We've finished our five day backpacking trip, only the mosquitos nibbled on us. No bear attacks. We're heading out to explore the other areas of the park. Animal count so far - 4 bears, 4 goats, 2 marmots, 10+ deer. More details later!
Mark and Joanna
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Orca Whales
posted at http://markandjoannatravel.blogspot.com
Day 2
August 23, 2009
We are ready for the start of our backpacking trip tomorrow. I'm very excited. But, I should go back and tell you about today.
Our bed and breakfast was very charming last night. It was the Solstice Farm right outside Port Townsend. We had a huge bedroom, perfect for repacking and organizing for a backpacking trip. =) Breakfast on the farm was a 2.5 hour affiar. The couple who runs the place has led quite the full and exciting life. They told us all kinds of stories about their travels, different jobs they've had, and even all about their farm and lambing. They have about 45 lambs each spring. The food itself wasn't too long, but the stories that followed were interesting. This couple is very interested in sustainable living and told us all about how they built their house using wood deconstructed and recycled from other buildings. We learned about bringing the salmon back to their creek in the back, and even about a new way of logging sustainably.
After the stories and the repacking, we drove to the small town of Port Townsend. So far the Olympic Peninsula and it's small ocean towns remind me very much of Nova Scotia. We had lunch at an eclectic cafe called Fountain Cafe and then headed to the harbor for our afternoon whale watching cruise.
We couldn't have asked for better weather for our whale watching. There was hardly a cloud in the sky and the sea was calm. The weather was a chilly 65 on the dock and 55 on the water. We did get to follow a pod of female orca whales with a baby in tow. No males, but the females were fun to watch. We stayed with them for an hour - the maximum time a boat is allowed to follow whales. The whales were in travel mode and just coming up for air every so often. There was no jumping out of the water like at Sea World. =)
Once back on land, we hit up the Elevated Ice Cream Shop for some homemeade dessert and then drove an hour to Port Angeles.
Port Angeles is bigger than Port Townsend, but not by much. We had a yummy Dungeness Crab dinner at the Crab House and are now relaxing in our hotel, The Downtown Hotel.
Tomorrow we will start our 5-day backpacking trip, so no posts from me for a few days. It will be cold at night. Tonight we were chilly walking around in the 50 degree weather outside. The weather is still looking amazingly sunny with just a small chance of showers on Tuesday. We know this is a rainy area, though, so we are prepared for the rain. It looks like the highest high we will see is all the way up to 69 on one of the days.
Have a good start to your week ahead. We will post more in 5-6 days.
I attached a photo of the whale pod we saw.
Day 2
August 23, 2009
We are ready for the start of our backpacking trip tomorrow. I'm very excited. But, I should go back and tell you about today.
Our bed and breakfast was very charming last night. It was the Solstice Farm right outside Port Townsend. We had a huge bedroom, perfect for repacking and organizing for a backpacking trip. =) Breakfast on the farm was a 2.5 hour affiar. The couple who runs the place has led quite the full and exciting life. They told us all kinds of stories about their travels, different jobs they've had, and even all about their farm and lambing. They have about 45 lambs each spring. The food itself wasn't too long, but the stories that followed were interesting. This couple is very interested in sustainable living and told us all about how they built their house using wood deconstructed and recycled from other buildings. We learned about bringing the salmon back to their creek in the back, and even about a new way of logging sustainably.
After the stories and the repacking, we drove to the small town of Port Townsend. So far the Olympic Peninsula and it's small ocean towns remind me very much of Nova Scotia. We had lunch at an eclectic cafe called Fountain Cafe and then headed to the harbor for our afternoon whale watching cruise.
We couldn't have asked for better weather for our whale watching. There was hardly a cloud in the sky and the sea was calm. The weather was a chilly 65 on the dock and 55 on the water. We did get to follow a pod of female orca whales with a baby in tow. No males, but the females were fun to watch. We stayed with them for an hour - the maximum time a boat is allowed to follow whales. The whales were in travel mode and just coming up for air every so often. There was no jumping out of the water like at Sea World. =)
Once back on land, we hit up the Elevated Ice Cream Shop for some homemeade dessert and then drove an hour to Port Angeles.
Port Angeles is bigger than Port Townsend, but not by much. We had a yummy Dungeness Crab dinner at the Crab House and are now relaxing in our hotel, The Downtown Hotel.
Tomorrow we will start our 5-day backpacking trip, so no posts from me for a few days. It will be cold at night. Tonight we were chilly walking around in the 50 degree weather outside. The weather is still looking amazingly sunny with just a small chance of showers on Tuesday. We know this is a rainy area, though, so we are prepared for the rain. It looks like the highest high we will see is all the way up to 69 on one of the days.
Have a good start to your week ahead. We will post more in 5-6 days.
I attached a photo of the whale pod we saw.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
First day is the travel day
Posted at http://markandjoannatravel.blogspot.com
Day 1
August 22, 2009
All vacations start out with a travel day. Our travel today was smooth and uneventful.
Our flight from Houston to Seattle was on time and even arrived 25 minutes early. Our luggage all arrived with no problems. We were a little curious how the backpacks would fair in the checked luggage. We used large duffel bags made to cover up backpacks for airline travel.
Lucky for us, Seattle just opened a brand new light rail transit from the airport (via a connector bus) to downtown. The light rail was easy and arrived in downtown only 2 blocks from the Avis rental car place.
After we rented the car, we ran a few errands like going to REI for stove fuel and home depot for Mark's hiking stick, and then boarded the Bainbridge Ferry to leave Seattle.
The ferry was rather interesting. I can't even estimate how many cars were fit on there in multiple levels. Then, we left the car and walked around the rest of the ferry for the 30 minute trip. The ferry featured itself as a free gym included as it measured laps for walking and encouraged passengers to use the stairs more than once for exercise.
We arrived in Bainbridge, and on the way to Port Townsend and our bed and breakfast for the night stopped at a local grill for a yummy steak and potatoes meal. The funny thing was we had to pass by multiple mexican food restaurants and a couple fast food joints before we finally found a place to eat.
Now we are at our bed and breakfast and headed to bed. The weather here is cool during the day and chilly at night. It is a nice change from the humid 100 degree Houston heat.
Tomorrow we will get ready for our backpacking trip and go whale watching in the Pugent Sound.
Good night.
Day 1
August 22, 2009
All vacations start out with a travel day. Our travel today was smooth and uneventful.
Our flight from Houston to Seattle was on time and even arrived 25 minutes early. Our luggage all arrived with no problems. We were a little curious how the backpacks would fair in the checked luggage. We used large duffel bags made to cover up backpacks for airline travel.
Lucky for us, Seattle just opened a brand new light rail transit from the airport (via a connector bus) to downtown. The light rail was easy and arrived in downtown only 2 blocks from the Avis rental car place.
After we rented the car, we ran a few errands like going to REI for stove fuel and home depot for Mark's hiking stick, and then boarded the Bainbridge Ferry to leave Seattle.
The ferry was rather interesting. I can't even estimate how many cars were fit on there in multiple levels. Then, we left the car and walked around the rest of the ferry for the 30 minute trip. The ferry featured itself as a free gym included as it measured laps for walking and encouraged passengers to use the stairs more than once for exercise.
We arrived in Bainbridge, and on the way to Port Townsend and our bed and breakfast for the night stopped at a local grill for a yummy steak and potatoes meal. The funny thing was we had to pass by multiple mexican food restaurants and a couple fast food joints before we finally found a place to eat.
Now we are at our bed and breakfast and headed to bed. The weather here is cool during the day and chilly at night. It is a nice change from the humid 100 degree Houston heat.
Tomorrow we will get ready for our backpacking trip and go whale watching in the Pugent Sound.
Good night.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Travel to Washington State
Posted at: http://markandjoannatravel.blogspot.com
Our next adventure starts this Saturday when we take off for Washington State. We will be spending 2 weeks there soaking up the cooler weather. The bulk of our trip will be spent on the Olympic Peninsula in Olympic National Park including a 5-day backpacking trip in the Seven Lakes Basin. The last few days of our trip will be in Seattle where we will attend the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX). PAX is a three-day game festival for tabletop, videogame, and PC gamers.
I'll be posting to our travel blog during the trip, so stay tuned and prepare to live vicariously through our travels. =) For those that are interested, here is our itinerary:
Saturday, August 22, 2009
fly to Seattle, drive to Port Townsend
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Whale watching leaves from Port Townsend
Monday, August 24, 2009 - backpacking day 1
Enter backcountry: Sol Duc Trailhead
Sol Duc Trailhead to Sol Duc Falls to Deer Lake (4.6 miles)
Set up camp, day hike along Low Divide
Night: Deer Lake Campsite
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 - backpacking day 2
Deer Lake to Bogachiel Peak to Hoh Lake (6.2 miles)
Set up camp, day hike to Olympus Ranger Station
Night: Hoh Lake Campsite
Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - backpacking day 3
Hoh Lake to Bogachiel Peak to Heart Lake to Sol Duc Park (6 miles)
day hike along high divide
Night: Sol Duc Park Campsite
Thursday, August 27, 2009 - backpacking day 4
Sol Duc Park to Appleton Jct. to Appleton Pass (5.6 miles)
Night: Appleton Pass Campsite
Friday, August 28, 2009 - backpacking day 5
Appleton Pass to Appleton Jct. to Sol Duc Trailhead (8.3 miles)
Exit backcountry: Sol Duc Trailhead
Saturday, August 29, 2009 - Tuesday, September 1, 2009
day hike in Olympic National Park
nights in various campgrounds in the park
Wednesday, September 2, 2009 - Saturday, September 5, 2009
Seattle
Sunday, September 6, 2009
fly to Houston
Our next adventure starts this Saturday when we take off for Washington State. We will be spending 2 weeks there soaking up the cooler weather. The bulk of our trip will be spent on the Olympic Peninsula in Olympic National Park including a 5-day backpacking trip in the Seven Lakes Basin. The last few days of our trip will be in Seattle where we will attend the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX). PAX is a three-day game festival for tabletop, videogame, and PC gamers.
I'll be posting to our travel blog during the trip, so stay tuned and prepare to live vicariously through our travels. =) For those that are interested, here is our itinerary:
Saturday, August 22, 2009
fly to Seattle, drive to Port Townsend
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Whale watching leaves from Port Townsend
Monday, August 24, 2009 - backpacking day 1
Enter backcountry: Sol Duc Trailhead
Sol Duc Trailhead to Sol Duc Falls to Deer Lake (4.6 miles)
Set up camp, day hike along Low Divide
Night: Deer Lake Campsite
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 - backpacking day 2
Deer Lake to Bogachiel Peak to Hoh Lake (6.2 miles)
Set up camp, day hike to Olympus Ranger Station
Night: Hoh Lake Campsite
Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - backpacking day 3
Hoh Lake to Bogachiel Peak to Heart Lake to Sol Duc Park (6 miles)
day hike along high divide
Night: Sol Duc Park Campsite
Thursday, August 27, 2009 - backpacking day 4
Sol Duc Park to Appleton Jct. to Appleton Pass (5.6 miles)
Night: Appleton Pass Campsite
Friday, August 28, 2009 - backpacking day 5
Appleton Pass to Appleton Jct. to Sol Duc Trailhead (8.3 miles)
Exit backcountry: Sol Duc Trailhead
Saturday, August 29, 2009 - Tuesday, September 1, 2009
day hike in Olympic National Park
nights in various campgrounds in the park
Wednesday, September 2, 2009 - Saturday, September 5, 2009
Seattle
Sunday, September 6, 2009
fly to Houston
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