Clallam County and the Ferry from Whidbey

The 4th of July was an exciting weekend. With the train trip and the fire works, the thought of moving to a quiet place was welcome. But first we had to have some work done on the RV. We headed to Camping World in Burlington to have them check the A/C, change the oil (now most houses don’t have to have the oil changed) and check on our satellite.

The oil change went well, the A/C could not be repaired and the satellite required parts that take 7 to 10 days to be delivered. So we set an appointment for the Camping World near Portland and headed toward Whidbey Island.

We had taken a truck trip from Penrose Point to a Clallam County park called Salt Creek. We thought it was a very nice park with great views, so we loaded up the motor home and headed down the highway. We chose to take the shorter route to the park, which included a ferry trip with the RV.

Ferry ride from Keystone to Port Angeles

The ferry started in Keystone, on Whidbey Island, and finished in Port Angeles. It was a bumpy ride. The tide was changing as we rode the ferry (in separate vehicles, it was cheaper that way.) Sally was in lane two and Tom in lane 4. Sally in the truck and Tom in the motor home. Tom played guitar and Sally read. It was too rough for us to get out of the vehicles. Sally took pictures, Tom was lazy.

Tom cooking lunch - notice the water just across the road from our campsite!

Arriving in Port Angeles, we hooked up the truck and headed to Salt Creek. It was on a whim, because we did not set up a reservation just before a weekend. We arrived about 1 pm and we are glad we did, because by 3, the park was almost full. We managed to park in one of the sites we wanted. The front windows made a picture of Vancouver Island. Looking out over the Strait of Juan de Fuca was beautiful, especially at sunset. We could see Mt. Baker (on a clear day) and the lights of Victoria. It was a difficult weekend.

Views of Mt Baker

Sunset over Vancouver Island

Waves on the rocks at low tide

While we stayed at Salt Creek, we took a day trip over to the rain forest in Olympic National Park. It's fascinating - so many different kinds of moss and the trees and plants grow to greater sizes than elsewhere because the climate is so mild and the rainfall so plentiful - average over 140 inches a year! We even saw a new mammal - the ranger said we were lucky (she hadn't seen one yet). It looked like a large gray mouse with a very short tail and bright, beady eyes - it's a mountain beaver. Sally saw it by the side of the trail and reacted just like she had seen a mouse. It didn't seem to bother the beaver. He just kept going right across the trail... We took a picture, but he was moving so fast that the picture is just a gray blur.

Extra large clovers - no 4 leaf ones though

Trees growing on a nurse log

We also drove out to the northwestern end of the continental US - Cape Flattery. It's on an Indian reservation - you have to drive about 30 miles past everything and then walk another 3/4 of a mile. But the view is worth it.

We also went swimming at the beach on Salt Creek. The water is shallow enough at low tide that you can wade out 100 feet. The water even gets warm enough that Sally went wading and even got her shorts wet!

Tom and Sally at Cape Flattery

We are at Evergreen Coho SKP Park at this posting. It is a coop park with a club we are members of called Escapes. We will be headed to Tampa for Sally’s high school reunion this week. Airline travel, what a concept.

Until next time.