenstate #fyp #trivia #history #pnw 

Forget the Evergreen State, in the 1930s Washington was almost called the Christmas State. The PNW is the largest producer of decorative holly in the world and once Gig Harbor reigned supreme, producing more Christmas holly than any other place on the globe. #washington #wa #pnw #didyouknow #christmas #holly #tacoma #gigharbor #trivia #fyp

Clover Island
Clover Island

Have you been to Clover Island in the Tri Cities? #washington #tricities #didyouknow #history #trivia #fyp #kennewick #explorewashington

Have you ever wondered about thr Zintel Canyon dam in the Tri Cities? The strange dry-dam was built on the Southern edge of Kennewick, WA to prevent flash floods from pouring into the narrow canyon and flooding local homes. #washington #kennewick #tricitieswa #easternwa #didyouknow #trivia #history

The goddess of commerce
The goddess of commerce

The goddess of commerce statue was originally on top of the chamber of commerce building in 1885, however it was lost to time in the 1950s and now the new statue sits in downtown Tacoma after being resurrected in the early 2000s. #wa #washington #history #tacoma #didyouknow #trivia #pnw

The Ruston Way Pilings
The Ruston Way Pilings

Its offical, the 1200 creosote covered pilings from the former Dickman Lumber Mill are officially being removed. This has long been the plan since the mill cloaed in 1974. #tacoma #ruston #pugetsound #didyouknow #trivia #washingtonstate

I love you to death
I love you to death

In 1990 they filmed a movie in Tacoma called “I Love You to death“ which has an All-Star cast of remarkable actors. The film itself really heavily features, the city scape of Tacoma.  if you’re not already familiar with it, it’s worth a watch, though I’ll warn you it’s a bizarre journey based on a true story. #tacoma #film #washingtonstate #trivia #didyouknow #history #seattle 

Rite in the Rain
Rite in the Rain

We are so excited to have Rite in the Rain based here in Tacoma, Washington, and even more excited to have an opportunity to give away some of their products. If you’re not familiar with one of the greatest companies ever, they make waterproof paper that allows you to record notes out in the wilderness. They have been revolutionizing the paper industry since the early 1900s when they began as a way to tally boards harvested in the early days of the timber industry. #washington #didyouknow #tacoma #history #riteintherain #trivia #fyp

Sugar the Pterodactyl
Sugar the Pterodactyl

Where is Sugar the pterodactyl? This beloved icon of Point Ruston has gone extinct and nobody seems to want to tell me why. #ruston #pointruston #tacoma #washingtonstate #mystery #discover #history #253 #sugarthepterodactyl 

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Our Story

We are a diverse group of guides, influencers, and artists who are in love with the South Sound. Pretty Gritty Tours is a passion project of travel experts who are all about sharing the story of this part of the world with you and getting you the most exclusive access to the South Sound’s treasures.

Tawny and Captain Chris are award-winning travel writers and videographers who, after traveling the world, decided to make Tacoma their home. Since meeting on Mount Kilimanjaro in 2008, they have explored the globe together and covered numerous destinations for prestigious outlets such as EXPEDIA, BBC Travel and USA TODAY.

With more than 50 countries under their belts, they chose The City of Destiny as home to their travel tour company in the hopes that you fall in love with Tacoma as much as they have.

Jackie and Paul are local entertainers and artists with a passion for history and performance. Their love story has been framed by the powerful architecture of Tacoma and set upon the stage of her vast waterfront. Together, they have explored all of the hidden alleys and forgotten tunnels of Tacoma and brought them to light. We pride ourselves in the quality and attention to detail with each tour. Our knowledgeable guides are happy to welcome any and all questions. To ensure an intimate environment, we offer small tours of no more than 12 guests. Should you require a private tour, please choose that option under the "Tours" menu. We are happy to cater to all needs and desires.