The North Fork Skokomish valley is one of my favorite locations in Olympic National Park. It used to be the closest to my home, when I lived in Olympia. It’s a little farther away now, but I still try to make several trips per year. It’s a low snow year when you can drive up to the Staircase Trailhead in December (unlike this year).
Dungeness Spit State Park is located just north of Sequim on the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula. The lighthouse at the end of the spit is an 8 mile walk (one way) … and the signage warns to make sure you are aware of the time and tides. At high tide you may be forced to work your way through a maze of driftwood, slowing your progress dramatically. If the weather is clear, the views can be spectacular … including looking towards Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park.
In late November and December, through mid-February, the sun sets behind the Olympic Mountains as seen from Port Townsend. This view looks over the city marina, home of most of the boatbuilding activity in town (one of the larger employer groups … but no single employer comes close to the number of employees of Port Townsend Paper.
Port Townsend Paper is the largest employer in the town, so it is usually just referred to as “the mill”. In this image you can see the northeast corner of the Olympic Mountains in the background.
This is back to digital imaging and shows “rush hour” on Water Street in downtown Port Townsend. It is busy in the summertime and on weekends the rest of the year … but gets really quiet during the week.
I like it that way.
In the distance, you can see the sun setting behind the Northeast corner of the Olympic Mountains.