Ferry to Whidbey Island, Washington

 Hi all, Dianne here.  One of the many things on our to-do list while visiting the Olympic Peninsula was to take a ferry over to spend the day on nearby Whidbey Island.   The main attraction (for us) was to do some awesome hiking, so our hiking buddies Bandido and Tequila came along with us.

We packed lunch and water for ourselves and the dogs, hopped in the car, and made our way to the Fort Townsend ferry dock.  

Never having taken a ferry before, we simply drove up to the toll booth and paid our fare.  The attendant asked if we had a reservation, but when we said no, she simply took our money and waved us into a waiting lane.  Our timing was impeccable, because we practically drove right onto the ferry (meaning we were the last people aboard) and we were off.  

I walked to the front of the ferry to snap a shot of Whidbey Island as we made our approach.

The trip to Whidbey Island took about a half hour.  They very efficiently unloaded once we reached the dock and we were soon on our way, ready to explore.

Roger had downloaded information about a hike we wanted to take, so we drove to Ebey's Landing to find the trail head at Prairie Overlook.

This truly was one of the most unusual (and best) hikes we've ever taken.  It starts off in an agricultural area (with beautiful views).  

That's Mount Baker in the background

We hiked up a hill and through new-mown hayfields  until we were on top of a tall bluff  overlooking the ocean. 

It smelled SO GOOD!

Hey, Mom!  Check out the View!

Roger had me and the "kids" pose with a dead log on top of the bluff, with Puget Sound as a backdrop. 

We followed along the high bluff for a while and then the trail made a steep decline down a sandy hill to the beach.

Did I mention it was a tall bluff?

By this time we had hiked almost five miles, and we still had two miles down the rocky beach to get back.  (We hiked a longer version of this hike than most people do because of where we started it).  

The beaches in Washington are not like those in 

Oregon.  They are narrow, with lots of rocks and downed trees that have washed ashore.   We collected a few pretty and/or unusual beach rocks to add to our collection....

On the way back we also saw an eagle perched atop a dead tree scoping out the beach below.

Finally after making it two miles down the beach, we took the spur trail back to where our car was parked at Prairie Overlook.  On the way we passed more beautiful agricultural areas...

By this time we were all starving.  Roger and I were especially hungry, because the day after Kaia left we started a 7-day diet plan.  (I'll explain more about that in our next blog update).  There had been no trail mix, almonds, cheese, summer sausage, or other of our usual carry-along trail snacks, only water.  All we had eaten this day so far were bananas and skim milk, and the days before that had been nothing but fruit and/or vegetables.  Here's what we packed for lunch so that we could stay on our diet plan that day:

Water, Vegetable Soup, and MORE bananas!  
                             

While we were enjoying our lunch, a young woman came up to us and asked to see our dogs.  We talked for quite a while, and she explained that her husband, an E.R. physician, was biking around the island and she (pregnant with twins) was following him in their jeep.  As we started to say our good-byes, she said "If you're on the 4:30 ferry, I'll see you again."  When we replied that we  did not yet have a reservation for our return trip, she told us that they usually like to have reservations on this popular route, and that they are supposed to be made at least two hours ahead.  Uh-oh!!  We had so blithely lucked out on our ferry ride over to the island that it didn't occur to us that we might have trouble getting home without a reservation.  

We drove into a little town to get phone reception, and Roger called right away to make reservations.  
After working his way through the phone tree, he finally got a person on the end of the line who informed him that the ferries were all sold out until 7:00.  Needless to say, we booked it right away!  We were so thankful that the young woman struck up a conversation with us, or who knows when we would have made it home.  

Roger also wanted to see the Deception Pass bridge and state park.  Ordinarily we would pay the park admission and spend some time hiking, but having already hiked for 7 miles that afternoon we decided to just take a peek at the bridge.

You can kinda see the bridge through the trees....

We got a quick look at what the trails looked like, and someday when we return (we've already decided we will) we'll hike those trails too.

Then it was on to the small town of Langley.  On the way, we passed by an inlet filled with colorful sailboats.  

We arrived in Langley and saw that they were having a farmer's market.  

Unfortunately for us, it was late in the afternoon and most of the fresh fruits and veggies were sold out (we were only allowed to eat bananas and vegetable soup that day anyway).  The rest of the tents were serving up things that smelled way too good to us, so we beat a hasty retreat.

We found a small shopping area and walked 

around, but most of the shops were just closing up.  We did find a boutique with a watering station out front for our dogs, which they wasted no time emptying.

Here are my "salt and pepper" dogs sharing a drink:

We headed back toward Coupeville and the ferry terminal.  My soup and bananas had long-since worn off, and my stomach was growling.  

Another "bucket list" item for me while in the Oregon/Washington area was to stop at one of the ubiquitous drive-through coffee shacks that seem to be everywhere in the Pacific Northwest.  

So far this trip I hadn't made it to one.  But with  grumbling stomachs we decided to cheat a bit on our diet and have a skim latte.  The barista was a perky little thing, and fixed us right up.

 

From there, we continued on to Coupeville to be sure to make it for our appointed ferry time.  We were supposed to be in line 40 minutes ahead of the scheduled departure time.  I made fun of Roger because, true to form, we arrived way early.   

The procedure is to queue up in a special lane along the side of the road leading to the ferry terminal toll booth.

These cars in front of us had shown up early to try to get one of the few spots set aside for those without a reservation.  When we got nearer to the toll booth and they asked if we had a reservation, we were plucked out of line and sent to the front of lane 1.  What was really cool about that is that when it was time to drive onto the ferry, we had the primo spot in the front row, with a wide-open view of the crossing!  The early bird really does get the worm.  They even chocked our front wheels to make sure we didn't roll out the front during the trip if anything went wrong.  

We just leaned back and enjoyed the view!

The ferries allow cars, trucks towing boats, motor homes, and even semi tractor-trailers aboard, as you can see in this photo taken out my passenger window of the two lanes next to ours:

When we arrived back at the Fort Townsend ferry dock, all of the passengers who had walked aboard congregated in front of our cars so that they could walk off first.  There was a group of motorcycles to our side who also got to disembark before the cars.  It was interesting for us landlubbers to watch the whole procedure.

By the time we drove back to Sequim it was starting to get dark.  The doggies were sacked out on their hammock in the back seat, and for a moment I thought we might have to carry them in like we used to carry our girls when they were small.

The pet picture of the day shows Bandido and Tequila tethered to the fence at the trail head after we returned from our hike.  They must have looked especially cute that day, because they garnered lots of attention everywhere they went and loved every minute of it.

We love to hike!

Cape Flattery. Can You Say Northwest?

Roger here...  On this day we drove 70+ miles along the extreme northern coast of the Olympic Peninsula to Cape Flattery.  

Most of the things we wanted to see were near the end of the drive; however, the drive itself was interesting and scenic.  The stacks of logs on the outskirts of Port Angeles reminded us that we continue to be in an active logging area.

The forested roadway frequently brought us glimpses of the rocky Washington coast.

It was sunny when we left Sequim, but it soon began to cloud up.  (BTW, it was also sunny when we returned to Sequim at the end of the day.)

Gigantic boulders in the water are a frequent occurrence here.  The rock formation below provided a stark contrast to the calm ocean on this gray day.

This is not a heavily populated area.  Occasionally, we drove through small towns, most of which had piers extending into the water.  We were especially happy when we found a convenience store in one of these towns with a restroom.

Near the end of the drive we entered Neah Bay and the Makah Reservation.  The Makah people have done a wonderful job preserving their history and their culture in this isolated part of the country.  

The Makah Cultural and Research Center provided a glimpse into what life was like for the tribe 300 - 500 years ago.  This is an outstanding museum, extremely well done.  We were not allowed to take pictures here; however, the essence of the museum is worth a few words:

In 1970 fierce storms at the nearby Ozette Village at Cape Alva uncovered portions of a village that had been buried in a landslide during an earthquake hundreds of years ago.  The Makah Tribal Council invited archeologist Richard Daugherty to study the site and create a research laboratory.  The current museum houses more than 55,000 artifacts and 40,000 structural fragments.  The Makah, like many native-American tribes, believe that they are a part of the planet, as is every living thing. The people took only what they needed and wasted nothing.  Seeing artifacts from their culture and learning how they survived was fascinating for me.  By the way, this is a first-class museum.  The $4 admission charge is a meager one considering the quality and display of the exhibits.  

Speaking of admission charges, our main reason for driving to Neah Bay was to walk the 3/4-mile Cape Flattery Trail.  In order to do so, we needed to purchase a $10 (good for one year) parking permit at the museum, another worthwhile expense. 

The trail led us back into the green forests to which we have become so accustomed on the Olympic Peninsula.  The Makah Tribe, which maintains the trail, have done some interesting things to keep hikers from getting their feet muddy on wet days.

Parts of the narrow trail are covered with wooden planks.

Other parts provided wooden tree circles (wooden stepping stones).

We were approaching Cape Flattery, the northwestern-most point in the continental United States.  But, shortly before the trail ended at the intersection of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean, a side trail led to a fascinating inlet.

When we arrived at the end of the trail, amazing views greeted us in every direction.

On the left (west) a series of rock formations confirmed that the ocean is continually eroding away this rocky point.

On the right (east), a series of sea caves line the shore.  I especially like the colors in this photo.

The view straight ahead (northwest) is of Tatoosh Island and the Pacific Ocean.  The Cape Flattery Lighthouse adds visual interest to the island, as well as safety to the ships on the water.

There was also wildlife thriving in this environment.

Orange and purple starfish clinging to the rocks, a sight that still amazes me.

Two Oyster Catchers resting by the water.

A gull and her nest precariously balanced on the side of a cliff.

Time to head back.  One last shot of the northwestern-most point of the continental U.S. on a gray day:

The pet picture of the day shows some more of the wildlife at Cape Flattery --- a slimy bit of wildlife.

We have seen yellow banana slugs and brown banana slugs.  How about a camo banana slug?

If you miss our real pets, there will be several pics of them on our next post from Whidbey Island.