Washington - Day 13 - around the Olympic Peninsula

Potlatch State Park, Hoodsport

Monday, 13 June 2022

I'd been looking forward to coming to Forks because I thought it might be a place where I could find new rubber boots.  Right across the street from the campground was a Thriftway, an Ace Hardware and Sporting Goods, and Forks Outfitters - all connected to each other in one building.

And sure enough, they did have rubber boots.  Not exactly what I was looking for but they were close enough.  And unlike those I'd seen when I looked in Olympia ($100+), these were less than $25.  Which just goes to show.

today's route

Today's drive was 143 miles, and it took me almost 5½ hours.  Regardless of the speed limit, these roads will slow you down.  And there's one section - look at the top of the peninsula and see that the road skirts Lake Crescent - I remember that section being hard to navigate even with my Miata.  Part of the problem is that it's so incredibly scenic you want to look and there's not a hint of a shoulder anywhere, and all the pulloff areas are on the other side so I didn't want to try to get to them.  Anyway, this is a lovely area.

On my way out of Forks I passed 2 coffee places, one named Mocha Motion and one named A Shot in the Dark.  I'm surprised such a small town can support 2 specialty coffee places, but it obviously can.

I passed the Quileute Tribal Center and later the Makah Tribal Center.

I crossed the Sol Duc River many times and passed the turn for the Sol Duc Hot Springs.  I went up there once.  I remember it as smelling strongly of sulfur but being a very pleasant hot springs (it was open for bathing back then, but with Covid, I don't know).  

I got another thank you for pulling over.

I got to Lake Crescent, a very long lake with mountains at either end.  I passed Lake Crescent Lodge and thought this would be a lovely place for a vacation or honeymoon.  The road here, as I said, is 2 lanes, no shoulders and constant s-curves going around the south shore of the lake.  But it's a stunning Pacific Northwest view.

On the radio I found at least one, maybe 2 stations being broadcast in one or more Native languages.

Near Port Angeles, I came to the Elwha River and the Elwha River Casino (so, obviously on Native land though I didn't see any signs).  Port Angeles says its population is 19,000 (I think the 2020 data said 19,960 but I saw varying reports).  I happened to pass its Masonic Temple and thought it was unusual enough for a photo.

Port Angeles Masonic Temple
built 1921

I passed a business called Olympic Laundry with a sign saying, "We're All Mad Here."  I have no idea what that refers to and don't think I want to know, but I do know I wouldn't want to patronize a place with that sign.

We stopped at a park in Port Angeles with a lot of large evergreens and grass and a lot of food trash - a bad combo for Dext.  Hard for me to keep him away from what he doesn't need.

I started picking up several Canadian radio stations, including one broadcasting in French.

I passed Home of the Working Girl Wines, per their sign.

From Port Angeles, on the tip of the peninsula, I could see some of the peaks of the Olympic Mountains, though they were mostly hidden by clouds for almost all of today's drive.

I passed some lavender farms.

We came to the town of Sequim, pronounced skwim, which was an early lesson I got in living in this area.  A sign said it's the Home of Olympic Gold Medalists.  Also that they were having a crab feed soon.

A road sign told me that litter pickup in that area was provided "In Memory of Jerry Garcia."

Along the way I saw warning signs for elk crossing and for deer.

I passed a sign for the John Wayne Marina at the Port of Port Angeles and of course had to look that up.  Turns out he and his family used to come here with their yacht (the "Wild Goose"), and after he died they donated land to the port for a marina in his honor.

There's a road and a cemetery named Jimmy Come Lately in this area.  (Huh?)

I passed the S'Kallam Tribe, and Discovery Bay, and the turn for Port Townsend and the Whidbey Island ferry.  The western part of Washington is so much a marine-oriented area that the state has to run an extensive series of ferries.  Thousands of people commute daily on those ferries from the quiet peninsula to the mega-city of Seattle and environs.

We stopped at Quilcene, "Pearl of the Peninsula."  I was desperate for some exercise because I woke up at 12:30 this morning and couldn't fall asleep again.  This was not a good road for being drowsy on.  I saw a US Bank office where no one was working and the parking lot was empty, so Dext and I walked around that area for a bit.  I would have taken him farther but we ran into a distraction.  At the house next door to the bank he and I saw a woman in a bright orange shirt waving and calling - I thought to a dog.  Instead it was to an enormous pot-bellied pig, black and white with long hair.  Dext went bonkers over both of them, so I had to steer him another direction.  He can be weird.

Past the Quilcene River National Fish Hatchery, the road went steeply down hill and started a series of s-curves, both over the next 1.5 miles.

We were following a large body of water that the map told me was Hood Canal.

I came to a series of unusual names: Dosewallips River, Duckabush River, Hamma Hamma River, the town of Lilliwaup.  

I saw a Bald Eagle flying.  They're great birds.

At the town of Hoodsport, I passed the Hoodsport Winery, which I remember going to with some law school classmates when we had a camping trip out here somewhere.  I may even still have some photos from inside there, but I can't remember at all which campground we stayed at.

Then through the tiny town of Potlatch and on to tonight's campground.  It was laid out oddly with poor signage.  I had a hard time finding the office, and later someone else stopped me when I was walking Dext to ask for directions to the office.

It seemed to have an entire section that was either long-term stays (which I didn't think you could do at a state campground) or it was private land (smack in the middle of the state campground) and those folks were on their own land.  It was a little strange and I only took Dext that way once, not being sure what the situation was.