Views of Sequim, the Olympic Peninsula. . .and beyond
These steel whales are not far from the whale bone sculpture I showed you yesterday at Valley Creek Estuary Park in Port Angeles. It was one of those days when I failed to note any information. You’d think I’d know better by now. And I can’t find information about it online.
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.
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.”
This is a shot from the bluffs looking westward toward Port Angeles. And it’s as much about what you see here as what you don’t. I’d no sooner turned off my camera and slipped it back into my jacket than an eagle flew past at eye level.
Fishermen aren’t the only ones who talk about the one that got away.
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.
One of the nice things about Sequim is the ease – and pleasure – of travel to Canada. A 90 minute ferry ride on the Black Ball Ferry M.V. Coho takes travelers across the international border into Victoria B.C.
Day trip or longer, it’s like travel in the olden days of the last century. Dare I say it? You don’t have to remove your shoes, belts, keys, or day packs as stern people x-ray you and your gear for overly large bottles of shampoo or lotion. The lineup for customs isn’t onerous and the agents are even polite, if not pleasant. It’s a welcome throwback.
I’ll show you some of what I saw on my recent trip to Victoria in the coming days.
“Avenue of the People” is a series of metal sculptures created by Bob Stokes and installed on Laurel Street in Port Angeles.
There are over a dozen sculptures along the two block length of the street, including this pregnant woman.
The downtown area of Port Angeles is peppered with pieces of public art like this. It enlivens the area.