Category: Day Trip

Ghost signs

A week ago a post on cAt Picture/Day about ghost signs reminded me of the sign, above, in Port Townsend, one of my favorite day trips from Sequim. Ghost signs or brick ads are relics of advertising painted on brick buildings that survive over time. Early signage of this sort began in the 1890s, which coincides with the boom period of downtown Port Townsend.

I saw this wall in the early 1980s on my first visit to Port Townsend. Over the years, though I didn’t have many visual memories of the town I remembered this sign vividly and I have a film image of it somewhere.

The two best surviving ghost signs that I found last Friday were for tobacco. Considering tobacco’s historic place in the U.S. economy I suppose it shouldn’t be surprising that they’re both large and durable, though it looks as if Owl’s pricing may have changed over time.

I’ll post more pictures from my trip to Port Townsend later this week.

Theme Day – Action shot


City Daily Photo’s Theme Day today is “Action shot.” This barrel racing photo was taken at the Rodeo at Clallam County Fair in August. I loved this competition and the beautiful teamwork of horse and rider. If you’d like to see other action shots from this event, click here. Other events included bareback riding and bull riding.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

The road home


If you drive east from the Olympic Peninsula chances are good that you’ll cross the Hood Canal Bridge. State Route 104 is the main way that locals get to and from the Kitsap Peninsula, the Seattle ferries, and similar points southeast. Many of us feel a palpable sense of homecoming when we’re across the bridge and back on the Olympic Peninsula. This is a view of the eastern span of the bridge from the northwest shore. It shows roughly half the bridge.

Officially known as the William A. Bugge Bridge, the span is the world’s longest floating bridge located in a saltwater tidal basin and the third longest floating bridge. A section of the 7,869 foot span opens to accommodate passing ships.

The bridge was opened in 1961 and sank in a severe windstorm in 1979. It was repaired and reopened in 1982. It was most recently closed for upgrades in 2009, causing a fair amount of angst for travelers. Average usage as of 2007 was about 16,400 vehicles a day.

Eagle watch


What’s not to like about staying next door to a national wildlife refuge? The New Dungeness Light Station borders on the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge that is visited by over 250 species of birds, 41 species of land mammals, and eight species of marine mammals. We regularly saw three eagles that ranged about on the south side of the Light Station grounds and I was told by one volunteer that sightings can range up to a dozen at a time. Not too shabby!

The wildlife seems to know the boundaries of the Light Station and generally kept well beyond the signs that keep visitors out of the 631 acre refuge. Our best sightings were airborne.

There are two favored perches beyond the boundaries of the light station, both of which made me envy the 400 mm. lenses of friends.

Up you go

I didn’t count them but I recall being told there were 74 stairs up to the light room at the New Dungeness Lighthouse. The Lighthouse sees about 5,000 visitors per year, many of whom walk ten miles roundtrip on the Dungeness Spit to get there. Two visitors who came during our stint ran the last mile and several were into their 60s and 70s. It helps renew my faith in the fitness of U.S. citizens.

This open ladder is the final ascent into the light room of the Station.

Tomorrow we’ll look at the Keeper’s Quarters.

The light

The Strait of Juan de Fuca is a busy shipping channel and the Dungeness Spit is a serious navigational hazard as ships head into and out of Puget Sound and the more northerly straits leading to Canada. The New Dungeness Lighthouse flashes a beam of light that can be seen for 17 miles in clear weather, 12 times a minute and 17,280 times per day.

The lighthouse tower was originally 100 feet tall and the light was fueld by lard oil and magnified by a third order Fresnel lens. The tower was lowered to 63 feet in 1927 because of structural damage. The current light is a rotating six-sided bull’s-eye prism and is completely automated. The U.S. Coast Guard still changes the lights inside while the New Dungeness Light Station Association (NDLSA) maintains the building, grounds, and infrastructure of the Station.


The environment on Dungeness Spit, where the lighthouse is located, is harsh. NDLSA has been replacing the unique, curved windows of the lighthouse. You can see above what time and the elements have done to them. The Association spends about $100,000 a year on upkeep and has a long to-do list. Funds come from keeper stays, donations, and grants. Despite its age, the Light Station remains clean and beautiful. As volunteer keepers we were allowed full access to the light and the exterior catwalk around the light room. Payback? My husband polished all the brass in the room and the stairwell, renewing a relationship with Brasso that he hadn’t had since his Navy days.