5/25 - 6/3 - Port Angeles, Port Townsend to Canada

5/25 - Went to Lake Crescent to hike to Devil's Punchbowl.  Since it was Sunday, sunny, and a holiday weekend, I knew it would be busy so I went early (for me) and got there before 10 and was easily able to get a parking spot.  The water of Lake Crescent is incredibly blue, which is due to low nitrogen levels, which prevent significant algae growth, and the lake's glacial formation, which cut it very deep (624') and creates a unique combination of clarity and light reflection.  It wasn't even a very clear day, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

There were a lot more people heading in while I was leaving and the parking lot was overflowing.  I'm so glad I got there early!

The hike was on an old railroad bed and this is a tunnel on the path.

Devil's Punchbowl

Headed to Port Angeles to see Deb and her friend Kevin.  I parked in Kevin's yard since he has a double lot in the city and Deb was only a couple of blocks away.  Kevin cooked dinner and it was SOOOO good!  Just tortellini with a sauce that he made.  He started with Rao's pasta sauce and added mushrooms and sausage and heavy cream.  OMG!  

I got really lucky catching Deb at the right time.  She was heading back to VT/NY on Thursday and was in town for the long weekend, so it was perfect timing.  She said she normally is back east over Memorial Day weekend, but delayed her trip due to the long dragged out winter in NY.  Deb was kind enough to let me do a load of laundry and take a shower.  Always a treat in a home, vs public showers.

It's hard to see, but this is a nearby house with the biggest lilac "bush" I've ever seen and sooo loaded with flowers.

Kevin's cat, Oscar.  When we first came in, Oscar was very interested in Zoe, but gave some warning growls and Zoe was very respectful.  And very respectful here while Oscar investigated her.  Later, Zoe decided to chase Oscar out of the blue.  It was really weird.  And then she had a hard time settling down.  Oscar went upstairs but came back down a bit later, but Zoe was too interested.  I had her leash hooked to my chair - which wasn't very smart as I think she almost broke the chair when she lunged after Oscar again.  We didn't see Oscar again after that.  

5/26 - Deb and I walked around Port Angeles.  It was kinda gray and very windy, but it was fun anyway.  We stopped at the book store and I got the Milepost book for Alaska.  Some people say don't bother and others say it's a must have.  I figured it wouldn't hurt to have it and I've already appreciated it for giving me some ideas.  I now have a plan of attack for the trip.  Without the book, I doubt I would have learned about rte 99, the Sea to Sky Highway from Vancouver and it sounds amazing.  I'm not sure I'm ever going to actually get to Alaska with all the things to see along the way!

I love the houses in Port Angeles.  There are so many old, cute houses and most of them are in great shape.  You can tell the residents really care about keeping the look and feel.

I didn't take photos, but there were a lot of wild roses around and I'd smell them before I even saw them.  Oh, man how I love that smell.  I definitely am one to Stop and Smell the Roses!  (I think I've said that before...  😂)

Deb and Zoe

View from the tower on the pier

This octopus is so cool!

I really wonder what she's thinking.  Every time she sees a mirror she does this.  Maybe she's confused on why there are two of me???  One in front of her and one behind her?

5/27 - I stayed in Port Angeles for much of the day.  I ran some errands, leaving Zoe in the van at Kevin's and had to find a vet to do Zoe's health certificate.  Luckily I found one in Port Townsend (Pet Townsend Veterinary Clinic) that had appointments available on Friday.  That was way easier than expected and since they had online booking I didn't need to make a ton of calls - or any for that matter!  They had great reviews and are Fear Free Certified!  

Walk in Port Angeles with views of the mountains today.  

I decided to camp at Heart O' the Hills campground in Olympic National Park.  This was on the road to Hurricane Ridge.  Kevin offered for me to stay longer, but I needed to find a place I could empty and clean my toilet.  I didn't want to do that in his yard...  A bit ago, I found mites in there again.  I was so sure that it was from the batch of coconut coir that I had, which I threw out the last 2 bricks because of the mites.  So I was very disappointed to find them again.  I lived with them for a while as I just regularly wiped things down to keep their numbers down.  So annoying.  I'm wondering if I need to try a different method so that the compost doesn't sit for too long.  I think the fact that the toilet isn't externally vented is a part of the problem because it gets so moist in there from the heat and condensation.  Anyway, I found a spot after checking out many.  It is quite hard to find a site big enough for the van and level in some of these campgrounds.  Once situated I got to doing the toilet cleaning.  Fingers crossed!

5/28 - Since I was already part way there, I decided I'd drive up to Hurricane Ridge as it was a perfect day!  It would have been crazy to miss it and I'm so glad I went.  I did consider driving into town and taking the bus (for only $2 round trip!), but then I'd have had to leave Zoe in the van for that whole time, which meant I'd be worried about her all that time, thus feel rushed and not really enjoy myself.  I'm glad we drove as it wasn't as bad as I feared.  On the way up, I had someone behind me, but also not in a hurry and enjoying the views and then on the way down, I had no one behind me the whole way!  I even stopped once and still ended up with no one behind me.  I really appreciated being able to go at my own pace since I didn't want to be riding my brakes the whole way.  This way, I would just coast in the spots I could even if I ended up below the speed limit.  

Groundhog.  Zoe thought he/she was very exciting!

She wasn't allowed on any trails, but could walk around the parking lot and enjoy the views.  😀

The snow markers are sooo tall!  They must have been at least 15', if not taller.

That is the ocean in the distance (Port Angeles?), with more mountain further out.

There were three tunnels in the side of the mountain.  It always feels a little scary to me.

After we came off the mountain, we headed to Dungeness Spit.  I had been there before when we did the backpack, but figured I'd go back.  Christine had mentioned how much wildlife she saw when she visited there, but it was very windy and not enjoyable at all and not a single bird other than one gull!  You can hike out to the lighthouse (low tide!), but it's 5 miles each way and not super interesting to me, especially with the weather.  And no dogs allowed.

Dungeness Spit.  Beautiful blue water

I went into Sequim and  Zoe and I walked around and then I went to the Salty Girls and had a cup of clam chowder and a poke bowl.  Both were super yummy!  

I considered staying at the Walmart, but decided to fork out the money again for a comfortable spot in the woods and to get a shower in the AM.  I stayed at Sequim State park for the night.  I managed to get a shower the next morning (only one shower in the women's bathroom).  I thought I'd go early to hopefully miss others, but there was someone in there when I got there, so I had to wait...  LOL.  The bathroom was so steamed up by the time I went and therefore warm.  Water was hot and adjustable and had plenty of pressure.  Always a treat!  WA State Parks have been pretty good to me.  

5/29 - Hilary, who used to work in VT at the kennel, lives in Sequim and had seen my post about being at Hurricane Ridge and so Zoe and I went over and visited with her and her grandmother, Sally, for a couple of hours.  It was fun to see her.  

I left Hilary's and headed to Port Townsend.  I got a spot at the Fort Townsend State Park for the night.  Again, it was a challenge finding a level spot for the van, but managed to get one that was close enough.  I had planned to go into town, but then decided to just hang out and chill.  The park has some great trails, so we got a good walk in.  There was almost two bundles of firewood at a nearby spot that was available, so I took the wood and decided to have a fire.  A guy asked where I got the wood and I gave him the bundle I wasn't going to use.  I still ended up with a couple of unused pieces.  It was nice to chill by the fire, which I wouldn't have done if it wasn't free - not because I wouldn't want to spend the money, I just don't think to do it.

Mount Baker 

Not sure which mountains these are.  Cascades?

I actually got the fire going!  I expected the wood to be wet since it had rained some overnight, but it was pretty easy to get it started.  

I had some fun taking photos of the embers

5/30 - Zoe had her vet appointment at 2, so we did a walk in the morning at the campground (there are some great trails here!) and then headed into town after filling up my water tank.  The water tasted pretty good, so I figured it would be a good place to do it.  Only once have I had water that I didn't like and ended up emptying it and refilling with better water, since I drink the water from my tanks.  I filter it before it goes into the tank and there is another filter for my drinking water in the van.  

We had some time to kill in town, so we went into town where I had a couple of amazing tacos (very greasy though) at Green Crow Tacos, then we walked down to the lower part of the town before heading to the vet.  Zoe did amazing at the vet, plus they are Fear Free certified and it was obvious.  Most of what they did, they did without her even knowing that they were checking her out.  It's so nice, because in the early days, I was definitely concerned that she could bite, so I muzzle trained her to make everyone feel better.  She didn't trust anyone in the beginning, but now she's much more comfortable with people in general, plus realizes that people often = treats!

More Mount Baker - it's just so pretty

I thought that was a lawn ornament, but it looked awfully real!  There are deer all over town.

1890 - For more than 50 years it was used to call volunteer fire firefighters to their posts and provided a code signal to indicate the location and severity of the fire.  It's the only known tower of its kind in the US.  

View of lower Port Townsend where the rough folks hung out in the early days.  Uptown had more refined folks.

Port Townsend did an incredible job keeping most/many of the original buildings.  This one needs some TLC, but that appears to be in progress.

Courthouse

Post Office.  Used to be the Customs building

This is privately owned.  Not sure if it's just a remake, but it's definitely not in service.

Mt Baker again

After the vet, we went to Fort Worden State Park and checked out the lighthouse.  The campground was full and we checked out the Fairgrounds campground, but that wasn't too appealing, but I was still considering it.  

Fort Worden lighthouse

We went back into Lower PT and walked around some more and I ended up grabbing dinner.  Eating out 2x in one day!  I had an excellent burger and onion rings.  I definitely had my greasy food quote for the month today.  

Not sure what city that's supposed to be

Port Townsend waterfront

Teriyaki bacon cheeseburger.  Yum!

View while enjoying dinner.  Must have been a race.

After dinner, I decided to head back to Fort Townsend SP for the night.  Being Friday, it was much more full than the previous night, but luckily spot 18, which I had scoped out in the morning as a possibility, was still available.  So many sites that were reserved remained empty for the night.  I had wanted 16 the first night, but found out it wasn't available (though it was marked as available on the post) and it remained empty both nights I was there.  Grrrr!

5/31 - I really didn't think that a shower was going to be an option here because there is only one shower, but I managed to get there when no one else was showering.  I guess most people are just there for the weekend, so probably don't bother showering until they go home.  That's what I would do!  It was a good shower, but a bit too hot and not controllable.  I'm not going to complain though!

I had reserved a spot on the ferry for 12:30, so I had plenty of time.  You're supposed to be there 30-45 minutes early, but I was there probably an hour early.  It was raining, so nothing else to do!  I settled in line and pulled out my computer and worked on this blog while waiting as well as while riding the ferry.  It's only about 35 minutes.  There were quite some swells and at first I was concerned I might get sea sick (and I don't get sea sick!), but luckily I did not.  There were waves breaking over the bow and I was in front.  Thankfully they weren't enough to hit me.  I remember taking the Charlotte ferry across Lake Champlain one day and they ended up closing it after our ride.  My car was in the front and it was getting major hits by the waves.  I was afraid of getting washed away!  Thankfully this was very different and not at all scary.  I just didn't want salt water on my van, but it was all good.  It cost $53 for me and the van -  Not cheap, but better than driving through Seattle.  

There was a tractor trailer next to me and another next to him.  When going to get off, they told the guy on the far side to go first, but he couldn't because the guy in the middle was too far forward (you would think the ferry worker would have known that!).  So, the guy next to me turned towards me at first.  Yikes!  I pulled in my mirrors, but it looked really close and it was a long holding of my breath as the entire trailer went past me.  Phew!

As I'm apt to do, I turned off towards Coupeville when I saw the "Historic District" sign.  I'm so glad I did as I think it's my favorite town so far.  I loved Port Townsend, but this town is small and super cute.  It was raining, but I decided to get out and wander around.  And the rain stopped and the skies started to clear.  Yay!

When I was out on the other side of this building, a gull dropped a clam right in front of me.  I think if it hit me it would have hurt!  That gull missed its meal as there was a big clam in there.  I'm not sure if I've ever seen the live flesh before.  Probably not.  

view of Coupeville from the pier.

The town is on Penn Cove and Orcas come through here and they grow mussels on platforms in the cove

We had a BW  booked for the night, but stopped at Deception Pass State Park on the way.  It's a really nice park on the ocean as well as Cranberry Lake.  Nice beach.  

Ahhh, the roses!

The bridge over deception pass.

"Deception Pass got its name from Captain George Vancouver in 1792.  He initially believed Whidbey Island was a peninsula and not an island. He was "deceived" into this belief by the narrow and intricate channel of Deception Pass. After his crew discovered it was a passage connecting to Skagit Bay and Whidbey Island was indeed an island, Vancouver named the waterway Deception Pass. "

The water is really flowing!

Downtown Anacortes

"Castle" in Anacortes.  It's a private home, possibly just built to look like a castle?  I can't really find any history on it...

We went to the BW site.  Darryl was friendly and it was a pleasant site, but decided to head down the road to a pub since they were having music.  I always enjoy live music, but, though he was good, the crowd was loud making it hard to enjoy the music.  People watching was super fun!  Watching young women acting silly and flirty.  Reminded me a bit of my younger days.  😂😂😂

View walking Zoe after having dinner at the pub.

6/1 - After leaving the BW, I was planning to get a haircut at a Great Clips in Mount Vernon, but on the way I decided to go to the area where they have the Tulip Festival.  I was a month too late, but thought I might see something.  Not much, but stopped at Roozengaarde to see if there was anything to see.  Not really, but I did learn that they plant the bulbs in the fall and after they flour in the spring, they harvest the bulb (with babies) and sell them.  

What a great idea!

Historic Mount Vernon.  A lot of towns seem to have these figurines and here they are frogs.  I wish I had been taking photos of these along the way.

This wall on the left was built to keep the river from flooding the town

When I stopped at Roozengaarde, the woman there mentioned that I should go to La Conner, since it was like Coupeville.  I really like Coupeville partially because it was so small and La Conner is quite a bit bigger, but still a cute town that I'm glad I visited.  She had also said that there was nothing to see in Mount Vernon, but I disagree as I thought it was cute too.

I really am so happy with Great Clips.  It is so perfect for living on the road since you don't make appointments ahead of time and check in online.  I've had really good luck so far.  Shelby was my stylist and she was really great.  I decided to go with some long bangs and I'm super happy with it.  I was enjoying the ability to put my hair in a pony tail, but it just felt so heavy.  And not I've got bangs to deal with, but I think they're worth it.  We'll see as time goes on.

In La Conner, I stopped in a gallery that had these amazing pieces made of glass.  So impressive!!!  I don't tend to go to many museums, especially art museums, but I love going to galleries and soaking up all the beauty and talent that is out there.  

House made to look like a ship?

La Conner

Fountain

I'm not sure what these cages are for.  Fishing for what?

After La Conner, I headed back to Deception Pass SP to find a campsite.  There was a big promise for Northern Lights and I figured that would be a good place to see them, plus it was a place to stay.  

The Olympic Mountains

Trying to get a decent usie...

My new do

This is what I got when looking for Northern Lights.

I'm not sure how these people were seeing them all around me.  To the north, I'd expect even more sunlight and to the south?  Hmmm...

6/3 - I had made a tire appt at Discount Tires for a tire rotation and inspection for 11:30.  You'd think that was plenty of time, since it was only 35 min away, right?  Nope, not for me and Miss Zoe.  After showering and cleaning up, I dragged Zoe out of bed and we had about 20 minutes before having to leave.  Once I got down to the beach, I decided that I didn't want to rush, so investigated my options.  1:00 was next available, which was perfect.  I'm so glad I did this, as once I was on the beach, I ended up chatting with a couple who used to live in Alaska, so I spent quite a bit of time with them learning about good spots to visit.  

More of these lovely roses

Chore day!  I'm so glad I was triggered to think about my tires by that noise, which hopefully was nothing, that made me think to have my tires checked out.  What a great deal with Discount Tire for free inspections, flat fixed, tire rotation and balance for buying tires there.  Why would I not in the future???  Oil changes in the van are recommended at 15,000 miles, and in the past I'd just do a tire rotation when I got my oil changed, but now that's way too long.  Anyway, before heading 2000 miles towards Alaska, getting the tires checked out and rotated is a good idea!

In addition to dealing with tires, I went to Trader Joe's - last time for who knows how long - and did laundry.  I didn't have much to do, but figured it would be good to start my trip to Alaska with a fully fresh wardrobe and clean sheets.  

This shop had a nice high bay.  

Cute town of Lynden, near my BW

BW folks who took over all the spots and I ended up having to pay the campsite fee.  😤 LOL  These women are heading to Alaska together.  I visited with them and maybe we'll cross paths along the way.  

 

View from BW (not from where I'm parked).  

I have been really enjoying Washington, but tomorrow, I will head into Canada.  Fingers crossed that they don't decide to search my van!  I'm excited and nervous about the trip.  I'm super excited about all that I'll see and anxious about all the driving and long travel days (even though I don't plan to do more that 200 miles/day).  I think the Sea to Sky Highway, rte 99, that I'm taking isn't a typical route, but I'm excited to do it for the beauty (it's recommended in the Milepost, otherwise I wouldn't have known about it).  Tomorrow I'll cross the border and if not delayed, I should make it to Pemberton to stay for the night.  Squamish along the way.  It's longer and slower than taking 97, but I'm looking for the beauty!

Though I'd like to write my blog daily, it just isn't feasible due to lack of or poor internet.  Often my photos haven't uploaded to Google photos, which makes it so that I have to play catch-up  But, I'm in real time at the moment.  😀

Next post will be from Canada!