WASHINGTON STATE July 30 - August 2, 2013

I forget how beautiful it is to be surrounded by green-ness everywhere you go until we start our drive through Oregon and Washington each year.  It's green, green, green and I love it! Just driving along the coast route on Highway 101 there are trees and streams and beauty everywhere.  We left Tillamook, OR and drove into Washington state crossing the VERY tall Astoria Bridge, this time without the apprehension we've had on earlier trips.  

We pulled over at one area and I walked Foster while Paul checked on our newly installed brakes.  Everything was good, so on we went.

Our first night was spent just south of Raymond, WA at the Raymond Marine RV Park right along the Willapa River. It's a small little park of 14 sites but full hook ups and a beautiful setting.  Once we were set up we took our bikes down and road into town along the bike path.

Riding back we stopped along the way to pick blackberries for a pie. Nothing as wonderful as fresh berry pie!!

All around the town are amazing metal sculptures.  Walking Foster along the river that evening, we came to this life sized art work, part of  200 steel-plated figures that belong to the Raymond Wildlife-Heritage Sculpture Corridor.   They are scattered along Highway 101 and throughout town  depicting the history and culture of the area.

With only a few days to reach Port Angeles to the north, we packed up and got on the road early the next morning. We continued north along Highway 101 which follows 70 miles of the Hood Canal coastline.  It was wonderful to have sunny skies again once we went inland. The forested two lane road  passes through the towns of Potlatch, Hoodsport and Quilcene, with terrific views of the water in every curve. There were several RV parks and state parks along the way, and next time we'll stop at Seal Rock NFS Park now that I learned it would accommodate our rig.  We made a stop for tea and a break at Whitney Gardens, something not to miss in the months of April and May when the rhodies and azaleas are in full bloom.

An hour later we had reached Port Townsend and our Elks RV Park for a one night stay.  We took a drive into town and had dinner along the bay.

We moved the next morning 30 miles further west to the darling little town of Sequim, WA. also known as the "Lavender Capital of North America" rivaled only in France. I loved touring several of the lavender farms outside of  town and even cutting a bundle of my own. It's quite a town, located along the Dungeness River and at the base of the Olympic Mountains and receives only about 16"of rain a year, about the same amount as Los Angeles. And...lucky us...it rained the whole second day we were there!!!

From the lavender farms we drove on out to the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge preserved as refuge and breeding grounds for native birds in 1915. We took a wonderful walk down to the beach and sand spit, one of the world's longest natural sand spits. The constantly eroding cliff-sides provide the sandy material that continues to increase the spit.  There's also a five mile hike, 10 mile round trip, on out to the New Dungeness Lighthouse at the end of the spit, maybe next time...that would need a day of it's own.  The beach was covered in beautiful driftwood pieces.  We talked to a volunteer who told us that each week a volunteer is driven out to the lighthouse with enough clothing and food for a week to be the guide for the lighthouse tours, pretty amazing.

The wooded areas were so dark and damp, even the fence posts were covered in green moos.

Since the days stay light so long up in the NW, we were leaving the park about 7:30 PM and this was our path.  The Reserve also borders the Clallum County Park which had plenty of campsite we could fit into...nice.  Always fun to see new places we might stay next time.

We've already decided to return to this area another time since we never had the time to explore the Olympic National Park that is right along this coastal area. And, next time we'll also be sure to visit the George Washington Inn, a west coast replica of George Washington's home with one of Sequim's heritage lavender farms.  So, till next time...