Where To Start .... ???

This trip is especially difficult to recap - from the standpoint of what pictures to add - because there were so many extremely beautiful sights along the way.  And - we kept the cameras clicking just about all of the time.   Our earlier posts included mostly pictures taken with our iPhones or the iPad.  There were several that we included from Rick's camera but those that were taken with Linda's Nikon camera couldn't be loaded directly onto the iPad so we had to wait to transfer them.  (For those of you who might have joined us recently, we use an app called "Blogpress" that is really cool for use in preparing posts on Google's "Blogger - or - Blogspot."  It is relatively easy to use with a bit of practice but it does have a couple of pesky limitations when trying to use media such as videos or photos from some other devices.)  At any rate - we have now had a chance to look at the Nikon pics and we'd really like for you to see them.  What I think we'll do, though, is take things slowly and let you see those from one area at a time so we won't overload you.  We'll start off on the Olympic Peninsula and will concentrate on photos we got in several key areas. 
Although we showed some stuff from there - we want to add pictures from around Cape Flattery (including the Strait of San Juan de Fuca), Ruby Beach, Kalaloch and two of the temperate rain forests, the Quinalt and the Hoh.

We actually got our first good look at the  Strait of San Juan de Fuca from an unusual vantage point - the highway to Hurricane Ridge.  (See our post from Port Angeles.)  As we were traveling to the ridge, we reached a point where we had a great view of distant Vancouver Island on one side and the majestic, snow covered peaks of Hurricane Ridge on the other.  The road that travels almost due West along the strait provides numerous opportunities to see beautiful sites along the way.  The strait occupies a place of tremendous importance in the life of the surrounding area since it connects the Pacific Ocean (at Cape Flattery) to the Puget Sound (at the San Juan Islands.)  The countless species of fish, birds, insects and animals here are just amazing.

When we reached the end of the drive up to Cape Flattery we still had a pretty good walk to get to the coastline but that, alone, was mesmerizing!!!  We saw countless varieties of flowers  .... trees in the most unusual formations .....  and even Mr. Spider put up a welcome sign to illustrate the open-armed hospitality that abounds here.



Looking North toward Vancouver Island from the Cape one is struck with the immenseness of the land and water formations and with the pristine beauty of the vegetation and the water.  It is hard to describe the colors; and the sound of the gulls and cormorants shouting out their seafood orders, the wind in the evergreens and the waves busily carving new formations in the timeless rocks along the coast are like something from a movie sound-track. 

Another of natures astonishing miracles - rich, nurturing kelp beds - also occupy the strait and provide habitat for countless species of creatures upon which the entire ecosystem depends so heavily.

Where the Pacific Ocean funnels into the stormy entrance of the Strait of San Juan de Fuca - where both Vancouver Island and the State of Washington reach their westernmost points - on remote, lonely and exquisitely beautiful Tatoosh Island a solitary sentinel - The Cape Flattery Lighthouse - provides for the safety of mariners traversing the coast with it's brilliant light. Built in 1857, one year after construction of one of my favorite places in the whole country - Cape Disappointment Lighthouse near where the Columbia River separates Washington and Oregon - the Cape Flattery Light occupies ground sacred to the Makah Indians - their tribal burial ground.  Although the light is still operated and maintained by the U. S. Coast Guard I have heard that there is a plan to return the land to the Makah Tribe at some point in the future. 




The sparkling clarity of water that rushes in and out of the narrow passages separating tiny islands and rocky outcrops along the coast just has to make one smile and the astonishing turquoise color you see when you look down into the kelp colonies is really hard to believe.  I really, really hope you get to come to this area some day.  If you do I am certain that you will come away spiritually refreshed and uplifted for days or weeks!!  I know it did - not only for us "old-folks" but for the young Traveler who was doing his apprenticeship with us this trip.

We'll stop now and get ready to mosey South to re-visit the rainforests.  There are things there we are really excited for you to see.  The rainforests are just as compelling, in their way, in reminding us of the miracles that surround us.  Come on back in a bit and we'll share some of them with you.  See ya.