Port Townsend, Washington

We left Sequim and dumped our tanks at Fort Townsend SP.  Then we drove to the Elks Lodge in Port Townsend and got set up.  I expected the RV parking to be full but there were a lot of empty sites for the July 4th holiday week.  

  

I'm missing a photo of our campsite. 😞

This lodge had a fun 60’s/70’s Music Bingo.  I learned something new about Al, he is really good at song identification.  The DJ would play a bit of a song and we had to find the name of the song on our bingo card.  If we got 5 in a row on our bingo card first, we would win.  It was a lot of fun but we didn’t win. 

  

One day we took the free public transportation bus from the Elks Lodge in to Port Townsend to check it out.  We also wanted to see Port Townsend from the water so we signed up for a Port Townsend Bay Tour provided by the Maritime Museum.  It was their first trip of the season and it was not very organized.  We did saw some small porpoise, Port Townsend, a lighthouse, and a paper mill from the water. 

Point Wilson Lighthouse

Port Townsend Paper Company, LLC produces Kraft pulp, paper, containerboard, and specialty products by blending virgin and recycled fibers at our mill headquarters in Port Townsend, Washington.

Houses on the coast in Port Townsend

 

After the boat ride, we walked around town a bit before finding our way back to the RV on the bus.

 

 

Check out the decorations on this van.

 

 

Some of us are here,
because we're not all there.
Port Townsend, Washington

 

 

Another day we did a nice hike from the Elks Lodge in to Fort Townsend State Park.

 

Built in 1856, Fort Townsend operated as a U.S. Army site on and off until a fire destroyed its barracks in 1895.

The Banana slug is yellow and the second largest species of its kind in the world (growing to almost 10") behind a European species (growing to 12").

We got up early (6:30) to drive to Olympic National Park's Hurricane Ridge section to do the Hurricane Hill hike before it got too crowded.  We found a great parking spot for our truck and did the hike on a beautiful day!  We saw deer and marmot.  

 

 

 

The 1.6 mile trail to Hurricane Hill ascends gradually at first, then climbs more steeply through sub-alpine meadows.  From the top there are views of the Olympic Mountains to the south, and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to the north.  Elevation gain:  650 feet.

 

 

The remains of a snowman

 

Mt Angeles at 6,454' in the foreground and
Mt Baker far off in the distance at 10,781'

Mt Baker

Unicorn Peak on the left and Unicorn Horn on the right
Victoria and British Columbia in the background

Mt Olympus at 7,980'

Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center to the right of the snow in the middle of the foreground range.

Marmot

 

Vancouver Island is visible in way off distance underneath the clouds

On the way back down the trail we took some side trails and saw more marmot.

Ant Party

Another snowman in sad shape

Douglas Fir pine cone
Cones: 2-4 inches long.  Scales are soft with a distinct 3-lobed bract extending from and beyond each scale (Looks like the rear end of a mouse, diving for cover).

 

After the hike we visited the Hurricane Ridge and Olympic NP Visitor’s centers.  We did a couple more short hikes from the Hurricane Ridge Visitor’s center. 

 

After leaving the park we stopped off in Sequim for more diesel at $6.19 a gallon at a Safeway.  We had a great day at the Hurricane Ridge section of Olympic National Park!

One day we took the free bus to Port Townsend again and walked around after finding the post office to pick up our mail that was sent as General Delivery.

Pretty government building

Someone's house

 

We then got back on the bus to Fort Warden to walk around and see the lighthouse.  We didn't realize how much more there was to see!  It was nice to see the soldier barracks and officer’s homes and the parade grounds.

 

 

Prior to World War II, most of Fort Warden's soldiers called the wooden barracks buildings "home."  Four of these building were built from the same blueprint and, while far from post, could comfortably house as many as 109 men.  Within the barracks, enlisted men ate, slept and relaxed in shared quarters.  Only senior non-commissioned officers were given their own rooms.

 

Permanent barracks were self-contained units, often with their own cooks, barbers and tailors.  Among a barracks building's more popular features was the day room - a shared space with a pool table, several shelves of books and a radio.

Today, Washington State Parks has renovated the barracks for use as conference facilities. 

Officers Housing

Team-Building for Troops

Each morning, Fort Worden's soldiers gathered on the parade ground to receive their orders for the day.  Often the commanding officers inspected the troops at these gatherings ensuring that the high standards of the armed forces were met.  

The commander of the U>S Expeditionary Force in World War I, General John Pershing, reviewed the troops on this parade ground in 1920.

Fort Warden's soldiers were expected to work well together.  Whether manning the cannon or engaging in the upkeep of the fort, their tasks required close coordination and teamwork.  Many modern activities on the parade ground still emphasize coordination and teamwork but leave plenty of room for creativity and fun.

 

 

Looking from the Officers Housing over the parade grounds to the barracks

Port Townsend Marine Science Center in Fort Warden

 

Battery Kinzie was the last fortification built in the Puget Sound defenses prior to World War II.  It was also the most powerful, mounting two 12-inch cannons on modern versions of the disappearing carriage.  Construction began in 1908, some 10 years after the building of heavy gun batteries on the high ground above the Point Wilson sand spit.  Battery Kinzie was intended to solve several weaknesses in the original fortification plan.  It added two 12-inch guns to the modest number of four already in the defenses.  It was located where it could protect the entire entrance of Admiralty Inlet from shore to shore.  Its beachside position allowed it to cover the waterway below the fog that often lay just above the surface of the water.

Named after Brigadier General David Hunter Kinzie, veteran of the Civil War (commander, Battery K, 5th U.S. Artillery at the Battle of Gettysburg), who died in 1904.

 

 

 

Battery Vicars, secondary battery to Kinzie at Fort Warden

Placing Battery Kinzie near the northern edge of the Point Wilson shoreline enabled it to fire west into the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  It also makes the giant structure vulnerable to coastal erosion as the sandy point continues to evolve. 

View of the beach and water from the battery

To load, aim, and fire the gun required a crew of 51 men.  Each gun and its carriage weighed more than 300 tons and could fire a half-ton, armor-piercing projectile almost eight miles.

If you are interested in more info about Fort Warden, read about it at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Worden

On a down day, Al inquired about volunteering at the Elks Lodge.  They asked him to mow some of the Lodge’s lawn on a riding mower.  The grass was rather high.  He'd never used a riding mower before so it was fun for him.  Later we went to their fish fry and the Elks comped our meal for Al’s mowing.  The fish dinner was 3 pieces of fish, 5 fried shrimp, fries, coleslaw, sauces for $19 and it was delicious. 

 

 

Looks so much better!

 

 

 

Here is the area on the Olympic Peninsula covered in this blog entry.

Next we're going south and around Seattle then north of Seattle towards the Canadian border.  Thanks for following along.

BTW, if you leave a comment, please include your name or initials so I know who wrote it.  Most comments are from Anonymous and I would love to know who wrote them.