This year Andrew and I decided we would take a trip back to Seattle to celebrate Andrew's thirty-nineteenth birthday 😁😁😁 and spend a few days among the bears, the deer and the pine trees in the Olympic National Park. Good choice, the park is magnificent and we were so lucky to spend five days up there in mostly clear skies and cool temperatures.

Andrew and I flew to SEATAC and rented a car for our travels. We started out with two days in Seattle doing our favorite things around the Pike Place Market although this time we just enjoyed watching others standing in the long queue to the Piroshky Piroshky bakery and the original Starbucks. One of Andrew's favorites is the amazing flower market and this year it was spectacular, especially the giant dahlias and sunflowers. On a more expensive note... in the Pike Fish Market, it seems that the favorite price for fresh seafood is now $69.99/lb... and while the seafood barkers were entertaining we didn't see a lot of sales. We arrived on a Sunday and the market was super crowded. The little park on the north end where people sit to eat and play was closed for some major renovations. And just like San Diego, Seattle homeless are being driven inland.

We stayed at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel which was very comfortable with good service and great location... albeit it bit pricey. Directly across the street was a huge Norwegian Cruise ship getting ready to depart for ports unknown. This probably helps explain the crowds at the Pike Market. The downtown harbor-side was just a 7 minute walk from our hotel. Their "embarcadero" is going through some major renovations including a new Seattle Aquarium and expanded boardwalk but it's still very fun and easy to get around. Besides the Seattle Great Wheel, there are lots of places to eat, game arcades, mini-museums and other fun things to do.

We found one of our favorite pubs, the Pike Brewery, after a lot of searching. Who knew we would have misplaced it after only four years. It was exactly as we had left it... just steps away from the Post Alley Wall of Gum, another Seattle landmark and one of Andrew's favorites.

We ended Seattle with a boat tour around Elliott Bay with the Salish Sea Tour Company... another great way to appreciate Seattle and see where all the major city attractions are.

On to the Olympic Peninsula where we headquartered at the Red Lion Hotel in Port Angeles. Not quite a three hour drive from Seattle where we enjoyed breathtaking views of the northern coast of Washington and including a drive through Bremerton where the US Navy hangs out at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. The part of sea between the northern coast of Washington and Vancouver Island, Canada is known as the Strait of Juan De Fuca, named after a 16th century Greek sailor sailing under the Spanish flag. De Fuca was alleged to have discovered the western access from the Pacific ocean to Seattle while looking for a safe harbor. Apparently historians aren't able to prove it.

Port Angeles, population around 20,000, is a fishing and tourism port providing several daily ferries to Vancouver Island and Victoria, Canada. It is also close to one of the main access points to the Olympic National Park. Not a particularly exciting town but we found several very nice places to eat and a lot of information about venturing into the park and other points to the west. Our hotel was very comfortable and had a great view of the bay. Sadly, the hotel staff has no concept of cheerful hospitality and the bartender at their 48° Restaurant and Bar failed at a simple gin martini.

Now just a peaceful little town in northwest Washington, the initial tourist demand in response to the Twilight saga is well waned. In fact, we stopped at a coffee drive through and asked the attendant where the Twilight museum was and she couldn't tell us. Forks is on the Washington 101 highway which creates a loop around the peninsula. A small and unassuming family town, Forks is near the National Park entrance to the Hoh Rain Forest and gets its share of tourists. We chose the "In Place" family diner for breakfast. The food was pretty good, service friendly and we're pretty sure there was some banjo playing going on in the back room. Just sayin'.

Just down the road is the world famous Timber Museum where for a nominal fee (no clue how much) you can see 2x4's made from 14 different kinds of trees and some giant cross cut tree trunks nestled in with life size wood carvings of good old Sasquatch. In fact, the entire region of northwest Washington seems preoccupied with Sasquatch. There are large wood carvings and other images of it just about everywhere including deep within the National Park. Some imagine Sasquatch as a large bear and others like Chewbacca from Star Wars... and every hairy thing in between.

Hoh Yes. What a magnificent place to visit. Ancient pine forests lush with mosses and lichens covering tree trunks and branches creating wonderfully imaginative shapes. Look to the left and you see what appears to be a bear. Walk a little farther and you see Sasquatch and his family or the Demiguise from Fantastic Beasts appearing and disappearing in the shifting light. The park hosts miles of hiking trails. Andrew and I hiked about 5 miles in and around the rain forest. There were pine trees with 5-6 foot wide trunks reaching so far into the sky that you could barely see their tops. Many giant pines who had fallen years ago, now in slow decay, nourish new pine trees growing straight up from their old trunks in and endless circle of live and let die.

Mostly pristine, the rain forest shows little tampering my man. Even the trails seem mostly natural with just a few modifications for safety. Named for the Hoh River which runs from the base of Mount Olympus 56 miles to the Pacific ocean and through the rain forest and the territory of the Hoh or Chalak'ac'it Indian tribe. Now we didn't encounter any Hoh Indians during our time there nor had the ranger we talked to in the park. They must all be covered in moss.

You could walk for hours in this natural wonderland imaging just how it might have looked a thousand or a hundred thousand years ago. We were told that the entire valley was carved out by huge glaciers of millenniums past. And what a great place to be, standing on the shore of the Hoh river in the middle of the rain forest during a short but fierce thunderstorm. But alas, this vacation would not provide such entertainment.

Andrew and I have traveled a great deal by car but have never seen such an enormous collection of pine trees that cover the Olympic peninsula. And not only pines, but the colorful deciduous trees that mark the changing of the season as well. As we drove along we were surrounded by reminders of Christmas everywhere. Now that Douglas fir would make a great Christmas tree...

Well we didn't see Zeus and all his minions but the views from Hurricane Ridge were awesome. Up at about 7500 feet on a crystal clear chilly 45° morning we could see Mount Olympus, the heart of the National Park in one direction, and Port Angeles at the base of the mountain in another. It was thrilling to look down at clouds sitting on top of the mountains at about 5000 feet. We thought we got there somewhat early but the limited parking was already nearly full and there were scores of cars queued to ascend behind us. The hiking trails are a favorite here although somewhat diminished because of a fire that destroyed the visitor center earlier this year. We hiked a short trail and decided we weren't equipped for mountain climbing nor could we find a mule or a mountain goat to ride, so we enjoyed the view from above and then gave up our parking spot to another. Next stop, Neah Bay and Cape Flattery.

Our destination was Cape Flattery, the most northwest corner of the contiguous United States. Home of the Makah Indian Reservation, the town of Neah Bay is a picturesque fishing village that has embraced some of today's technology while preserving its peaceful way of life. Known for its long history of whaling and fishing, it is also the home of Makah Indian corn dogs which are quite good. Thumbs up for Washburn's General Store.

Cape Flattery was named by English Captain James Cook in 1778. Cook said the landscape flattered him with the hopes of finding a safe harbor. The English were easily entertained in 1778 and not too imaginative with names. Today Cape Flattery and the headlands are a major tourist location with breathtaking views of the northwest Washington coast across from Tatoosh Island, which by the way is not home to a women's prison. Managed by the Makah Indians, there is a 1.5 mile hike from the parking lot down to several stunning view points. We were lucky to be there on a beautiful, sunny day where the crowds were light and you could see across the Strait of Juan De Fuca, all the way to Canada and beyond.

The forest on the way down was thick with pine trees and a variety of other botanicals. Andrew, having a bit of a mushroom fetish, managed to point out all the available fungus at Cape Flattery as he had done everywhere we hiked during the week.

It was a very fun trip with few hassles. We drove about 750 miles during our week and wouldn't have had it any other way. Even with gas pushing $6 a gallon the freedom of the road is certainly worth the price. We found some good eats along the way in local family run diners as well as some upscale seafood restaurants. We were a bit disappointed that there were no vampires or werewolves in Forks but at least the customer service at the Red Lion Hotel in Port Angeles sucked. Thanks Andrew.

PS - One of the best parts of the trip were the wonderful, fabulous, delicious Washington apples and red pears that we enjoyed everyday. Crisp, sweet giant red apples the likes you just can't get down here. Worth a trip back just for the abundance of fresh Washington fruit.

Terry Ernest - September 25, 2023