Views of Sequim, the Olympic Peninsula. . .and beyond
We visited the newly repaired Railroad Bridge last Sunday morning. There was lots of traffic on the new trestle.
There were plenty of walkers and furry buds.
Runners blew past.
And lots of bicyclists, too. It was a wintry morning but plenty of people were enjoying the bridge again.
The new trestle on the Railroad Bridge has been completed, opened, and dedicated. After nearly a year since the old trestle was damaged in flooding, I can humbly say it was well worth the wait. Thank you, Jamestown S’Klallam!
The Jamestown S’Klallam tribe, which owns the property, led the $1.53 million replacement project and solicited grant funding to contribute to the work. The new steel span has fewer piers in the Dungeness River and was designed to help restore the river’s salmon habitat. Railings are high on the new deck but there are plans for an observation section.
S’Klallam tribal elders performed a blessing ceremony last week at the formal opening of the bridge. Cedar boughs were blessed and used as a ceremonial “ribbon” to cut and visitors at the ceremony brushed the sides of the bridge with boughs as they traversed. We are blessed to have this beautiful span which is also a link in the Olympic Discovery Trail.
Paved with fallen leaves.
Lit right even the more ordinary spots on a trail can lift a heart.
Last week we went to Neah Bay, the reservation of the Makah Tribe. It’s located at the far northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula and also the northwestern edge of the continental United States, a bit under three hour’s drive from Sequim. The area is remote. It’s reached via a two lane road that is notorious for washouts and mud slides. At the tip of the reservation is Cape Flattery, reached by a roughly half mile walk through a beautiful rain forest.
The terrain looks like hobbit habitat, or perhaps where you’d find an ewok from Star Wars, beautiful, wild and remote.
DH lived as a fisherman in Neah Bay for about two years but neither he nor I had been there for at least 20. I for one had forgotten that the trail is decidedly lumpy with roots as it descends to the Cape. And 20 years ago I didn’t have an unhappy knee and poor balance. The distance was not difficult but the terrain made me feel old and lame. It was, however, worth the effort. Tomorrow I’ll show you some of the views that rewarded us.
This is a view from a trail we walk nearly every day. On grey days it’s hidden behind clouds. When it’s clear like this there’s nothing better.
Nice weather last weekend brought lots of people out to the Olympic Discovery Trail. The trail, planned to traverse over 120 miles across the Olympic Peninsula, was begun in the 1990s. Over 50 miles of the trail have been completed. Walkers, runners and bicyclists favor this popular route.
This stretch of trail looks empty. That’s only because the groups of bicyclists on the trail here zipped by faster than I could catch them.