We arrived in Port Angeles late Saturday afternoon. We had to go west, then south, back through Seattle and Tacoma, then north again, back up the Kitsap Peninsula, then west to Port Angeles. We could have taken the ferry, but it would have been about $300 – our length with the camper and our width would have taken two lanes, so twice the price. So smokey, we couldn’t even see the Olympic Mountains. Sunday we rested and drove around Port Angeles and into the Visitor’s Center for the park outside of Port Angeles. The smoke has been awful. Many people are wearing masks and some people have said they had ash on their cars. This smoke is blowing down from British Columbia. Monday, we rode back into Port Angeles to make reservations for the whale watching tour and they had canceled the one we wanted for today because of the smoke. So, they had openings on the one for Monday afternoon. That’s the one we went on – 4 1/2 hours. We went into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, into the Salish Sea, and into Canadian waters. It was still smokey, but we could see the water and we did see two humpback whales. We also saw seals and sea lions. It was great and when the sun started setting, it was cold. We had jackets with us, but we weren’t dressed for the trip. We both had on shorts, although Tony had some long pants in the truck.
Our whale watching boat.
The US Coast Guard, off a spit across from Port Angeles, is the oldest Coast Guard station on the west coast.
Pictures from the whale watching tour. Will post more later. Technical difficulties – loading everything very slowly and getting late.
Today, we visited Sequim (pronounced Squim). Still very, very smokey. We extended our stay here for two days because the smoke is supposed to lift tomorrow evening and we want to ride up Hurricane Ridge (in the park) and be able to see the bay. Sequim is known for growing lavender and it was also a favorite destination for John Wayne on his yacht. He always envisioned a marina here, and before he died, he donated land for a marina. We are sitting here typing this because we don’t have fast internet or cell service to hot spot at the camper. We are driving west tomorrow, up the coastline and Thursday we are going to the Sol Duc Hot Springs and Hurricane Ridge, then we live Port Angeles Friday for Forks (where much of the Twilight movies and series was filmed).
Some pics from the harbor in Port Angeles.
GA Gypsies - Fulltiming 