Adventures on the Olympic Peninsula...

We visited the Olympic Game Farm in Sequim just east of Port Angeles; not a bad deal at $10, but after seeing some of the animals kept in cages which seemed much too small, I felt bad to have supported the place. Aren't there regulations requiring a minimum sized enclosure for large animals such as African Lions, Siberian Tigers, etc.? I would guess they were 20x10 cages, which seemed cruel. Below is a very chubby grizzly who was an excellent catch. He hardly missed a crumb. His enclosure was fairly large, but very sparse - not sure if he had much shade for a hot day.

Crescent Lake in Olympic National Park was very close to our campground, and was a repeat destination for us, with both the kayak and the zodiak. The water is so clear (too cold for algae); they say you can see over 60 feet deep at times. In the picture below, you are seeing the the boat ramp, and further out, the bottom which is at least 15 feet deep. We could clearly see fish swimming along the bottom.

We also went out to Neah Bay and Cape Flattery twice. It is a beautiful scenic drive along the coast to the most northwestern point of the contiguous United States, at the tip of the Olympic Peninsula. The trail out to Cape Flattery is a beautiful, well-maintained, partially wood-planked hike through rain forest which is a must-see for anyone visiting the Olympics. Thousands of Sea Stars are visible on the rock walls, plus sea lions and whales can be spotted from the point. Sue (Gary's sister) and Mary at one of the viewpoints at Cape Flattery:

While Sue was staying with us, we also took the drive to Hurricane Ridge to view Mt Olympus on a beautiful clear day. (Unfortunately, the day prior was much clearer, but we were turned away at the gate because the road had been closed due to rock slides!) Sue and Gary with the Olympic range in the background.

We enjoyed many fabulous sunsets at Salt Creek! Hope we can visit this park again.

Olympic peninsula - two weeks in August

Wow, we're really behind on our blog - went through a period without wifi. Will make a few catch-up posts! We are currently on the Oregon coast, having spent most of July-August in Washington.

We spent two weeks of August at Salt Creek Recreation Area west of Port Angeles, WA; I highly recommend the non-hookup camping area of this park - absolutely beautiful views across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the west coast of Vancouver Island, and fantastic tide pools. It is also close to so many great places to see. Our campsite did not have the water view, but instead was huge and absolutely private. The weather was fantastic and we could have happily spent 2 months here!

Out at Tongue Point, Gary was standing down on the rocks and two whales surfaced right next to him, in the waters pictured here between the rocks and the island at high tide. (He wasn't sure, we believe they were probably grey whales.) It was very unusual and shortly after, they were harrassed away by whale watching boats - probably what chased them in there to begin with! Side note: check out how clear that water is .... fantastic!

Here's a shot of the stairway down to Tongue Point, and a tide pool - they were absolutely overflowing with a colorful variety of sea critters.

More on the tall ship trip...Encampment 2009

After our evening trip around the islands, we awoke to a beautiful morning in a very crowded Roche Harbor (San Juan Island), for the annual "Encampment" - a reenactment of the "Pig War". Normally there would be only a few boats for the event, according to a local, but this year there were dozens of boats in the harbor, there to see the tall ships (not a normal part of the event). Lady Washington pulled up beside us in the morning - that's her behind Gary - then we maneuvered into the harbor between all the boats and shot off cannons at English Camp. We really enjoyed the entire experience.


There was lots of cannon fire that day - from the sea and then on land as well! Also, they were giving free tours of the tall ships, so Suanne and Jasper (who came over by ferry) took an extended tour of both ships.

P.S. If Lady Washington looks familiar, that might be because she was used in the Star Trek movie "Generations" and also as the Interceptor in the Pirates of the Carribean movies!

Tall Ship overnight trip

Suanne stayed with us for several days, and while she was here, she discovered that the tall ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain were in port here in Anacortes - and there just happened to be 2 spots left for overnight passage to San Juan Island Roche Harbor. So Gary and I took the opportunity and had a fantastic experience! We cruised through the passages around the islands, enjoyed homemade lasagna and asparagus prepared by the ship's excellent cook (maybe not the ideal dish if you have rough seas, I imagine - but it was very calm); then we were blessed with an absolutely gorgeous sunset. That's captain JB in the shot behind me. We spent the night in bunks on the Hawaiian Chieftain (not nearly as uncomfortable as you might expect - but low clearance so watch your head - and certainly not accomodations of a cruise ship - but I would gladly spend a few months on this ship).

Deception Pass State Park

We have been enjoying "riding the tides" through Deception Pass. If timed just right, you can launch from the west beach in the state park, and the tide will suck you right through and under the bridge, then spit you back out. Our first visit to the bridge was a bit foggy but still the bridge is impressive, foggy or clear. (It's actually two bridges, which meet on "Pass Island" in the middle.)

Suanne (Gary's sister) and Mary took the kayak from west beach through the pass and under the bridge (cool way to see the pass) - we had a nice paddle. However, despite the weather report saying zero percent chance of precipitation and no thunderstorms, we had thunder and lightning - which picked up the pace of our paddling on the way back to the beach.

Here's a view of the bridge from the north point of west beach, near our launch point, and Gary in the Zodiak under the bridge.

Anacortes, WA July - August 2009

We are currently staying at Pioneer Trails RV Resort in Anacortes, on Fidalgo Island. The weather has been very nice - warm during the day (70's to 80's) and cool at night. We had a bit of rain just before the heat wave which hit the Seattle area, and it was warm and muggy for a few days here, but nowhere near the 100+ in Seattle. Just inland from here is much warmer, but the island stays very nice. Gary picked up a whole lot of firewood for our month here! We have a nice spot backing up to the woods, and a nice wooded path to walk Rexie, along with an off-leash dog park. There is so much to do around here, I don't think we can fit it all in a month!

Here's Gary in his boat buzzing around Cranberry Lake on Whidbey Island and Mary with the "Maiden of Deception Pass" (a few miles from us, at Rosario Beach in Deception Pass State Park).

Ray and Kay stayed a couple nights with us when we went to the Shipwreck Festival in Anacortes.

Ray's in Everett, July 7-11

Ray and Kay heading out on the Harley:

The trailer parked in Ray's driveway:

Ray played tour guide and took us for a really nice scenic tour on the mountain loop highway in the Mt Baker area:

Here's Gary (hiding behind the big tree) trying to scare Ray, Kay, Kyle and Debbie on the wooded trail: