Gallivanting Into 2011: Day 3, Seaside to Port Townsend

Seaside, Oregon is a standard coastal town, designed for enjoying the summer's sun, sand, and surf but offering little charm in the off season.  So, after a leisurely morning, we decided to get on the road, knowing that better tourist opportunities awaited us.  The fact that the road we were traveling on was a nearly traffic-free one was a source of great joy for my faithful driver!

We soon found that the term Washington Coast is a bit of a misnomer.  Unlike the coasts of Northern California and all of Oregon, along which Highway 101 sinuously winds, the highway in Washington offers few views if the Pacific.  Quite often the road turns several miles inland, and even when the map seems to indicate a coastal route, there is often a strip of land and trees separating drivers from an ocean view.

While different from what we expected, the drive was enjoyable and peaceful.  Rivers and lakes provided created stark, wild backdrops, and as we neared the Olympic National Park and Forest, the views were majestic.  This was quite a relief, too, as clear cuts in the south and central coastal region had frequently scarred our views: huge swaths of land bare of all but stumps, with only occasional signs of new trees being planted.  In retrospect, I should have taken pictures, but the view did not inspire me to reach for the camera.  All in all, arriving in the Olympic Peninsula, with its abundant trees and parks, made me very thankful for the men and women who had the foresight to put aside wilderness areas and protect Americans from our own excesses. 

I don't want to make Washington sound unattractive, as there actually are many gorgeous places, as you can see from these pictures.  The northwest area and the Olympic parks would be great places to camp and hike in the summer months.  For two car tourists, however, there were not many attractions.  Additionally, it was sunny but COLD, with temperatures dipping into the low 30s and upper 20s throughout the afternoon.  For several miles we encountered huge swaths of hard frost and some slippery roads.  The road was curvy, so we wove along scenery that was alternately green and white depending on the sun's direction.

With little in the way of amusement, we decided to drive longer and further than we had on previous days, enticed by the description of late-19th-century Port Townsend, located on the northwest corner of Puget Sound.  We arrived in the dark and made our way to the Waterside Inn, where off-season prices and availability paid off.  With such luxurious accommodations, we decided to stay two nights and enjoy some time off the road.