Varied Skies

Our trek to the west coast continued as we left Seattle, looped around the Puget Sound, soared across the remains of Galloping Gertie, motored up the Kitsap Peninsula, and crossed the floating bridge at Hood Canal to the north side of the Olympic Peninsula. The glacier capped mountains of Olympic National Park called and we camped just outside Port Angeles to explore the area. We would soon discover that Olympic offers more than mountains.

Hurricane Ridge looms high to the south of Port Angeles. It would test our mettle. But first we explored the Visitor Center and enjoyed the majestic views of Mt. Olympus, partially obscured by a thin veil of smoke from unseen wildfires on the south side of the park.

We attended a Ranger talk about local wildlife, including bears, mountain lions, and deer.

That knowledge proved handy as we traversed the Hurricane Ridge Trail. In particular, we managed to evade charging deer as we huffed and puffed up the trail.

After that bit of excitement, only the continuous climb to the summit threatened to derail our adventure.

With lungs honed over two decades of office work, I reached the peak after multiple stops, but minimal cursing. Bellyaching from the crew in tow provided regular indication of sufficient lung capacity, but waning desire, to complete the hike. All persevered and reaped the reward of their effort.

We gazed across the Strait of Juan de Fuca toward Victoria, British Columbia.

Two Olympic Marmots sunned themselves on the cliff below.

Whipped from our Hurricane Ridge trek, we planned to spend our second day in Port Angeles relaxing and knocking out school lessons. Salt Creek Recreation Area, a county park just down the road from our campsite, looked like it would be a good and relatively quick outing to break-up the day. Salt Creek rivaled even the best state and national parks.

Salt Creek wowed us with tidal pools teeming with life.

Sea Urchins

Sea Stars

Sea AnemonesA bald eagle swooped in for lunch just yards from our tide pooling spot on Tongue Point.

A grey whale periodically surfaced in Crescent Bay, shooting his water-spout high in the air, but evading electronic capture. There’s a whale out there somewhere…

Best Recess Ever.

Across the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Port Angeles lies Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, Canada. A 90-minute ride on the ferry Coho deposits you in Victoria’s beautiful inner harbor, near the British Columbia Parliament Building and The Empress Hotel.

We hopped a public bus that for a mere $10 round-trip whisked the entire crew the 15 miles to Butchart Gardens, a National Historic Site of Canada. The transit authority did not charge extra for the 25 miles actually covered or the multiple, unnarrated, brief scenic stops along the way. The Butchart Boar greeted our arrival and the kids rubbed its snout for good luck.

M and L peeled off for Tea in the dining room while M3 and I enjoyed the delights of an establishment not worthy of a picture.

At first disappointed in the Garden’s failure to label the plants and flowers, we eventually took pleasure in studying the field guide, critically examining each species, and attempting to identify them. Looking at the field guide, we all liked Fuchsia.  Fortunately, that proved an easy find.

The garden impressed with its variety and volume of colorful flowers, plants, shrubs, and trees.

The kids meditated in the Japanese Garden.

Back in the inner harbor, we quickly toured The Empress and dined at an immobile food “truck” with an outstanding view of harbor activity.

Then we cruised home.

Not a bad day in Canada, eh?