Port Angeles & Port Townsend, Washington

We drove by Lake Crescent in Olympic National Park on our trip further up the peninsula.

And passed through the town of Joyce (named after Brett's mom).

Sunrise at our camp site was beautiful.

We stayed at Salt Creek Recreational Park on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington.  The park was beautiful with views of water everywhere.  The hosts were exceptionally friendly and walked throughout the park greeting everyone.



They had a kind of a 'live and let live' attitude......



were very attentive to our needs.........

and spent a good deal of time walking about the camp sites cleaning up after the renters.

Port Angeles was a few miles away so we drove over to check it out.  It is the county seat on the northern edge of the Olympic Peninsula along the shore of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. 

Driving down into the town of Port Angeles.

There were a lot of ships moving up the Strait laden with goods.

While we were in Port Angeles we visited Camp Worden State Park.  For almost fifty years Camp Worden guarded the entrance to Puget Sound.  The hills above the fort still have the batteries that were built to protect the area.  No enemy vessel was ever sighted nor were any cannon ever fired except in practice.



The batteries can still be viewed today.

This was where one of the large cannon was mounted.

The view is above the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the cannon could shoot for several miles.

The Captain climbing on a large battery.

Another section of it.



The Cape Worden Lighthouse.



Views of the Strait and the lighthouse.

Some of the military buildings at Camp Worden State Park.  The buildings are still in use.



Where the non-commissioned officers stayed.  The buildings are being rented out now as vacation homes.

The officer's quarters.  They had some pretty nice homes.

 Another city we visited was Port Townsend which is about an hour from Port Angeles.  It is an artistic city with lots of shops and things to see.

Yachts were anchored in the harbor.

The ferry leaving for Victoria, British Columbia.

Most of the buildings in Port Townsend were older.

They had colored filigree and fancy architecture.

This "artsy" dress was made from paper napkins.

We had lunch at the Nifty Fifty Cafe on the waterfront.

The theme brought back memories.

They were still using most of the equipment that had been used years ago.

The town was divided into two sections by this series of stairs where the ladies and gentlemen of the town lived.  It is still called 'Uptown' and has many historic homes.  The area below by the waterfront was the section for riff raff .

We climbed the stairs to 'Uptown' and toured it with the pups.  We were surprised to find a very vibrant town with beautiful homes, restaurants, and businesses that you wouldn't even know existed from the waterfront area.

This is the oldest Methodist Church in Washington State.

Lots of wrought iron filigree on the homes.

Most of them had gorgeous views of the harbor.

This one was known for its stain glass windows.

The Bell Tower dates back to 1890.  It was used to call volunteer fire fighters to their posts and is the only known tower of its kind in the US. 

Views from the Bell Tower.

In between Port Angeles and Port Townsend is a town called Sequim (squim).  We stopped there to pick blackberries at the Graymarsh Farm.  They had blackberries, loganberries, blueberries, raspberries, and other things to pick.  The Captain and I picked 15 pounds of blackberries in less than 45 minutes and they only charged $2 per pound.  

The bushes were loaded with ripe berries but tons more were still ripening.  They were delicious. 

Lavender was in bloom and we saw this striking field.

We also saw this sign several places on Hwy 101 as we drove between Sequim and Port Townsend.  Notice the light on the top and the bottom of the sign?  The lights are triggered by herd members wearing transistor radio collars because the elk will cross the road en masse halting traffic.  They are Roosevelt elk native to the Olympic Peninsula, with bulls weighing up to 1,100 lbs and cows in the 600 lb range.  One herd, comprised of about 100 animals, considers the Sequim area part of its range.  When not in the forest, they graze in farm fields and on lawns. They are not tame! 

Most mornings the weather was overcast, especially in the mountains, but we decided to take a chance one day and drive to Hurricane Ridge inside Olympia National Park. 

As we started the trip up, this was what the sky looked like.

This area used to be called Lake Moses.  It was dammed years ago by glaciers and created this large gorge.  The lake no longer exists.

The panorama improved the higher up we went.

 

When we reached Hurricane Ridge we were above the cloud line.

How magnificent.

Back in Port Angeles we walked out on a long, narrow, natural sand spit named  Ediz Hook that projects north-easterly nearly three miles into the Strait.  Ediz Hook creates a large, natural deep-water harbor shielded from the storms and swells that move predominantly eastward down the Strait from the Pacific Ocean.

A view of Victoria, BC, across the Strait.

Port Angeles from the sand spit.



Back at the camp site we had other good views of the Strait.  This island could be reached when the tide was down.

A bald eagle sitting in a tree on the island watching us.

Low tide.

An easier area to walk on the beach.

And, of course, the beautiful sunsets........

Time to move on to Ocean Shores to see some RVing friends we met earlier this year in Mississippi. So we must sadly say adieu to a scenic area and a very nice RV park. 

Even one of the hosts looked sad as we pulled out.  Peace !