Category: Landscape

New Dungeness Lighthouse

The New Dungeness Lighthouse is an important part of local history. It isn’t always in clear view and it’s not easy to get to. It’s at the end of Dungeness Spit, the longest natural sand spit in the U.S. Conquering the spit and exploring the lighthouse means a five mile walk on sand and rock each way, or an approach by water. You can sign up and pay to stay at the lighthouse for a week as a lighthouse keeper. There are chores, like cleaning the public restrooms and watering the lawn, but your rent also includes a roundtrip ride to the lighthouse. 

The lighthouse has been in continuous operation since 1857 and provides navigational aid to ships in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. I’ll post more about the New Dungeness Lighthouse in a week or two. Stay tuned!

Spooky trees

 

One of our locals, Patricia, commented on these trees a while back so I decided to take a look at them. They’re off Jamestown Road, which is where the early S’Klallam peoples bought back their original lands.  There’s a line of these trees, all dead and standing.

Patricia wondered what kind of trees they were — someone she knows speculated that they are Garry Oaks. And she wondered what might have killed them.

The trees are all beyond a fence so there’s no getting up close and personal. I’ve seen others with similar form as I’ve driven in this region but not had an opportunity to stop and study.

I know I haven’t provided much to go on here, but is anyone else willing to venture a guess? Are there any locals care to weigh in?