The Rest of Sequim

Sequim is a great town, and we had a wonderful parking spot at the Grange. One day, 3 of us went to Fort Worden in Port Townsend. There's a really nice walk around the peninsula.

People build little shelters on the beach out of the driftwood. And what do I see in the distance???

Point Wilson Lighthouse! It wasn't open, but it was still a lighthouse - one of my favorite things!

We saw a cute little otter on the dock in town.

Then went to eat at the Sirens restaurant in town - fantastic food and view.

On another day, we took the ferry from Port Townsend to Whidbey Island, a short distance away.

In the distance, you can just make out Mt. Baker.

The ferry docks right next to Fort Casey.

Forts are another of my favorite things.

They even had the disappearing gun, which lowered after shooting.

And does it get any better than this! The Admiralty Head Lighthouse is also on the grounds.

On yet another day, we hiked out onto the Dungeness Spit. Lots of beautiful driftwood here.

And waaaaay out there is yet another lighthouse. I wasn't willing to walk the five miles each way, so -

I zoomed in with my new camera.

Hiking on Top of the World!

One day while we were in Sequim, WA, 4 of us went on one of the best hikes I've ever done. From the Hurricane Ridge Visitors Center in Olympic National Park, we drove 8 miles on a scary dirt road to Obstruction Point.

I'm glad Lyn was driving on the wrong side of the road...

There were great views of the Olympic Mountains on our drive.

And lots of Fireweed along the road, and even a photo-bombing bee.

Several trails take off from the end of the road, but we are going to hike the Deer Park trail up to the top of the ridge on the right.

There were lots of nice flowers along the trail.

And some interesting rock formations.

WOW!

More flowers, looking down into the valley where one of the other trails went.

A panorama shot of the ridge where we had lunch, showing the views in both directions.

After lunch we continued on. Our goal is the knob in the upper right.

We made it! Mara's a great poser.

From the top we could see Mt. Baker in the far distance.

And over the ridge, we could see the Dungeness Spit and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, with Canada on the other side.

There was a marmot up there, posing while we whistled at him.

And we got a view of the fire that was burning in the park.

Time to head back down.

The trail is really steep in some places.

When we were driving out, we were met by a fire vehicle, who told us to keep moving. Turns out the road was closed because of the fire.

It had grown some while we were hiking, and there were lots of fire personnel around as we were leaving. Glad we made it out!

Wild Animals WAAAAY Too Close!

From Gig Harbor, we moved on to Sequim, WA on the Olympic Peninsula.

Our first outing was to the Olympic Game Farm. The Farm worked exclusively for Walt Disney Studios for 28 years, filming movies here and at various locations. But now it is just a place offering "in need" captive-bred animals a home. So they really aren't very wild...

The llamas greeted us at the gate. You are allowed to feed the animals, but only whole-wheat bread.

Well, hi there!

Whoa!!! Too close!!!

This yak fell in love with Carol.

They warn you that the zebra can bite, so I didn't even try to feed him.

We drove by a pretty peahen with her youngsters.

And some Kodiak bears. Fortunately, they are behind fences and you can't feed them.

Then we entered the "high-risk area" of elk and buffalo, where you are not allowed to stop, or your car could be damaged. Unfortunately, the car in front of us did not pay attention to that rule. But Carol backed up and we were fine.

The buffalo were waiting for us just inside the gate. He's not paying any attention to the sign...

Oh Carol, I LOOOOVE you!

Just let me lick you face!

The European Fallow Deer were also adorable. At this point we were running out of bread.

Carol's car survived; it just had a lot of buffalo slobber on it.

Afterward, we visited a lavender farm, just to calm down. It sure smelled a lot better than the game farm...