Places to take visitors – Page 51

Spring adventure

I’ve wanted to go back to the San Juan Islands, arguably one of the most beautiful areas of Washington State, since the first time I visited by ferry decades ago. It was there that I fell in love with Washington.

A while back I heard about a San Juan Island cruise offered by Puget Sound Express in partnership with Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society. The three day birdwatching and wildlife cruise sounded spectacular. From Sequim our voyage was just across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

The photo above is of the MV Glacier Spirit, the family owned cruiser we traveled on.

Inside was comfortable and warm with snacks, lunch, coffee, and good cheer.

This is a chart of our travels over three days through the San Juans, shown in yellow. Vancouver Island is the large land mass on the upper left; to the far right is northern Washington and the city of Bellingham. The thin pink and red lines show our route as we looked for whales, dolphins, birds, and other sealife through the large and small islands of the San Juan archipelago. I’ll show you what we saw over the coming days.

Theme Day: Wet

You don’t have to look far on the Olympic Peninsula to find today’s theme of “Wet.” The Hoh Rainforest, part of Olympic National Park, is one of the wettest places in the U.S. with an average rainfall of 12-14 feet (3.5 to 4.25 meters). In places, as along this stream, it’s hard to see where the water ends and foliage begins. And if you’re visiting when it’s raining, water is everywhere. It’s impossible to not be wet.

To see other interpretations of today’s City Daily Photo theme, click here.

Creation story

This plaque is set into the pavement at Waterfront Park in Port Angeles. Entitled “Klallam Creation Story,” it is about one of our local Native American tribe and reads as follows:

“The Klallam tell us how the tribes of the region were created at a place on the Elwha River where there are two big holes in the rock called “coiled baskets.” It is there that the creator bathed and blessed the people.”

Art on the town

This is another piece of kinesthetic street art in Port Angeles, part of the city’s “Art on the Town” organized by the Port Angeles Downtown Merchants Association. This one is called “Bernard 2” by Craig Walker of White Salmon, WA, a town in southern Washington on the Columbia River. The top part of this piece rotates in the wind.

Lobby art

On a grey day this striking glass art brightens a corner in the Sequim Civic Center lobby. The piece was commissioned by friends and family in memory of Bobbi Burkett, wife of Sequim’s former City Manager Steve Burkett. The work was designed and constructed by artist Bob Rigg of Seattle Glassblowing Studio.

Fused, fired, and stained

Sequim’s new Civic Center has exhibit space on its ground floor where local artistry is showcased. The latest art in rotation is various forms of glassworks. The fused piece above, “Under the Sea,” is by Marilyn Brock.

“Running Horses,” above, is by Cindy Fager. It features both glass and rock.

This stained glass piece is called “Butterfly Lady” and was created by Millie Harrell.

The butterflies on this piece stand out from the glass, giving it more dimension than typical stained glass.

There are about two dozen pieces in the exhibit which is on view through March 31. It’s worth a visit if you’re in the area.

Mother Nature does her thing

Last Saturday I’m sure this part of the trail at the Dungeness Recreation Area was open. We didn’t walk on Sunday. Monday, the way was blocked as you see here. The length of the trail from this overlook to the next is blocked.

Further down the trail at the next overlook you can peer back and see a gouge in the land where the undercut, sandy cliff gave way. Barrier posts that marked the edge of the trail are now dangling by their wire over thin air. We’ve lost track of how many parts of this trail have given way.

It reminds me: Years ago, driving through a desert pass, we came upon a jumble of rocks tumbled across the road. Trying to be good citizens, we stopped at the nearest outpost of civilization to report this road hazard. The man we breathlessly told looked across the counter at us, shrugged and replied, “That’s just Mother Nature doin’ her thang.”