Quilcene, WA

Sequim, WA

Port Angeles, WA

Port Ludlow, WA

Port Townsend, WA

Port Angeles, WA

Port Angeles, WA

I’m staying overnight in Port Angeles again to explore the north side of the peninsula a little bit. I wasn’t exactly up at dawn, but when I did emerge after a cool night, the morning light was still lovely. The first first picture was my view on my way to shower.

My first stop was Olympic National Park and more specifically Hurricane Ridge. It was 20 km or so from my campsite and it was quite warm by the time I got up there. The last 10 km was practically straight up, and you can tell from the tall poles in the parking lots that they get a LOT of snow there. The views were fantastic. The National Park takes up a good portion of the peninsula, and I only saw a minute portion of it and the most accessible. Thanks to Char’s friend Maureen for the suggestion to head up there.

Next it was off to Port Townsend. I had seen pictures of it when golfing at Port Ludlow a million years ago, and was intrigued by the Victorian homes for which it’s famous. Port Townsend was visited by George Vancouver and he named it Port Townshend after a friend, and the name ultimately morphed into Townsend. Rapid building took place in the late 1800’s and they hoped that it would become the premier harbour/city on the west coast, however the train line going to Tacoma and Seattle meant that those communities grew faster.

Port Townsend has maintained itself with a variety of industries over the years, from mills, to naval yards, to today’s primary industry, tourism. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. It’s full of art and tourist shops, restaurants, small museums and other tourist amenities. A ferry runs between Port Townsend and Whitby Island north of Seattle.

I wandered around town taking pictures, reading the numerous plaques telling its vibrant history, and crunching through the fall leaves on a warm afternoon.

Then I followed the coast down to Port Ludlow, a high end golfing and tourist community along with a marina for boaters in the San Juan Islands.

A great day spent following my nose (and my GPS when necessary) exploring down all sorts of roads. Just the reason for this trip. There are a bunch more pics below.

Port Angeles, WA

Left the comfort of Cape Lazo this morning, 20 minutes ahead of schedule and with a little tear in my eye. So many great memories in this part of the world. Such a great visit. Will be back, soon I hope.

The weather was not great, and it rained lightly most of the way which meant I couldn’t use cruise control, but otherwise a good trip down island. The highways all along the island are outstanding and the routes are well signed. I arrived in Victoria, British Columbia’s capital, just in time to get a couple of pics of the Legislature and the Empress before I had to check in at the ferry terminal.

Black Ball Ferry runs the ferry between Victoria’s inner harbour and Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. Taking the MV Coho meant I could miss driving the trailer through Vancouver and Seattle and it got me right on to Washington Route 101 which I’ll take down the coast. For more info on the ferry you can click here. Highly recommend taking it. https://www.cohoferry.com/

The folks at Black Ball Ferry were very friendly and efficient, and the check in process, which involved pre-clearing US customs, went very smoothly. You sit in your car and the customs people come to you and then you go in to get your passport processed. Getting on the ferry was faster than the much larger BC Ferries. My Prolite was at the end of the line of the overheights and now has 2 ferries under its belt. Don’t anticipate any more ferry crossings on the trip, but you never know.

The ferry itself has seen better days, with some of the seat backs laying on the seat bottoms unattached. I guess waiting for service. I went up on deck to take some pictures and as I was taking one of the old dame, the Empress Hotel, with the Canadian flag proudly flying over it, and we started to head out, it suddenly became real to me that I was actually leaving and would be away from the country for 6 months!

My immediate plan is to travel down the coastal highway as much as possible all the way to San Diego and take my time. I have travelled on much, if not all, of the coastal road through Washington, Oregon and California at various times in the past, but doing it in one fell swoop will be new. I have reservations at an RV Resort in Palm Desert for the month of December but aside from that I’m flying without a net.

On the short trip over I watched for whales given I had seen so many on the run between Nanaimo and Horseshoe Bay the last two times, but alas, none came into view. I did see a US submarine being escorted by a couple of other military ships in the distance though.

The ferry arrived on time in Port Angeles as the sun was getting really low in the sky and some blue was starting to show and you could just barely make out the Olympic Mountains in behind Port Angeles. It must be a fantastic sight when it’s clear and there is more daylight. I headed immediately for my campsite to get set up before the light disappeared completely, so I didn’t get a chance to look around Port Angeles.

The campsite is quite empty and the office was closed, although they had left my reservation paperwork and site map on the bulletin board. I didn’t really get a chance to look around much in the dark, but am here for two nights so will check things out tomorrow.

After setting up I did head back into town to grab some dinner and pick up some groceries. I had a lovely salad and cup of chowder at a H2O Bistro, yes, it’s down on the water in Port Angeles. It was dark so not exactly sure what the view was like but the food was great! Very generous portions. I must be in the US of A. Couldn’t find a website but you can find it by Googling H2O Bistro. And I stopped at Safeway to pick up some basic groceries so I can have my breakfast at home tomorrow morning before heading out and about for the day.

Victoria, Canada

Comox, Canada

Today is the last day of my stay in the beautiful Comox valley. Tomorrow I start the next phase of my No Fixed Address North American Tour (NFA NA Tour).

I last blogged about the NFA NA Tour in August. Then I was in Clearwater, BC, near Wells Grey Provincial Park. I headed into the greater Vancouver area the next day to stay for a few days with my long time friends Karen and Allen in North Vancouver. Since then some things I had planned happened and some things that weren’t part of the plan inserted themselves.

First of all, I had planned to spent a couple of weeks in the lower mainland camping and visiting with my friends and family. And I planned to head to Vancouver Island to visit family there toward the end of September, after my trip to the Balkins. However, since my Mom had a fall earlier in the summer and was in hospital recovering I decided to make a quick 3 day trip over to the island as soon as I arrived in the lower mainland. Probably the best decision of my life.

Mom was doing great, in a bed in the transition unit having decided to wait for a spot in the Comox valley where she could get a little more care. I went up to see her the first day I arrived and had a great visit as well as an even better one the next day. She was animated and had asked the nursing staff to help her change into one of her nicest outfits in anticipation of my visit. We had a lovely visit in the garden of the extended care facility at St Joseph’s Hospital in Comox.

The following day my sister, Charlene, and I were on our way to her previous residence to finalize things there before going up to see Mom again in the afternoon when we received word that Mom had suffered a massive stroke. She never recovered and I stayed with her for the next few days until she passed away really peacefully on August 28 with Charlene and I at her side. I am so thankful that I had a great visit before her stroke and that I could be there with her at the end. Also thankful that my sister Charlene, who was a nurse before her retirement, was there as well, for Mom, but also for me! And Char’s husband, Leif, was a rock for us. Couldn’t have ask for more support. And great that other family Lori, Jo-Anne, Danika and Noah came to see Mom in the final days as well.

Plans were made for my brother, Rae, to fly to Comox from Winnipeg the following weekend, and my friends Karen and Allen were so gracious as to suggest that I stay with them rather than camping alone in the lower mainland for the week. I was more than good with that, and appreciate their support more than they’ll know. I’m sorry I wan’t in touch with anyone at that time, but as you would imagine I wasn’t great company.

So after a family dinner in Comox to celebrate Mom’s life privately and a couple of great hikes, which Mom would have approved wholeheartedly, the following weekend, it was back to North Vancouver to prepare for my trip to the Balkans. I blogged about that trip in a separate entry which you can read on my blog site if you’re interested.

After the Balkans I came back to the Comox Valley and have been here, at a great campsite on the ocean for the past three weeks.

The campground was completely revamped 2 years ago and has great facilities, and probably the biggest and cleanest bathrooms I’ve seen in my travels across the country.

During that time it’s been great to spend extended time here. I’ve met some friends of my family, gone to a local theatre production, done some dinners and lunches with a couple of my friends, had a great Thanksgiving dinner at Charlene and Leif’s, and gone on some great hikes.

But now it’s time to get on the road again! Next stop, the United States of America. By the way, this was always part of the plan and isn’t because of the results of the election yesterday.