The whale bone

This unnamed sculpture by Alex Anderson is installed at Valley Creek Estuary Park in Port Angeles. If you’re not familiar with whale physiology it’s styled after a whale vertebrae. The scale of the piece is substantial. It weighs seven tons and is 12 feet tall and four feet thick. It was a $65,000 gift to Port Angeles by an anonymous donor.

Art or energy?

These three wind turbines were installed last September at Waterfront Park in Port Angeles, Sequim’s westerly neighboring town. The first time I saw them I thought they were pretty dramatic sculptures. Which, actually, they may well be. Or not. They may also generate power.

There’s some controversy around these units. City officials thought they could generate power for lighting in the park. But they also wanted art…and nobody’s actually sure how much wind power they may harvest. They’re not rotating for now. Port Angeles is involved in “an inspection-related dispute with the manufacturer.”

Port Angeles

PA western bluff

Port Angeles is the next city west of Sequim. Like Sequim, it’s located on the Strait of Juan de Fuca but the city of Port Angeles rises from a deep water harbor and overlooks the Strait. This view shows part of the western residential area of the city. Part of a new waterfront promenade is at the lower left of the photo.

Coincidentally to this post, our local newspaper, Peninsula Daily News, yesterday announced that The Smithsonian has placed Port Angeles on its 2016 list of best small towns. The list is comprised of locations near favorite national parks “worthy of a visit.” Port Angeles is considered by many the “gateway” city to Olympic National Park which lies to its south.