Category: Beyond the Olympic Peninsula

Jetlag

Distance-wise, we took a pretty long trip. Time-wise, it seemed even longer. By my watch, we were up 24 hours from pillow to pillow as we headed home. I know people do it all the time, but I’m not used to it. I’m beginning to speak in whole sentences again and I’ve slept an entire night or two. Things are looking up.

“Hey, you wanna see my vacation pictures?” usually sets people’s teeth on edge. I took over 450 of them. But, really, I know you’re curious. I went away just so you could have a change of scenery. Come back tomorrow and I’ll show you where we went. We’ll have fun. I promise.

Fisherman’s memorial

This is a memorial in Gig Harbor to local fishermen who were lost at sea. It’s one of those dangerous professions people don’t always think about as they enjoy a salmon dinner.

I’m grateful someone’s willing to do it, someone who loves the sea, is willing to work hard, and not only risk their life but their fortunes to harvest food. And I’m really, really grateful my husband got that out of his system before I met him.

Fall colors

Here’s a tiny splash of fall colors as seen at Gig Harbor last week. Gig Harbor is a pretty town located on the Kitsap Peninsula, not far from Tacoma.

Early rains and occasional wind has beaten up some of the native trees around Sequim and I haven’t had a lot of time lately for picture scouting. There’s color to be found, but it seems like it’s always been in the rearview mirror these days.

Distant mountains – Mt. Rainier

Yesterday I showed you Mt. Baker in the Cascade Range east of Sequim. Here’s another majestic peak from the same range, Mt. Rainier. It is further south in the Cascades and not in view from Sequim. I took this shot last week from Gig Harbor on the Kitsap Peninsula. Rainier can be seen on clear days from Seattle and often can be seen from Portland, OR.

According to Wikipedia, Mt. Rainier has a number of superlatives. It is the highest mountain in Washington State and the Cascade Range with a summit elevation of 14,411 feet. What’s chilling, however, is this Wikipedia statement, “Mt. Rainier is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, and it is on the Decade Volcano list.” The Decade Volcano list notes that such volcanos are “worthy of particular study in light of their history of large, destructive eruptions and proximity to populated areas.” It is classified in the company of other volcanoes you may have heard of: Vesuvius, Sanforini, Mauna Loa, and Etna.

Distant mountains – Mt. Baker

Sometimes hidden but always present, the Olympic Mountains are a touchstone when you live in Sequim. Sunny day? Good! There are the Olympics.

The Cascade Mountains east of here are another story. It takes an extra clear day to see Mt. Baker and even then it usually looks ghostly. The forested lower part of the peak recedes from view, leaving the snow capped crest appearing to float. Mt. Baker is the third highest mountain in Washington State at 10,781 feet.

This shot is sort of cheating because it was taken from Marrowstone Island, which is east of Sequim and closer to Mt. Baker. It still has that dreamy, ethereal look to it but you can see Baker a little better than you can from Sequim. Full disclosure: I boosted the contrast on this shot to strengthen the image. Even from Marrowstone Island Mt. Baker presents a faded view.