Category: Port Angeles

Cruise season

American Spirit

The 205-foot American Spirit was docked in Port Angeles the other day, one of 20 Puget Sound cruises that include the Olympic Peninsula this spring and fall. Passengers from these cruises will disembark for excursions to Olympic National Park’s Hurricane Ridge or Lake Crescent or walking tours of Port Angeles.

Larger ships carrying an estimated 1800 passengers from the Holland America line will also visit Port Angeles this summer.

Many large cruise ships pass through the Strait of Juan de Fuca on their way to and from Alaska. Businesses in the region are pleased to be included on the itineraries of Holland America and American Spirit.

[In case you’re wondering, American Spirit doesn’t have a cap atop its red, white, and blue stack. That is the roof of an observation tower on a nearby pier.]

Getting around in Port Angeles

This shot was taken looking uphill in Port Angeles, Sequim’s western neighbor city.

In the early 1900s the hills leading to downtown were intentionally flushed away by sluicing to make it easier to get to town businesses. The downtown area was also elevated to raise it above the nearby beach. The slurry from the hill removal was dammed along the downtown streets and the lower stories of businesses eventually became today’s underground Port Angeles as the street level was filled in and raised. Uphill, this left bluffs and this walkway (and stairs, elsewhere) as one means of getting up and down.

More Than Frybread

Last month as part of Native American Heritage Month, the local Elwha Klallam Tribe hosted a screening of a film called “More Than Frybread.” We’d not been to the Tribal Center, a beautiful building in Port Angeles, and the movie sounded like fun. It was – fun and very funny. A mockumentary on the first ever state frybread championship in Arizona, it profiled and followed contestants before and through the competition. The characters were all well drawn and well acted and the film was full of wry humor.

We love frybread and have great memories of finding a couple of frybread stands in very remote areas of the Southwest. There is nothing like fresh, hot frybread when you’ve been out camping for days and driving for hours in the high desert. That was some years ago and the thought of seeing it on film filled us with nostalgia. I can’t tell you how thrilled we were when our Elwha hosts announced before the film that a batch of frybread was out and ready to eat. Heaven! A great movie and frybread, too. Life is good.

Festival of Trees

The annual Festival of Trees was held last weekend in Port Angeles. It is the biggest fundraiser for our Olympic Medical Center and monies raised are used to purchase equipment and provide continuing education for staff.

The Festival of Trees is a big event supported by many local businesses. There are a number of events over the three day festival including a Teddy Bear tea for children and parents, a family breakfast, and family day viewings of festival trees. The centerpiece is the Festival of Trees Gala where decorated trees, many with bonus “premiums,” are auctioned at a formal gourmet buffet dinner. Details from some of the trees are shown above, lovely creations that are themed by local designers and sponsored by businesses and community members. This year roughly 50 trees were auctioned for well over $90,000. Premiums accompanying the trees included travel packages, wine, local services, sports and cultural events.