August 13, 2012...

A short day in miles but long in scenery.

We left Lacey, Washington and drove up to Port Angeles, Washington.  We are staying at the Red Lion right on the water across from Victoria, British Columbia.  Pictures of the drive follow:

For a time we followed a bay.  We stopped to eat breakfast at a small restaurant in Hoodsport.  Huge omelets.

After arriving in Port Angeles, we drove up to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympia National Forest.  This is one of the three tunnels you have to go through to get there.

I caught a picture of this doe on Hurricane Ridge.  It was so cloudy or smokey or foggy (depending on who you asked) that pictures of the surrounding mountains was almost impossible.

This was the best I could do.  Hurricane Ridge is surrounded by mountains but you just couldn't see them.

This is looking down from the Ridge back to Port Angeles.  On a clear day you can see the ocean from here but that line of white is actually fog that is covering the coast.  We drove down the Dungeness Scenic Byway and you couldn't see the ocean from 25 feet away.  Everyone told us that yesterday was fabulous and this fog/smoke/clouds was very unusual for this time of year.  Someone suggested that this is smoke from Asian wildfires.  I just know Hurricane Ridge has looked better.

This is the view from the balcony of our room.  The Red Lion looked much better eleven years ago, it's a little worn now.  The rug has stains on it, the towels have been better at the Super 8, the balcony has two little cheap plastic chairs and no table.  And this isn't a cheap hotel, either.  We're here for six days and one day we will take the ferry to Victoria.

The large building on the left side of this picture is the ferry dock and duty free shop.  We can walk there from The Red Lion which is one of the reasons we stay here.  I also noticed since we were here last they've acquired a JoAnn Fabrics which I shall have to visit before we leave.  Not sure of the plans tomorrow.  Lots of stuff to do around here.