It’s hard to believe we have been on the road for nearly two weeks. I’ve been way behind in my posts, so I thought I would just do a quick recap.
We spent two nights at Cape Disappointment state park located on the southwest tip of Washington State. Our campsite was tucked away in a thick coastal forest only a few yards from the beach. We had no hookup, no Wifi, and the trees successfully blocked our satellite TV signal. We were literally cut off from all of our modern conveniences, one reason we loved the place so much. And the quiet solitude: the only thing we could hear was the constant low droning of the surf, which sounded like a distance busy highway.
To get to the beach we followed an unmarked trail lined with ferns. Moss draped from the lower limbs of the spruce trees, giving them a ghostly, Hobbit-like appearance. The forest was so thick you couldn’t see the beach until you were at its very edge, which is marked by scores of dead trees washed against its edge. You then step out, like Alice in Wonderland, to a completely different world. Beach views stretch hundreds of yards in either direction, complete with an iconic lighthouse perched on a rocky ridge.
The beach was several hundred hards wide and almost completely deserted. The wind whipped the sand across its surface, obliterating footprints moments after leaving them. Logs were strewn like toothpicks at the forest’s edge sometimes making it difficult to find your way back to camp.
Unlike California, Washington and Oregon beaches are dog friendly. Toby and Joey loved running on the strange sand. We laughed as we watched Toby, who forgot for a moment that he was 13 years old, run and play as if he was a young pup.
After two days at Cape Disappointment, we headed north on 101 to the Waterfront at Potlach. Because we didn’t want to be on the road over the busy Labor Day weekend, we decided we would hunker down there.
The Waterfront is a roadside Inn that also has about a dozen RV sites, all overlooking the Hood canal. We had one of the best sites with unobstructed views of the canal. Next to us was a small stream with a waterfall which emptied into the canal. In the evenings we would sit outside the trailer, wine in hand, where we watched seals swimming into the small inlet hunting for fish. Blue herons perched on the rocky, shell strewn beach, patiently looking for prey while families of ducks swam past.
After so much driving we enjoyed our four days here. Roz kept busy with her painting while I tinkered in our Airstream and flew my drone. Toby and Joey? Well, they just enjoyed being being pampered.
On Saturday, we drove to Gig Harbor, about an hour from us. The weather was beautiful as we drove along the southern edge of the Hood canal lined with houses, many with boats anchored just off shore. The water was teeming with boaters, skiers, kite boarders and swimmers. Clearly Washingtonians were enjoying this final weekend of the summer.
We found Gig Harbor to be picturesque, but a bit too crowded for us in light of the epidemic. We walked briefly around the town then headed back, stopping to pick up a few supplies on the way.
On Tuesday, September 8th, we once again jumped on the 101 and headed north. We followed the Hood canal then took state route 20 towards Port Townsend located on the tip of the Quimper Peninsula. Winding our way through the picturesque waterfront town, we entered the Fort Worden Historic Park situated at the entrance of Puget Sound.
Fort Worden is one of three forts constructed around the turn of the 20th century to protect the entrance of the Sound. It now is a large, well maintained park and many of the barracks, officers quarters and batteries are still present. We camped in a clearing in the lower forest campground among 100 foot tall fir and cedar trees.
Numerous trails wind through the park, leading to the rocky coastline and the abandoned pillboxes and artillery sites.
The weather was beautiful for the three days we were at Fort Worden. The skies were clear, the visibility unlimited and the temperatures reached the low 80s. All that, however, was about to change.
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