Views of Sequim, the Olympic Peninsula. . .and beyond
This sculpture is located near the Port Angeles waterfront. It’s aptly titled “Rocktopus,” designed by Oliver Strong with mosaic by Maureen Wall. I didn’t take a closeup but noticed that the chain barrier is sporting love locks which I guess even the rural Olympic Peninsula can’t escape.
Our local MV COHO ferry celebrated her 60th birthday yesterday. The COHO is the Black Ball Ferry Line vessel that travels a 90 minute passage between Port Angeles, Washington and Victoria, British Columbia, my favorite means of international travel.
In her 60 years Black Ball notes that the COHO has carried over 26 million passengers and 7 million vehicles. She has a reliability record of 99.99%.
A chief reason COHO does so well is that she is taken out of service for maintenance for a month each year. She’ll be in drydock in 2020 from January 6th to February 6th.
Merry Christmas! I hope your day is filled with brightness and love however you choose to celebrate.
Another tree detail from the yearly Festival of Trees fundraiser for Olympic Medical Center and Hospital.
…a lot like any holiday you choose to celebrate. Two that come to mind: Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas! And Kwanzaa is soon. Ready?
This is detail from a tree at Festival of Trees, a yearly fundraiser held for our Olympic Medical Center and Hospital.
This is a view of the hospital at Olympic Medical Center that you can only get from the water.
Located in Port Angeles, this is Sequim’s nearest hospital, a 67-bed acute care facility and level 3 emergency department. They can handle a lot of our basic needs but serious trauma and more specialized surgery and care means a trip to Seattle.
This photo was taken from the Black Ball Ferry on the way to Victoria. I don’t know what the crane was doing but it’s not a permanent fixture.
The Peninsula College Longhouse multipurpose room has Native American artwork on display. This is “Portrait of an Ancestor” by Makah artist Greg Colfax.
This is “Wild Woman of the Woods” by another Makah artist, Micah McCarty. I’ve heard a couple of versions of the wild woman legend this represents. They seem to center around fierce old women who lurk in the woods, ready to snatch up bad children.
This grouse feather fan was one of two on display at the Makah Regalia Exhibit in the Longhouse at Peninsula College. Fans have significance in Native American dance ceremonies and can be used to dispatch prayers to the heavens. They are also used in smudging or purification ceremonies to circulate purifying smoke.
Two of these beautiful fans are on exhibit with a vest displaying a Makah family design. The red shapes are the profiles of traditional Northwest dugout rowing boats. I believe the silver shapes represent whale tails.
It’s necessary to squeeze behind the display case to see the back of the vest but its distinctive design is well worth the effort.