Sunday 8/20/00
Day 3: Olympia, Port Townsend, Port Angeles
We got down to Gig Harbor around 7:00 as it was a another nice clear day
with just a little bit of clouds. The temperature was expected to be 77 degrees
today whichin normal for a August summer day. Gig Harbor is at the south end
of the Puget Sound as there are many boats here and you have a perfect view
of Mt Rainier in the backgroud. The town has many small antique shops and restaurants
that are on the water. They have also been able to keep out the large shoppping
malls and it looks like a town still set in the 60's. A Jazz Festival is held
here every August. We continued north and would stop next at Manchester where
you are able to look over the water south to see Mt Raineir and north to see
the city of Seattle. I don't remember seeing a view like this before but there
were some houses that had back yards with both views. We turned back and to
go to Olympia and then to continue
to the Olympic Peninsula
today and along the coast. I have not visited there for a couple
years and was interested as to how many gravel roads would be open at this time
of year.
We got back to Olympia around 9:00 and would drive thru town. This is the
capitol of Washington and is at the southern most part of the Puget Sound.
I drove around town some and then would go down to the marina and take some
pictures of the waterfront. This is a nice town to visit on weeknds in the
summer as they will be having a outside market today where locals will have
floweres, locally grown vegatables and arts and crafts items for sale. A good
place to visit and relax on a Sunday morning . I left the marina and drove
back into town and stopped to get something to eat at the New Moon Cafe. There
are several small cafes in the downtown area that are reasonably priced. The
city is far enough away from Seattle to not get caught up in all the fast
lifestyle. We also stopped stopped at the Orcas bookstore but didn't
stay very long. On our weay out I drove back to the capitol building to take
a couple pictures.
After leaving Olympia I would drive north on 101 and exit onto highway 3
which would go into the town of Shelton. This is a logging town as will be
most of the towns on the peninsula.
There wasn't much going on in town this morning aswe drove thur town and started
north again on 101. This is also farming land that lies in between the mountains
and Puget Sound. About ten miles north is the Hood Canal and also a road to
the left on highway 119 at Hoodsport. There is a Ranger station here at this
exit which you may want to stop for road conditions if taking back roads.
I checked there to get a map as the ranger explained that if any of the gravel
road were closed. He mentioned that they wer opened and there that there were
also some paved roads along rivers that I could take for scenery. I left there
and went on highway 119 as this will take you past the small town of Cushman
and a couple miles past that is Lake Cushman. Our old neighbor had a cabin
on this lake as it is up in the mountains and is a long oval lake. If you
get the right views you can see the Olympics covered with snow in the background.
It looks like there are a lot of retirement homes here and it is a quiet area.
I
drove back to 101 and continued north as the road now runs along the Hood
Canal. I pass the small towns of Lilliwaup and Eldon which are both places
to stop for food and gas. I turned left on Hamma Hamma road 25 and would go
past a campsite a couple miles in next to the river. There are many hiking
trails off of this gravel road as this will lead into higher elevation and
eventually to Lena Lake. I eventually turned around as the road was closed
after about ten miles. I came back on 101 and would next turn off on Duckabush
Road 2510. This follows the Duckabush river and will give you good view of
Hood Canal and the Olympic Mountain Range. The last road I took was the Dosewallips
road. There is a state park just before turn off of 101 and just pass the
town of Brinnon. Dosewallips road turns right and goes for many miles as it
will lead to a couple more campgrounds by the river and get into higher elevations
where there are many hiking trails
I would be done taking backroads for a little while as I would stay on 101
until reaching discovery Bay and then turn right on Highway 20 to go to Port
Townsend. I like coming to this town as it is not real busy and has some
nice Victorian architecture that was used in the early 1900's. The town is
a nice relaxing place to visit and there are ferries that connect with Whidby
Island daily. There were some good restaurants here but I didn't want to stop
very long as it was 3:00. I did go to the Williams James Bookseller and bought
some books on the area and will go back there again someday. There used to
be forts here in the 1800's protecting the entrance to Puget Sound. It's at
the northwest tip of the peninsula and the entrance to Puget Sound for boaters.
I left Port Townsend coming back to 101 and went west as I would be going
next to Sequim.
This is both a farming and retirement area as they have good weather year
round with only 18" of rain a year. It used to be little town but it's growing
fast. I drove out to he Dungeness Recreation area. This a protected game farm
and a good place for bird watching. I did see some deer while I was there
and also had a good view of the Straight of Juan de Fuca. You look across
and notice how close Canada really is to the Olympic Peninsula. It was almost
dusk now as I would stay in Port Angeles tonight. I was able to find a hotel
for $45 as it was a Sunday night. I checked in around 6:00 and then went to
KFC for all you can eat for $7.
After dinner I drove back thru town to go to the movie 'Snow Day.' I got
this movie mixed up with 'Snow Falling On Cedars' and was expecting a drama
about World Word II filmed in the Northwest. What I got instead was a story
about two kid siblings and what they due on snowdays. It was a fun movie and
I'm glad I went. There was the teenage brother who has a crush on the girl
cheerleader and will do anything to get her attention. Then there is the little
sister who will do almost anything to get an extra snowday to play and not
go to school. The parents also have their own problems within the family affair
and it turns out to be a good comedy. There are some lessons to be learned
for youngsters about who are your real friends. I will suggest that our kids
go see this movie. I went back to the hotel around 10:00 as I was tired after
getting up at 4:00 this morning and would get up early tomorrow. I read the
books I had bought and fell asleep around 11:00.
I drove 250 miles
Day
4
Introduction
We got back to Olympia around 9:00 and would drive thru town. This is the
capitol of Washington and is at the southern most part of the Puget Sound.
I drove around town some and then would go down to the marina and take some
pictures of the waterfront. This is a nice town to visit on weeknds in the
summer as they will be having a outside market today where locals will have
floweres, locally grown vegatables and arts and crafts items for sale. A good
place to visit and relax on a Sunday morning . I left the marina and drove
back into town and stopped to get something to eat at the New Moon Cafe. There
are several small cafes in the downtown area that are reasonably priced. The
city is far enough away from Seattle to not get caught up in all the fast
lifestyle. We also stopped stopped at the Orcas bookstore but didn't
stay very long. On our weay out I drove back to the capitol building to take
a couple pictures.
There wasn't much going on in town this morning aswe drove thur town and started
north again on 101. This is also farming land that lies in between the mountains
and Puget Sound. About ten miles north is the Hood Canal and also a road to
the left on highway 119 at Hoodsport. There is a Ranger station here at this
exit which you may want to stop for road conditions if taking back roads.
I checked there to get a map as the ranger explained that if any of the gravel
road were closed. He mentioned that they wer opened and there that there were
also some paved roads along rivers that I could take for scenery. I left there
and went on highway 119 as this will take you past the small town of Cushman
and a couple miles past that is Lake Cushman. Our old neighbor had a cabin
on this lake as it is up in the mountains and is a long oval lake. If you
get the right views you can see the Olympics covered with snow in the background.
It looks like there are a lot of retirement homes here and it is a quiet area.I
drove back to 101 and continued north as the road now runs along the Hood
Canal. I pass the small towns of Lilliwaup and Eldon which are both places
to stop for food and gas. I turned left on Hamma Hamma road 25 and would go
past a campsite a couple miles in next to the river. There are many hiking
trails off of this gravel road as this will lead into higher elevation and
eventually to Lena Lake. I eventually turned around as the road was closed
after about ten miles. I came back on 101 and would next turn off on Duckabush
Road 2510. This follows the Duckabush river and will give you good view of
Hood Canal and the Olympic Mountain Range. The last road I took was the Dosewallips
road. There is a state park just before turn off of 101 and just pass the
town of Brinnon. Dosewallips road turns right and goes for many miles as it
will lead to a couple more campgrounds by the river and get into higher elevations
where there are many hiking trails