Day 2 - Off to Olympic! Port Townsend & Port Angeles

Today our vacation really cranks itself up - plenty of sights to see!

We got a good early start with a bagel and coffee driving out to the Olympic Peninsula via Hwy 16 and 104 up to Port Townsend, a beautiful and historic, Victorian seaport. A quick stop at the visitor's center provided us with a map detailing a scenic driving tour. The guide highlights much of the history of the town and its people, as well as pointing out the major landmarks.

We followed the self-guided tour past Kah Tai Lagoon Park and on up to Fort Warden State Park including a stroll along the beach of Point Wilson. Then you wind through the residential streets of Port Townsend skipping from one old Victorian home to the next. Consistent with the era, each home has its own distinct character - dormers, towers, peaks and details. All of the homes are in use today, either as private residences or, as with many, Bed & Breakfast lodgings. The self-guided tour map tells the significance and the history of each of the original owners and their relation to Port Townsend. 

 Be sure to make a short stop at Chetzemoka Park, named for a prominent S'Klallam chief. Its winding paths and lush foliage is popular with locals and tourists alike. There is easy access to the beach. And it is a nice place for a picnic or just a 15 minute stroll.

After completing the self-guided tour we parked the car at one end of downtown browsed the shops. There are the normal tourist-type wares being sold, but there are also some unique gifts and local crafts. After walking the length of town and back we plopped ourselves down in a small park at the wharf and ate our own picnic lunch - enjoying the sunshine and fending off the seagulls and ravens.

After lunch we headed towards Port Angeles, our destination for the next couple of days. We took a very nice scenic detour through Sequim and out to the Dungeness National Wildlife Preserve. There is a lot of pretty, green, rolling country and open farm land that we didn't expect to see on the Olympic Peninsula. If you have the time, this is a nice scenic drive.

Arriving in Port Angeles we checked into our hotel and dumped our luggage. Then we perused the visitor's center gathering information on Victoria and the ferry schedules. We made some plans with the help of the friendly staff.

Then it was time to catch some of the evening light. We worked our way down Highway 101 to the Elwha River entrance of Olympic National Park. The trailhead to Madison Falls is just past the park entrance and it is a very short, easy walk to the falls. This is a prime example of the lush vegetation present in Olympic National Park. You can view just about every shade of green that you could imagine (and even some of those you wouldn't expect). This gave us just a taste of what was in store for us the next few days.

After viewing the falls we drove most of the length of the road in this section of the park and the twilight hours gave us a rare wildlife viewing opportunity. Coming around a blind corner in the road we encountered a doe black tailed deer and her two very young fawns. My wife, Kim, took this shot from the car window in the very low light.

After a short trip back to Port Angeles, an excellent Mexican food dinner at Hacienda del Mar, and a brisk evening walk, we were ready to call it quits for the day.