Sequim Washington, June 2012

Here we are one year after retirement, still traveling, still enjoying what we are doing and still married, go figure. We decided that we really made the right decision for our retirement. In the past year we have volunteered at two lighthouses (we love lighthouses), volunteered at a state park in Michigan and one in New Mexico (I love Mexican food) and are now at a private park in Sequim Washington. One reason we chose Washington was that both Holly and I have family here and we wanted to spend time with them and get reacquainted. We've been traveling all over the Olympic Peninsula and are having a ball.

Our latest adventures have included a trip to the beach at low tide with Holly's Aunt Lorrie, exploring the tide pools. We were able to see several small fish, crabs and clams. We also found this starfish waiting for high tide. We had a great time climbing all over the rocks and the dogs had a ball running all over and investigating the new and different smells. We even had time for a family photo before the tide came back in.

On another day we went with Lorrie and her two grand daughters to see a waterfall by Crescent Lake which is about 50 miles from the park. It's called Marymere Falls. We started at Storm King Ranger station and walked about a mile and a half to the falls. It was an easy walk thru the forest and over the river to the falls. The last bit was a real climb up to the falls but it was a nice surprise when we rounded the last bend in the trail at the falls. The two girls were having a ball on the walk. They each had a camera and were taking pictures. We saw a small blue butterfly and they were going in circles trying to get a picture of it.

We took the ferry over to Edmonds which is a town north of Seattle but close to Holly's sister Debbie where we stayed.  It cost about $16.00  to go over there and $24.00 to get back and about 2 hours total travel time from the park to Holly's sisters. If we drove all the way around Puget Sound to get to Debbie's we would use a tank of gas and be on the road 3 1/2 to 4 hours one way. Even for me it is a no brainier to take the ferry over. While there we celebrated Lorrie's birthday at a nice seafood restaurant called Arnies. Made a trip to the Seattle Center which is the site of the 1962 world's fair.  We met our friends, Jackie and Larry from New Mexico for dinner.

Jackie and Larry were in Seattle for family and a baby shower and to pick up their grand daughter Addie, who is 2 and spending two weeks with Nana and Binkie. We had a nice time at dinner and said that we hoped to see them again in our travels. Little did we know that in May they  made reservations to spend a week at our park.  They were so sneaky.....but we fooled them, we saw the day before they arrived that they were coming in. Good thing we worked that day or else they would have pulled a fast one on us. While they were here we traveled all around sight seeing and found some great pizza and fish and chips.

   They wanted to go to the HOH rain forest and even though we had been there, we really loved it so we were more then happy to go back. This time we took a different trail and had a great time. Their grand daughter Addie was a doll and a real trooper. All the different trails she walked with us she kept right up and had a ball. The only problem I had at the rain forest was the tree shown below. I'm pretty sure he (or she) was watching me. After a week the Linleys loaded up and took off for Portland, Oregon. I'm almost sure this time they are gone but we do hope to meet up with them again in our travels. 
                                                                                

We had an offer for a free trip to Victoria B.C. by the ferry company that runs between Port Angeles and Victoria. They wanted the people from the area campgrounds and hotels to go over and see what was there to see so we could tell our guests. We went over on the 8:30 ferry. It takes 90 minutes for the ride over and a round trip ticket cost $32.00. Once we arrived in Canada and were in line for customs Holly leaned over and says, "Behave yourself and don't get cute". Now I'm not a compete idiot...even I know that custom agents have no sense of humor. They also carry guns.

After the strip search they let me go (they really don't have a sense of humor). We boarded a bus and had a tour of Victoria on the way to Butchart Gardens. The gardens are on the grounds of an old cement company and were started by the owner's wife when the plant moved over to the mainland in Canada in the late 1800's. While there we attended "high tea" and I even enjoyed it. As you can see in the picture, we had several small sandwiches and sweets to sample. After we were done we were taken on a guided tour of the gardens. 



We didn't have a lot of time to wander thru the gardens but we did have time to appreciate them. There are several different areas within the grounds and are planted with flowers, shrubs, plants and trees. There is a sunken garden which used to be a limestone quarry. That's the picture at the left and it also had a beautiful fountain.
 There was a carousal that has animals that were hand carved after the family pets. There are also giraffes and Orca whales.   





We were in luck because the day was gorgeous with lots of sunshine and warm temperatures. We would of loved to have been able to spend more time there, but we needed to get back and catch the 3:15 ferry so it was back on the bus and back to the docks. We could of stayed and gone to the B.C. Royal Museum, but we don't like to leave the dogs alone that long. When we landed back at the U.S. side I was very nice to the border patrol and custom agents with a lot of "no sir" and "yes sir", plus Holly said if I embarrassed her again I was walking home.

So pretty...I took about 50 pictures this day and most of them were at the gardens.

While we were in Seattle we made the pilgrimage to the Seattle Center. We walked around, went to the top of the Space Needle and then we found the musical fountain where Holly and I first met way back when. Being there brought back such great memories.

We walked down to the public market which is better known as Pike Place Market. If you have seen the shows on TV where guys are throwing fish around, this is the place. It's a giant farmers market with fresh flowers, produce, meats, seafood and crafts. Very interesting and very crowded.

We just returned from our second trip to Seattle where we made a quick trip to have dinner with Sue and Sandy and their husbands. Sue and Sandy are high school friends of Holly. I knew them from way back and recognized them as soon as they walked into the restaurant...they haven't changed a bit. We had a great time and are looking forward to seeing them again.

Well, that is all for now. It's hard to believe we've been here two months already.  We have the Fourth of July coming up and the Lavender Festival, which is a big thing here. Sequim is the Lavender Capital of the Northwest.  The park is full for the Lavender Festival and we now have a waiting list going. My sister Debby and her husband David are coming to spend the Fourth and a few more days with us. We're looking forward to their visit.  Hope you all have a wonderful holiday and be safe. Be sure and check back next month....We'll see you all then.

Sequim Washington May 2012 Part 2

 Here is part 2 for the month of May. If you haven't read part 1, you should scroll down and
 do that first. Now on with the tour. We have covered a lot of the Olympic Peninsula, part of which is Hurricane Ridge. This is part of the national park and is a 16 mile drive to the top. When we were there the snow was still 10 feet deep. At the time I am writing this there is still 8 feet of snow. It was a beautiful drive and not too cold. It turns out that even though we thought we made it to the top, we were still a mile short due to the snow.

 


 Not too far from where we are "working" there is a house called the troll house.  You can see from the pictures where the name came from. The house and the grounds are very well maintained and all of the figures around are beautifully carved. These two fellows are only two of the four  that are corner post for a shed covering old buggies and farm equipment. I'm going to have to go back and get some pictures of the fence post which are also carved trolls...very cool stuff.

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That fellow to the right was guarding the drive to the orchards. There were also two beautiful iron gates with dragons on them at the orchard entrance.  This was a nice trip; very quiet and serene area, interesting and close. Right now gas is $4.35 a gallon. I'm told that Washington state has the highest gas taxes in the states. This area is sort of like New Mexico. It is a long way to anywhere. There are no roads across the peninsula. Highway US 101 runs all the way around it with several roads into the interior but none all the way across it. We drove all the way around it the other day and it was 335 miles. We had gone to Pacific Beach which is a town on the south western part of the peninsula. When it was time to head back home it was about the same distance so, we just kept going.

One of our latest trips was to the HOH Rain Forest. This is up on the western part of the Olympic Mountains. There are several trails thru the forest and a nice camp ground. Holly read the sign for one of the trails and said it was 1/2 mile long so I figured that was easy enough. Turns out it was a mile and a half (I'm really going to have to learn to read) but it was easy walking thru the forest and along the HOH river.

I still can not get over how large the trees are. Some of these things are big enough to hide the Jeep behind and are over 200 feet tall. When you're walking thru the rain forest you notice that there is hardly any area on the ground that isn't covered by some sort of plant. Even the tree limbs are covered by different kinds of mosses and lichens. They look like they are wearing sweaters made by some crazy old aunt that is always knitting things for people.

We tried to find a four leaf clover in all of this mess but could only find three's. Holly said she needed Adam along in order to find a four leaf (who's Adam?).  Notice the dime in the picture. I know these weren't clover but when you don't know what they are you just guess, unless it is poison ivy or oak. Sometimes it is good to know some stuff.

The trail we walked ran right between these two trees. Still haven't figured out how they knew those trees were going to fall right there. At least it gives you an idea the size of these things. Now you can see why I am just amazed at the size of them.

This is the HOH River. It's fed from the snows in the Olympic Mountains and it is very cold. The picture of me checking the temperature of the water was not one of the smartest things I've done. The bank was loose stones, the water was very fast, very deep and very cold. I'll have to work on that along with the reading.

No, that's not a spot on my camera lens. Look real close and see if you can tell what it is. OK I'll tell you, it's a quarter. Now you're wondering why I would take a picture of a quarter on the ground. I didn't. I took a picture of a quarter from a bridge looking down through a stream six inches deep. The water was so clear it was like it wasn't there. 

These two pictures were taken on our trip to Pacific Beach. This is on a beach that we could drive right down on. The tide was going out and we had to stay above the high tide mark with the Jeep but we took the dogs out and walked down to the water. The picture of the Jeep is taken from the water and it was still going out. The other picture is of a live sand dollar waiting for the tide to come back in before the birds find it. If you've never been to the ocean and haven't seen how the tides move, it's amazing.

 

That's it for now. I know what you are thinking,,,what are they going to do for the next five months? That's easy to answer,,,REST. No, not really.  There's still a lot of this state to see. In the next couple of weeks we'll take the ferry over to Seattle and spend a few days there. Our friends Jackie and Larry from New Mexico called and are in the state so hopefully we will be able to meet up with them. That's all for now. Look out June, you're next!

Sequim Washington May 2012 Part 1

Well as usual, I am running a little behind on the blog. After a short drive of 2500 miles we arrived in Sequim on May 1st. That's pronounced Squim...just drop the E. As you will find out, there are a lot of strange names for the towns around here. The park here is small with 42 sites. As you can see our site is a little cramped compared to what we had in New Mexico, but our view of the mountains is spectacular. Holly works in the office and I work outside cutting grass and doing minor repairs and odd jobs. We work two days then have four days off to wander and explore, which we've already done a lot of.

Sequim is located on the Olympic Peninsula. Basically the center of the peninsula is the Olympic National Park.  There are so many areas around the coast line that are part of the park. One of the first places we went was to the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge. This area combines the rainforest and shoreline of the Straits of Juan De Fuca.                                                                            

After walking thru the rain forest you walk down to the shoreline where there is a spit of land that sticks out in the straits with a light house on the end called the Dungeness Spit Lighthouse.  You can volunteer at this one for $375.00 per week per person. The only way to get there if you want to tour it is to walk along the waters edge, but only at low tide. It is a 5 mile walk one way and you have to go out and back before the tide comes back in. That is one of our goals...to take that walk.  The rain forest is amazing. It is so green and lush and the trees are enormous. It is such a change from the desert.

Our next trip was along the northern shore of the peninsula to all of the little towns such as Joyce, Piller Point, Clallam Bay, Sekiu, Neah Bay and on to Cape Flattery. This is the point where the Pacific Ocean and the Straits of  Juan De Fuca meet. The walk out to the cape is thru the forest and then all of a sudden there you are looking out over the ocean and the view is spectacular. There's an island just off shore that is called Tatoosh Island, named after an Indian chief. There's a lighthouse on the island that is no longer in use.
It has been replaced by a light on a tower that is automated. The island is going to be given back to the Indian tribe that it belonged to before so the fate of the lighthouse and buildings are unknown. It's a hard place to get out to so I think tours are sort of out of the question. There are some great pictures of the lighthouse from early years if you look up Cape Flattery Lighthouse on your computer.

We were on a little road trip when we saw the sign for Duckabush Rec Area. It was up Duckabush Road. Remember what I said in the beginning about strange names. When we got to the end there was a parking area for a water fall so we got out with the dogs and were going to make the hike until we saw the trail. It was narrow, muddy with tree roots and steep. Changed our minds and went to leave when I saw a two track off the end of the parking area. Off we went.  It got narrower and steeper and then around a curve was a large boulder. That ended that fun...now all we had to do was turn around and go back down.

For all of you Twilight fans,  we went to Forks and LaPush. We stopped by this sign and Holly took a picture of me standing by it for the grand kids. We drove around the town of Forks and visited the town of La Push. Very interesting to see all of the "Twilight" related businesses in Forks. The visitor center had maps of all of the Twilight buildings shown on it. The town of LaPush, which is on the Quilleute Reservation (where Jacob is from) is on the ocean and we went and walked on the beach by the bay. It is amazing to see all of the trees that were washed up on shore from the storms over the years. Some of them were larger then a car.

We found a rec area by LaPush that was right on the Pacific Ocean. The dogs loved running on the beach and chasing the waves and investigating all of the new smells. There was also some great places to take pictures.

We toured a Navy destroyer and went to a Navy Museum by the shipyard in Bremerton. We also went to the Navy Underwater Warfare Museum. It was an interesting place, dealing with the evolution of submarines and underwater diving. While we were there they had the change of command for the submarine USS Alabama and we were able to go. There are two complete crews for each sub so that it can spend more time at sea. The command change was for the Blue crew and it was very interesting. Well, I knew this was going to happen. I have run out of room so there will be a part "2" coming up for May. Told you we have been busy. Stay tuned...we have some great troll and rain forest pictures to come ( that's right I said troll).

April 2012-On the road again

 Okay, I know it's already May and I still have to get around to the blog for April. I've been just a touch busy, but things have finally slowed down. We left Elephant Butte the end of March. With a list in hand and a heavy heart we said goodbye to our New Mexico friends and headed home. After 3 1/2 days and 1700 miles we were able to see our family and friends in Michigan. It was so nice to see everyone again and sit and catch up. The trip home went well until we got to Oklahoma. That's where we ran into this funny looking green stuff all over the ground. The dogs were scared to walk on it and when they did, it was like they were walking on needles.

Mikayla as Iago

Brianna and Chloe with G-Pa

 It turns out that it was grass, something we hadn't seen in 6 months. The poor dogs were so used to walking on sand that they didn't know what to do when we stopped at rest stops for breaks. I didn't know that dogs could walk on their tippy toes.  It took some time but they finally got used to walking on it again. After arriving home we parked in the driveway and mooched off Krista for about 3 weeks. I was able to make a few repairs to the motor home and change the oil and filter. I was also able to fix a few things around the house.

Krista, Chloe,Mikayla and Brianna

 We had the privilege to see our granddaughter Mikayla as Iago in the play Aladdin. We also had the chance to see her play soccer. Holly had time to have lunches/dinners with her friends and go with Beckie to find out we are going to have a new grandson in August.We had a family get together with everyone and had a chance to say good bye before we left again. Time passed quickly and then it was time to leave home and head to Sequim Washington.

John, Beckie and Cameron

Krista and John

 We had a good trip for the most part. We ran into a little warm weather in Nebraska (102), rain in Utah, but we did get to visit with Holly's sister Kim in Ogden, whom I haven't seen in many years. We went through  wind, rain. snow and fog in the Blue Mountains of Oregon.

Wendy, Mike, Heidi and Graysen

 After a long 5 days and 2500 miles we arrived in Washington and stayed with Holly's sister Debbie.  We spent a couple of days in her driveway and had a chance to visit with her and Holly's Aunt Lorrie. I haven't seen Debbie since 1987 and this is the first time I've met Lorrie. While there we went to Kent and visited with my sister Debby and her husband David and son Ryan. We left Lake Stevens on Sunday and arrived at Rainbow's End RV Park in Sequim after a short 3 hour drive. It's a pretty park; small with only 42 spaces. We've met the other volunteers, some of the campers and have done some training in the office.  I'm really happy that I'll be doing mostly outside work. We're set up and ready for what we hope will be a great 6 months of exploring.  We've gone a few places already... it's a beautiful area with gorgeous mountains and water so we can't wait to see more. We'll see you all next month!

Holly and Kim