Exciting night last night.... I heard voices out the bedroom window about midnight (strange cause we were the only ones there - I thought). When I looked out 2 police cars were parked two sites away and they were talking to someone. Apparently this guy thought he would sleep on the picnic bench! They talked for a while and then the guy left (for parts unknown....). Not much gets missed in these small towns.
This morning we are retracing our steps a little on Rte 112 S to Rte 101 N in Sappho. We were advised Rte 112 E was not a good road for RVs. We stopped for breakfast at the Hungry Bear Cafe in Sappho. Today is a pretty ride with fantastic mountain views. There are signs in the forest areas telling when the trees were planted, harvested, and the planned next harvest. Markers divide the forest into sections. Rolling through the Sol Duc Valley we wind our way down from the mountains and enter the northern edge of Olympic National Park. We will be in and out of the park for the next week or so as we follow Rte 101. The road curves along gorgeous Lake Crescent. With pristinely clear, teal-tinted water and majestic mountains that roll right into the lake it was a great place to take a break. Lake Crescent is one of the deepest lakes in Washington state at nearly 650 feet. The bottom is 100 feet below sea-level.
Coming out of the woods we followed the Elwa River and as we came over the crest of a hill below us was the town of Port Angeles tucked between the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Olympic Mountain Range. Port Angeles is known as "the Center of It All" because within the city about 19,000 of the county's 70,400 residents live there. The name is derived from the Spanish who explored the Strait in the 1790's. Port Angeles is the gateway to the Olympic National Park and Forest.
As we continued on to Sequim (pronounced Skwim) Mt Clark (7,528) and Mt Deception (7,788) loomed over us. Sequim sits in the rain shadow of the 8,000-foot Olympic Mountains. It is one of the driest places in Western Washington, receiving an average of 16 inches of rain annually. Sequim is known as the "Lavender Capital of North America" and has a large Lavender Festival in July that brings over 30,000 people to town. Sequim is a sunny happy place as they're fortunate to have an average of 300 days of sunshine. (Nice change from our rainy Oregon coast drive...) Continuing down 101 we passed many lavender and herb farms and soon turned onto Diamond Point Rd which leads to Sequim Bay and our next campground.
The park is nice and we have a view of the mountains. It's sunny and warm here - today is the first day I've been out of my polar fleece! As we pulled into the park two Black Tail Deer were grazing in one of the RV sites. They didn't seem concerned and eventually wandered off into the trees.
About 2:30 we took off for Lost Mountain Lavender Farm. The lavender isn't blooming yet but we visited the gift shop and learned alot about lavender. Sequim is recognized internationally as a main supplier of Lavender. There are many different types and some are used for cooking. We bought a sachet for the bathroom and some lavender honey and then roamed the grounds enjoying the garden and flowering trees.
Our next stop was the Dungeness Wildlife Refuge. We hiked the 1/2 mile trail through the conifer forest down to the Dungeness Spit. The Spit is one of the world's longest natural sand spits which runs 5.5 miles and grows about 20 feet per year. This is home to more than 250 species of birds, 41 species of land mammals and eith species of marine animals. We didn't walk the whole 5 miles out to the lighthouse, but we ambled along looking at the huge pieces of beautiful driftwood, some of which had been made into lean-to's, and watching the birds along the shore. Walking up to the top of a rise I saw a young bald eagle standing on the beach. Unfortunately I startled him and he took off, he was amazing to watch as he rose into the air and the wing span on these birds is unbelievable. It was a real treat.
On the way back through town we stopped at the Hiway 101 Diner. This was a real 50's place and we had burgers and shakes.
Today was another neat adventure.
Pictures: Lost Mountain Lavender Farm (2), Dungeness Spit Beach, Dungeness Spit (2), Dungeness Spit Lean-to
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