Friday, May 15, 2009

Exploring the Wild Washington Coast

Last weekend I got to tag along on a trip to the Olympic Penninsula. We started out with a trip on the Keystone/Port Townsend ferry which I have covered in a previous post. We spent a lovely sunny afternoon in Port Townsend, which is one of the stops on the post-conference tour.
This is overlooking the ferry dock.

Some of the art scattered about town.
They even had a drinking fountain my height!



Hanging around at Port Townsend PD




Met some lovely charactors strolling around downtown.
We found a great little sub shop with a deck right on the water to have lunch. Port Townsend is a great place to visit!


Next we stopped at the Olympic Cellars, this is the winery I talked about before, run by all women! The wine tasting was fun and the grounds were an adventure to explore! They are located between Port Townsend and Port Angeles.










The next stop was on the Makah Indian Reservation for a short hike out to Cape Flattery. This is the most north-western point of the continental United States. A very easy hike, especially for me since I was riding in the camera bag, with an amazing view at the end!


















This is Tatoosh Island.






























We arrived in LaPush just in time for sunset.....

We stayed at the LaPush Ocean Park Resort, it is run by the Quilute Tribe. Being the posh, upscale whale that I am, we stayed in the luxury cabins but they have lots of options from tent camping to cabins featuring jacuzzi tubs overlooking the ocean...sigh....
We spent Sunday hiking and exploring First, Second and Third Beaches. Second beach was our favorite with the tide pools, sea stacks and hole in the wall.
The forest comes right up to the beach! That can make a tree-hugger out of anyone!














This is an example of the "conch" growth in the rain forest. Made a lovely spot for me to rest.

Below is the root system of a recently fallen tree....My friend Niomi posed with it to give you some perpsective as to the size.






























Can you see the seal looking back at you?
How about now? There he is!







For those of you who are fans of the Twilight book series, yes, this is the area it is based in. We took a quick spin around Edward and Bella's turf for you......







Well, thats it for now, Lets be careful out there!

Ollie

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