Happy July 4th. Ok so I'm a little late but the blog is almost on time. It has been another busy month even though we have not been on the road as much as May and June. My sister Debby and her husband David were able to take some time off work (sorry about that four letter word) and spend some time with us. We went to Port Angeles for fire works which were pretty, but the time between shots was so long even the little kids wanted to go home before they were done.
On Thursday we drove down to Hoodsport for a street fair. The best part was the funnel cakes and deep fried Twinkies. The drive was pleasant and it was a nice day to be out. We stopped at Mt. Walker and took in the view. On Friday we took them out to La Push and to Rialto Beach. Just remember, if you come to visit and don't have any ideas about what you want to see you are going to end up at Rialto Beach sooner or later. We love it there. It was great to be able to spend time with them. It has been a long time since we have been able to just sit and talk.
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| David and Debby |
One of the campers here said that the road at Hurricane Ridge was open all the way to the end so off we went. The last time we went up there in May there was still 10 feet of snow. This time there were a few piles here and there but it was just a very nice summer day. The road where the picture of the Jeep was taken had 10 feet of snow in May. As usual, we didn't plan ahead so we drove all the way back to the visitor center and bought lunch and drove all the way back out to have a picnic. We were joined by a couple of deer that just walked out of the tree line to graze by us . The dogs thought it was a great thing.
We found out that the road to Deer Park was open soooo off we go again. It is amazing how many roads open up when the snow in the higher altitudes melt. The first 9 miles is a nice paved two lane road and then you get to the park and the road gets really good. Dirt, mud, rocks, switch backs...almost two lanes sometimes with mountain on one side and air on the other. What a great road. At the top is a rustic camp ground. No electric or water, only pit toilets, but plenty of quiet and wonderful views. We were surprised that there were a few people camping.
This time we went ready to picnic. Of course it had only been one day since our last picnic so our short term memory is still pretty good. We found a place with a view, set up our chairs and table and had lunch, soaked up some rays while we read our books and watched the dogs explore. They have a nice viewing area that looks out over the straits towards Canada. As you can see by the picture we were pretty high up, over 6000 feet.
After taking it easy for a few days we thought it would be a good time to take a ferry over to Whidbey Island. We visited Fort Casey, which was built along with Fort Worden and Fort Flagler to protect the navel shipyard in Bremerten from a hostile navel invasion. It had several types of guns. The most impressive are the ten inch disappearing guns. These guns could not be seen from the water due to the fact that they were lowered down when not in use or when being loaded, which also protected the crews operating the guns. When they were ready to be fired they were raised above the walls.
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| 10 inch gun raised for firing |
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| 10 inch gun in lowered position. |
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| Looking out over Puget sound. |
There is also a lighthouse by the fort so of course we just had to visit. This is Admiralty Head Lighthouse. It was is use from 1859 until 1922. It's a nice small light house. The nice part is they still have the original Fresnel lens pictured below. The rest of the day we drove around the island, stopped for lunch and caught the last ferry back home.
The month of July brings the famous Lavender Festival. In case I have failed to mention, Sequim is the lavender capital of the northwest. There was a parade, demonstrations, arts and crafts fair and the best part, FOOD. They also had tours of the many lavender farms in the area. Holly's sister Debbie came over and spent a couple of days with us during the festival. It was nice that we could return the favor of her letting us stay at her place when we go over to the Seattle area. We spent one day checking out the arts and crafts tents and the food. The next day was raining and we decided to head over to Rialto Beach (what did I tell you about having a plan when you visit). It rained almost all the way there and about 3 miles from the beach it stopped raining and the sun came out and the day was beautiful. After we left we ran back into the rain and when we got home we found out it had been raining all day.
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| Holly and her sister Debbie. |
We had heard that the wild flowers were going wild on Hurricane Ridge so we packed a lunch and the dogs and took off. The day was beautiful the flowers were fantastic. The deer joined us for lunch again. When we were leaving we saw the road to Obstruction Point was open. Sooooo off we go. It was another one of those great roads and this one had a lot of hills and steep grades up and down. I know it was great because when we got back I had several people ask where we had gone because the Jeep was covered with dirt and mud.
As you can see there is still a lot of snow in the higher elevations but the wild flowers were worth the trip. Well that is July, only two more months and we are off again. We have started looking and sent out a few apps. but have no destination for winter as yet. We are leaning towards state parks but who knows, we could end up working a pumpkin patch or a x-mas tree lot. You can never tell. See you all next month.
