Views of Sequim, the Olympic Peninsula. . .and beyond
Although there were fewer avalanche lilies on Hurricane Ridge last Saturday, butterflies were making the most of them. I think this is a Hydaspe fritillary but don’t hold me to it. I didn’t verify it at the visitor center.
Here’s an avalanche lily, the object of much butterfly attention.
We’ve had visitors lately and one of the “must see” places to go is Hurricane Ridge. We visited two weeks ago. The wildflowers were so breathtaking it wouldn’t have been surprising to see Julie Andrews cresting the hill singing, “The hills are alive with the sound of m-u-u-u-u-sic.”
I’d brought along my camera bag but with the hubub of organizing our small group, well. . .one lens made it and the camera stayed home, hiding under a hat. So here is a view, taken a week later. The lupine are still there but the great swath of avalanche lilies was much diminished. This view is looking north. Below is Port Angeles and beyond is the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
We went to Hurricane Ridge a second time last Saturday. The camera made it this trip. It was a sunny day. A weekend. And it’s August. Suffice it to say we were not alone.
Another one of these evening views that lifts my heart.
I saw the name of this place in the newspaper recently, then spied it a few days later. With its bright colors, it shouldn’t be hard to miss. It’s across the parking lot from the Coop on Washington Street and from the looks of it seems to be doing well. The building itself appears to be a converted gas station convenience store; it is steps from gas pumps.
I didn’t have a chance to stop in and sample the fare. Our latest set of summer visitors was due to arrive soon.
The front of this barn faces onto a road I travel regularly. It’s a pretty spread with a home I admire. I recently approached it from another direction and discovered these three vintage cars, presumably waiting for attention. All are Fords. My husband estimates they are probably a 1950, 1954, and 1955. Then he launched into a nostalgic story about sleeping in the back of one of these many, many years ago.
In our early days together hubby regularly waved at passing old cars saying, “I had one of those!” He bought many for $25, tinkered with them, and then drove them until they ran out of drive.
I saw this display recently in a shop in Port Townsend.
Sock monkeys! I haven’t seen these things in a good many years. These were toys that moms made when I was a child. It’s nice to see them again. And I wonder if anyone’s mother still makes them.
Did you ever have one of these? What was your favorite toy as a child?
Patricia, one of our locals, mentioned this spot to me a while back: the tree tunnel. I didn’t realize that she was referring to this spot until I went looking for it down the street she mentioned. “Oh, yes! This place! Of course!” I pass it all the time. This is a private road, an entrance to a homesite. It is as enigmatic as it looks: dark, narrow, and even a little foreboding. And there is a “No Trespassing” sign near the first tree.
You’ve got to stand back at some distance to see the full length of the trees. From the north you can see a home at the end of the drive. It doesn’t look at all like the Addams Family spooky mansion you might expect but you wouldn’t know that from the street.