July 2 – July 9 Sequim, Washington (Skwim)

The drive from Astoria to Sequim was uneventful although it rained off and on all day.  We arrived at the RV Park and were assigned a prime spot by the restrooms, laundry room and community gathering room. The Park is very organized, clean and the sites are level concrete with excellent utilities.   Our site was wide providing plenty of room for a picnic table, awning and slide.

This Gilglal Oasis has a very good vibe and is clean, friendly and pretty. The first day we arrived they sponsored a Happy Hour (BYOB) so we had the opportunity to meet a few residents. Our first full day was laundry and some rest and relaxation.

It was also an opportunity to get the lay of the land by reading all the brochures provided by the reception office. The Gilglal Oasis RV Park has been our favorite RV Park so far. 

On the 4^th of July the RV Park owner and his wife barbecued 60 pounds of beef, chicken and pork.  Almost all of the park residents brought side dishes.  JY made guacamole and Peter made queso with chips for dipping.  We were all stuffed by the time it was over.

The next day we drove to Cape Flatterly which is the most northwestern point of the contiguous United States.  It is located in the state of Washington on the Olympic Peninsula, where the Strait of Juan de Fuca joins the Pacific Ocean. We could see Vancouver Island across the strait.  The scenery was amazing and reminded us a lot of places we visited when we were in Newfoundland, Canada.  We drove a very winding road along the coast and stopped a couple of places to walk on the beach.  We also stopped at the small fishing village of Sekui for coffee and dessert.  According to the 2010 census there were only 27 permanent residents in Sekui.  Due to a lot of growth in the size of the village we are sure that number has at least doubled.  We drove back along the north shore of crescent lake and arrived back in Sequim about 10:00 pm.

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On Sunday, July 7^th we drove up to Hurricane Ridge with and elevation of 5200 plus feet. Hurricane Ridge is in Olympic National Park and as we drove up the mountain we drove through the clouds which made visibility difficult.  At the top there were still a lot of clouds but the scenery was spectacular.  Even though it started to rain JY and I walked up a path to a viewpoint to look over the rain forest.  While at the top we saw several deer and Peter saw a black bear off in the distance.

We learned that mountain goats are being airlifted from Olympic National Park to the Cascades.  The reason is an interesting one.  Mountains goats are not indigenous  to Olympic National Park as they were introduced there in the 1920’s. Olympic National Park has few natural salt licks. Salt is an essential mineral for the goats and the lack of it makes it more likely that goats will be attracted to the sweat, urine and food of hikers, potentially endangering the goats and humans. One goat fatally gored a hiker in 2010.

On the way home we again drove down through the clouds and stopped in Port Angeles Mexican food for dinner .

Today we will spend time getting ready to move first thing in the morning as we will be taking the truck and trailer on the ferry to Whidbey Island.  We have postcards to mail and some laundry to do.  We will also be packing our suitcases because we will be staying with Peter’s mother and  brother for two weeks in Bellingham, Washington.