We found it online and the price was good, so here we are preparing for entrance into Canada on Tuesday. By then we will have filled the gas and propane, re supplied the groceries and done the laundry. The last errand will be to go to a bank to get some Canadian money and head for the border.
But, first let me share a few notes from other posts. First I misspelled the name of the wonderful Oregon cheese that we are so enjoying. Here it is I picture form!
Second, I want to add a note about naming what we see. We use the area guides done by the National Audubon Society Field Guiide to the Pacific Northwest, for example, as well as the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America. Of course, these are only as good as the person using them, so I will say we are doing our best to learn new names and share those we feel some confidence about. Please forgive our mistakes, typos and other errors.
Okay, back to the journey! We had and a chance to learn a bit about Lewis and Clark's trip. We both had vague memories from our history classes but had a chance to visit a replica of their fort on the Columbia River. They and the army group they traveled with lived here for four months after they completed their mission given them by President Thomas Jefferson.
Of course the country looks quite different to us, and we crossed an amazing bridge across the beautiful Columbia River into Washington heading for a state park called Cape Disappointment.
Exploring the lighthouses long the beach brought some fun experiences. We met a local man who taught us how he catches Dungeess Crabs for his table...
We also saw a flock of Caspian Terns near the Northern Jetty. One bird flew over the flock making loud calls while carrying a small fish. Soon, another one came out of the flock and they both flew to a spot on the beach where they would apparently share the fish. Out of the blue, came a large Western Gull and stole the fish. The terns kept trying and were eventually successful. Breeding ritual I assumed.
We walked on toward the North Head Light before deciding we would venture into town and try to find some Dungeness Crabs, too.
It was going to be a Mother's Day treat for us.
We found what we wanted to try as well as another friendly person who taught us so much about the area delicacies. First, it was how to eat one of these very large Crustaceans.
As you can see, we were successful thanks to Shaun the owner of The Crab Pot. He also told us about oysters that come for Willipa Bay, one of the most pristine bodies of water on earth. We learned how the oysters are nurtured for the years it takes for them to grow to market size, five to seven years.
We also learned about the clams of the area and enjoyed his humor evident in the fish market.
The final day here we visited the other lighthouse of this area, Cape Disappointment, and the Coast Guard staff who maintain it.
Living along the coast of Maine, we have an appreciation for the service of this special group. We thanked them before heading along to other sights on the trail.
When we decided on our route, we made a plan to travel along the east side of the Olympic Penisula and headed for Dosewallips State Park. Beautiful travel through the forests of WA with snow-covered peaks everywhere.
This park sits on the Dosewallips River, a salmon river, and the Hood Canal which is the western most arm of Puget Sound. We enjoyed a walk to the flats where we learned about the clam and oyster season. We also enjoyed the eagles soaring overhead.
Time to move north again and we landed at Port Townsend and traveled on the ferry to Whidbey Island hoping to reconnect with another friend from the trail. " Trauma Junkie", an ER nurse hiked with for two months, but got sick and left the trail. We didn't find him but enjoyed the state park on the island.
We rode north crossing Deception Pass as we left Whidbey Island behind and headed for the border and the town of Sumas. We had an amazing lunch stop along the road and enjoyed the views of Mt. Baker.
So here we are just a few days from heading into BC and the ferry terminal at Prince Rupert. We board the ship May 27 and start a weeklong trip up the Inland Passge to Alaska. It is exciting and overwhelming to think that very soon we will be in ALASKA! Wow!
We both feel so blessed by the special sights we are seeing, the special local food we have tasted, and most of all, the special people we have met. We are forever grateful.
Footnote: I thought you might "enjoy" seeing the knees of Latona after her trip on the edge of a parking lot. She was doing something fun and foolish as only she can and paid the price of scuffed knees. She is still laughing!
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