Port Angeles & Home

May 29, 2013…Back to Reality!

Well, here it is … getting close to the end of the trip and what a trip it’s been! We are camped in Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend and there weren’t many others camping there so we kind of have the place to ourselves.

Part of the old fort structure at Fort Worden State Park

Point Wilson Lighthouse, Fort Worden State Park

Point Wilson Lighthouse at Fort Worden State Park

Our Campsite at Fort Worden State Park

We were hoping to spend the final days tootling about the Olympic Peninsula and … would have … but the weather seems to be un-cooperative. Typical west coast stuff … and a far cry from the sunny southwest. We’ve had rain, wind … and in some places … snow!!

May 30th…Hurricane Ridge

We had some time, so we drove up to Hurricane Ridge and wouldn’t you know it … we were in the middle of the clouds so couldn’t really see much … and most of the trails were closed as there still a ‘crap-load’ of snow up there! Who’d have thought??

In the clouds on Hurricane Ridge

Black-Tailed Deer on Hurricane Ridge

We explored a few other areas around and walked thru Port Townsend and Port Angeles. Port Townsend is certainly the nicer and more tourist-friendly town. Very cool old buildings and an interesting history of logging and fishing etc.

Port Townsend

May 31st…Crescent Lake Lodge & the Elwha Valley

We also drove out to Crescent Lake which has an old, wonderful lodge, Crescent Lake Lodge, built around 1916 or so. It is part of Olympic National Park & Forest. We took a short bike ride down some wood paths at the east end of the lake, then we stopped back in and had a nice coffee on their patio looking out over the lake. A place I’d definitely like to come back to and maybe stay a night or so. Old jazz standards playing in the background … you can almost see the people dressed up in their tux’es and silk gowns dancing and having champagne. Very cool.

Biking at Crescent Lake

Crescent Lake Lodge

Enjoying coffee’s at Crescent Lake Lodge

We took a drive up the Elwha River to have a look at a spot where they have removed one of the dams. The Elwha is one of several rivers in the Pacific Northwest that hosts all five species of salmon. From 1911 dams blocked fish passage on the lower Elwha River. The National Park Service is removing the two dams as part of the $325 million Elwha Ecosystem Restoration Project.

Lower Elwha Valley Dam

Former dam site on the Elwha River today

The Elwha River now flowing through what was once a reservoir

Tomorrow is back to Victoria and ‘reality’. We catch the 12:45 Coho ferry out of Port Angeles to downtown Victoria. We have a spot reserved at West Bay so we’ll head straight there.