Category: Day Trip

The pulp mill

It’s nestled off the main road into town, but you can see the Port Townsend Paper Corporation facility from Old Fort Townsend State Park. After Port Townsend’s economic boom and bust cycles of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the mill’s arrival saved the local economy and provided needed jobs. This facility produces kraft and containerboard papers. I know there are scrubbers and various controls to protect the environment, but sometimes you can really smell this place as you drive by, as we did just yesterday. If you’ve never smelled a pulp mill, count yourself lucky.

The esplanade, 2 of 2

Yesterday I showed you a view of the new esplanade in Port Angeles. This is one of the benches now installed along the street level above the esplanade. I like clean, contemporary design and like the look of these new benches. (The day’s rain discouraged me from trying it on for comfort.)

The benches face out toward the Coast Guard station on Ediz Hook, and, beyond that, Victoria and Vancouver Island, B.C. Some people have pointed out that the enclosures around the benches block the view. I think wind protection was part of the design consideration though I’m not really sure what drove the decisions.

The esplanade, 1 of 2

Port Angeles, Sequim’s western next door neighbor, recently completed a new esplanade at its downtown waterfront. This is the area where the Black Ball Ferry comes and goes from Victoria, B.C. and is a gateway for ferry visitors as well as occasional cruise ship passengers.

This previously was a pretty ordinary sidewalk along a street that edges the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The upgrade definitely kicks it up a notch. Now, if we could only get some blue skies again to brighten it up a bit. . .

Yep, it’s a rainforest alright!

We spent one night at Kalaloch Campground in Olympic National Park. And we woke up to pouring rain.

We knew we were camping in the rainforest. And we discovered after we made our plans that rain was predicted. But we were hopeful. In Sequim the microclimates are varied enough that predictions are often wrong. Nonetheless, in an area that gets well over 100 inches of rain each year, wet is predictable and wet is what we got.

Here’s a small waterfall running down to the beach from near the campground area. I didn’t take a lot of pictures. My camera’s not designed for underwater photography.

On the road again

We planned a trip on admittedly short notice. While still on the injured list, the vet reduced our dog’s “no walks!” orders, allowing us to take off camping in our last open window of time anywhere close to summer. And the day we planned the trip was sunny, warm, and flawless. A trip along Washington’s Pacific Coast? Perfect!

This was sunset on our first night out, at Kalaloch Campground in Olympic National Park, about three hours drive west and south of Sequim. Kalaloch (pronounced CLAY-lock) is one of the few dog-friendly units in Olympic Park, meaning our pooch could legally walk with us to the beach, down a short trail from the campground. It’s a beautiful, seemingly endless expanse of sand punctuated with driftwood logs. At night campers drift off to sleep with the sound of waves dashed endlessly on shore. Sweet!

Point Wilson Lighthouse

Point Wilson juts like a thumb into the Admiralty Inlet. It’s in Fort Worden State Park, just northeast of Port Townsend. It is operated by the Coast Guard and not open to the public. I posted a picture of it here, taken south of the light station. The view above is from North Beach in Port Townsend, from the west looking east.

Here’s a pictorial view of “why lighthouses are important.” Coming from the Pacific through the Strait of Juan De Fuca, ships turn right here, pass through Admiralty Inlet, and head south into Puget Sound. There’s another lighthouse across the Inlet, fittingly named “Admiralty Head Lighthouse,” located at historic Fort Casey. The distance between them is less than four miles. The perspective here plays a part, but doesn’t the lighthouse look small compared to the ship?