Category: Places to take visitors

Battery Kinzie, Ft. Worden

An entryway into the Past

While touring a WWII battery may not be first on your list of fun things to do, think again…the batteries at Ft. Worden are so unique, mysterious and thought provoking that a visit just might change your mind about “fun”.

Considering the colorful and expressionistic graffiti on most of the walls, some have gone so far as to compare it to an art gallery; children see it as a playground; photographers and artists consider it an endless opportunity for discovery and self expression, and you and maybe your out of town guests may have your own description, but I’m sure it will be positive.

Considering its proximity to Pt. Wilson Lighthouse, Pt. Townsend, and the Strait of Juan De Fuca, one can spend all day, several days, or even a week exploring them, and the entire area, and never tire.

So if you too are looking for some fun activity, a place to take your friends, and a new experience this weekend or whenever, you don’t need to look far from home.

Sea Lion Sunday

This is really getting a jump on the season, but when I got an email from Puget Sound Express yesterday announcing their March whale watching trips, it got me browsing through my photos to relive a trip we took with them in 2021.

In 2021, whale watching boats were required to maintain a distance of 200 yards, and given that, I had come prepared with my longest telephoto lens, as well as a collection of others to ensure I wouldn’t miss a shot.

While cruising the Salish Sea searching for orcas, humpbacks, and grays, these sea lions kept us entertained by barking, twisting and turning on the rocks, and sending occasional waves with flips of their tails; and when the captain stopped the boat, I knew we’d be getting our monies worth.

Within what seemed like minutes, a humpback was swimming directly under our boat and within such close proximity to me that my longest lens was way tooooo long. Anxious to get some shots, I had to make a quick trip inside the cabin to change lenses, while dodging a crowd of onlookers, and navigating a rocking boat.

Back on deck, the crowd had dispersed, along with the whale, but I found my husband holding a railing, drenched from head to toe from the spray of the whale’s blowhole!

As I burst into laughter, we both relived an experience where years earlier, when I had fallen head over heels into the water at Des Moines Marina when he had taken a sharp turn with our boat…

and while I refrained from shouting, “touché” I did try to help him dry off – even while he reeked from the smell of the whale. So the moral of the story is…go, but when you go, remember your rain gear!

Dungeness River Nature Center Trestle

Another favorite spot for many us is the Nature Center, and although I photographed it in spring, the infrared/sepia treatment I applied to it almost makes it appear like snow on the trees.

If you haven’t visited the center, or haven’t since the new building and landscaping redesign, then you’re truly missing what is now one of Sequim’s most beautiful attractions.

As stated on their website at https://dungenessrivercenter.org/about-us/our-story/, “The Dungeness River Nature Center’s mission is to inspire understanding, respect, and stewardship of our natural and cultural resources”. And the trestle still stands a bridge between Sequim’s past and its present.

Eye to Eye

Once you fall in love with horses, there’s no going back.

Although one of the most frightening but also funny (afterwards) experiences of my life involved riding one, I now use my camera to express my love for them.

This particular beauty was being unloaded from a trailer parked at the Dungeness Recreation Area one day. Her owner was quite proud of her, and rightly so. Not only was she beautiful, but gentle, well cared for, and more than happy to transport her rider along the numerous trails that traverse the park.

And her owner, was careful to pick up after her, a trait I see with every horse owner I’ve met, and to keep the trail and the park a welcoming natural area for all who visit.