East through and out of Mt. Rainier Park

August 27, 2020 Thursday

Not wanting to repeat yesterdays futile chase, we ate breakfast in the room from our hardworking food cooler. We checked out of the Gateway Inn at 9:15 and headed back into the Park. Our first stop about 10 miles into the Park was at Christine Falls. We stopped at a small parking lot which gave us access to the short trail leading to an overlook from which we could view the falls. It is part of the Van Trump Creek and descends about 70 feet in two stages. It is traversed by the Christine Falls Bridge. We did not linger here.

 

Our next stop, about 5 more miles, was at Narada Falls. There was a larger parking area here from which there was a view of the falls, but not a great view. After having to seek directions we crossed a bridge that lead to a steep, staircase path which lead us to the lake into which the falls dropped. This two tiered falls drop 176 feet as part of the Paradise River that is formed by glacier melt. 

 

A look downriver and up at the mountain could be viewed from the same spot.

We hiked back up to the parking area, took advantage of some vintage restrooms and then continued east, passing Paradise and Reflection Lakes and transitioning onto Stevens Canyon Road, open only seasonally. After about 10 miles we stopped at Box Canyon. This really a gorge, formed by the erosive action of the Muddy Fork of the Cowiltz River. The gorge began as a crack in the granite bedrock which over the years was carved out by the rocks and pebbles in the river that is fed by the glacier which is only three miles up the canyon. In many places the gorge is only 13 feet wide, but as deep as 115 ft and has very vertical walls.

A short hike on the trail afforded another good view of the mountain.

 

Our final destination in the Park was the Grove of the Patriarchs. It is 18 miles further east in the southeast portion of the Park near the Ohanapecosh entrance.  It is located in a valley at 2000ft and is the only area of the Park from which one cannot view Mt. Rainier. After missing the parking area fro the trailhead and driving out of the Park, we turned around and reentered the Park. he small parking area was full so we parked along the road just west of the trailhead. To get to the Grove we initially hiked on the Eastside trail. This was a wonderful hike along the Ohanapecosh River that was easy, calm and beautiful. Suitable for all ages. This river is one of nine in the Park, one of only two that are not glacier fed and the only one that does not ultimately flow into Puget Sound. It flows into the Columbia River. The water was so clear that you could see the rocks at the bottom. There were lots of mushrooms along the trail. We encountered many other hikers, most not wearing masks.There were lots of trees, many of them big, along the trail. The Western Hemlock is densely needled whose copious quantities of seeds littered the trail. The Douglas fur is one of the largest trees and most abundant trees in the lowland forest. It grows fast and can reach heights of 250 feet during its 1000 year lifespan.

After about half a mile we reached a rickety suspension bridge across the river. It could only safely handle one adult at a time. That was the entrance to the Grove, an island populated by the Patriarchs, very large trees, Trees so large that it made me feel tiny. These trees had trunks that were as much as 40 ft in diameter, 300 ft high and a 1000 years old. After walking a short distance on a sandy trail along the river, we followed a boardwalk loop through ancient giants weaving our way under their canopy stopping at the many interpretive signs along the way. 

 

We hiked back out and then had a picnic lunch near the trailhead. 

After lunch we exited the Park and began the drive to Yakima. Initially we drove south on route 123, but quickly we turned onto route 12 which took us on a scenic drive through the William O Douglas (a former Supreme Court Justice who was appointed by FDR and served over 36 years. He became an environmentalist and in one dissent argued that trees have standing to sue. More lastingly he authored the majority opinion in the Griswold decision which was the first to recognize the right to privacy in a contraception case. He was a vigorous advocate for individual rights and freedom of speech. It was a beautiful drive and we passed the White Pass ski area and traveled through the Rimrock Tunnel.

We arrived in Yakima about 3:30 and checked into the Howard Johnson's that was just outside downtown. Pleasent place with a very large room. The Visitor's Information enter was closed, so we  drove into downtown without a plan except to plug in the car at the same charging station we had used two weeks prior during our trip out to Washington.

We walked around downtown, but it was very quiet. There were very few people on the street and little car traffic. Many stores were closed. It was also very hot. This was the first time we had experienced hot weather for almost two weeks since we had earlier passed through Yakima.

We settled in at the Single Hill Brewing brew pub. Good beer and low prices. We drank in the outdoor garden where there were lots of dogs running around. Then we walked over to dinner at the Olive Garden. It was very empty. We had a very talkative/friendly waiter who likes to snowboard at a local mountain resort we passed and is studying to become a fireman as he works part time in that capacity. It was the first day that Yakima permitted dine-in dining. I ate way too much soup and salad. We charged up 44 miles on the car courtesy of the Downtown Business Association.

Drove back to the motel where I took a nighttime swim as the sun was setting.

Mt. Rainer

 August 26, 2020 Wednesday

The day started on a discouraging note. We decided to go out to eat for breakfast. The Inn's restaurant did not open for breakfast. I asked for suggestions from the desk clerk but she was not helpful, some maybes and might be open suggestions. We drove west, away from the park toward Ashford in search of an open restaurant. The Copper Creek Inn was closed as was the Wild Berry. The Paradise Village Inn and Restaurant was open.  It was a Ukrainian restaurant which seemed only to serve crepes, so we passed on that place. Drove the remainder of the way into town, but found nothing except some small markets. Discouraged we turned around, return to our Inn and ate breakfast out of our cooler, fruits, nuts and yogurt.

We got back on the road at about 10:00 and immediately entered the Park.

As usual, by waving our senior pass we were waved right in by the Ranger through the Nisqually Entrance, elevation 2023 ft, one of four entrances to the Park, all at the corners of its rectangular shape. We then proceeded on a beautiful 15 mile drive to the Henry Jackson ( a hawkish Democratic Senator from the Cold War period is probably not a good namesake for a national park center) Visitor Center in Paradise. The road was very windy and generally uphill as we rose a bit over 3000 ft in elevation. As the hour was getting late we passed all but one of many turnouts, stopping only at Ricksecker Point, an overlook off a one way loop.It offered spectacular views of a very awesome mountain. 

 

We then made our way to the Visitor Center and the Paradise Inn by about 10:45. The parking lot was full so we, along with a growing number of other visitors parked along the road. I wonder what happens on summer weekends when there would not be sufficient parking for all the visitors.

The virus strikes again. The Inn and all the other buildings, including the Visitor Center, were closed. There were Rangers outside the Center answering questions and handing out maps.

Everything seems to be named Paradise here. Allegedly, in 1889 when Martha Longmire first saw the southern valley below Mt. Rainier she exclaimed,"Oh, what a paradise." Hence the names. Now, what to do? The map showed a maze of trails on the mountain. The books and the Ranger all raved about the Skyline Trail. It enables one to hike halfway up the tallest active volcano in the contiguous US and the tallest point in the Cascade Mountain Range on a circular trail, so that is what we headed to.

The trail is rated as moderate. The trailhead started with half a dozen steps which had a quote from John Muir etched into them: "...the most luxuriant and the most extravagantly beautiful of all the alpine gardens i ever beheld in all my mountain-top wanderings." The lower part of the trail is paved, so although it was steep at times, it was easy to negotiate. Also on the lower part it crossed many other trails, but fortunately the trail had very good signage and we were able to maintain our clockwise trail path.. Along the trail was a riot of wild flowers and spectacular mountain views.

As we moved up the trail the surprisingly large number of hikers on the paved trail quickly thinned out. Most of the hikers were not wearing masks. About .5 mile up we arrived at a small circular area where the paved trail ended.There were a few strollers and wheelchairs whose trip ended at this point. Off to the left is Alta Vista, but we decided to forgo that view and conserve our energy. It is not uncommon for the views of the 14,410 ft peak of Mt. Rainier to be shrouded in clouds, but on this morning we had a clear view not only of the peak, but also the Tatoosh mountains to the south and the Nisqually Glacier to the north and west. It is the seventh largest glacier on the mountain and covers 1.8 square miles. The 35 remaining glaciers on the mountain are the result of heavy snowfall. In a typical year 634 inches of snow falls in the Paradise area. That exceeds even the vaunted snowfall in the Wasahch range in Utah. The peak was known as Tahoma, or great white mountain, to the local tribes.

At this point the trail was no longer paved and at times it became difficult. We staggered up rocky staircases and the many loose rocks on the trail. Even though it was late August, we came upon snowfields which at times covered the trail. There were many places to stop and observe the breath taking views. We finally arrived at Glacier Vista, 6300 ft. It offered sparkling views of the glacier to the left and the peak straight ahead. 

 

From this point we could see the people up at Panorama Point, the crown jewel of this hike. However this final part of the trail was rated as strenuous, the trail was getting steeper and rougher and it did not seem to be worth the effort to negotiate the additional 600 ft in elevation and several hairpin turns. So we began the descent. Going down the unpaved portion of the trail was just as hard as going up. Because we did not complete the Skyline Trail Loop we did not get a close up view of Myrtle Falls, but we saw it from a distance.

When we got back down to the Visitor Center we snacked and took a bathroom break, We then searched for an easier, and perhaps less traveled trail.Tthe Ranger suggested the Nisqually Vista trail. It was a good suggestion. The trailhead for that is at the northwestern end of the lower parking lot so we had a short walk to get there. At the entrance to the trail there were two park service building built in the rustic style that appeared to be unoccupied. As promised, on this trail we encountered virtually no other people. Instead we encountered a variety of wildlife, many birds and small mammals and several deer.

There were fields of wildflowers and views of the Nisqually glacier, falls and river.

This area of the park was much lower in elevation than the Skyline Trail and there were many tall trees.

This trail was a 1.2 mile loop that had only a 200 ft gain in elevation, no steps and a well maintained gravel path. Easy on the feet. We walked back to the Visitor Center via the Avalanche Lily Trail and then along the road to our car. It was after 6 and the parking lot had thinned out, but there was still a lot of daylight, so we decided to drive down to Reflection Lake. We could have hiked there but it would have been a 4 mile round trip with elevation. Not doing that at that time of day. Our drive took us on Valley Road and then west on Stevens Canyon Road to a trailhead for the Lakes Trail. We then took a short hike to Reflection Lake. That afforded a nice view of the mountain.

Very few other hikers were there, but none were wearing masks. 

We then drove back toward Ashford past our Inn looking for a place to eat dinner. Riding down the mountain we picked up 16 miles in electricity. The Wild Berry, a Nepalese restaurant received good reviews, was open and was not crowded. So we ate there on the outdoor, covered patio. Good food, reasonably priced and quality service. It was after 9 when we got out of there so we just went back to the Inn.

 

Driving the 101, Pacific Beaches and Nighttime at the entrance to Mt. Rainier

August 25, 2020 Tuesday

After cooking a big breakfast and packing up we said good-bye to the Olympic Suites Inn, checked out by 9:00 am, left Forks and drove south on 101. Our final destination would be Mt. Rainier, half way across the State of Washington, but I planned to make some stops along the way.

We passed the Hoh River as it entered the Pacific and came to the wild Washington beaches. Our first stop was an overlook and trailhead for Ruby Beach. Unfortunately it was very foggy so we had only a minimum view of the acclaimed beach. Given the thick fog and the steep and rocky trail to the beach we didn't go down to the beach and instead continued south to Kalaloch Beach. This Beach has several entrances and we stopped first at the Beach #6 overlook. Here too it was very foggy, but we walked around the overlook which afforded a good view of the beach. It was very wide and largely sandy with not as many pieces of driftwood as at Rielto Beach. We did not spend a lot of time there.

Our next stop was Beach #4 which had a good trail down to the beach. The trail walk was short and brought us on to a wide, flat (I assume it was low tide) sandy beach, with a foggy view. In some places the sand was very fine. It was an otherworldly view. As we walked on the beach we came to some areas which had lots of dead crabs or crab parts. There were occasional rivets of water rolling down to the ocean and frequently large groups of birds, common murres and tuffed puffins seemed to predominate, either flying above or massed on the ground. During the walk, which occurred in the late morning, we encountered very few people, but saw seastars and anemones in the tidepools.

As we left the beach we encountered a surfer coming in. He said this was a typical weather day and that the beach was usually uncrowded. This beach is part of 65 miles of coastline protected with Olympic National Park. From the beach a marine sanctuary extends 135 miles north and south and from 20 to 50 miles offshore.

Returning to the car we continued south along the ocean on the 101. We passed the Kalaloch Lodge, a nice looking wooden structure just off the beach. Looked like a nice place to stay. As we passed  South Beach we left the beach part of the Park and approached Queets. At that point the 101 turned east and we drove along the southern boundary of the Park.  We passed the entrance to the Quinault Rain Forest, but had to forego that attraction since we still had a long way to travel. 

We continued east and drove through Aberdeen. The town was named for the Scottish city and lies at the head of the expansive Gray's Harbor. As we drove through we crossed several river bridges and observed many handsome Craftsman and Victorian style homes.  On the outside of town we stopped and purchased food for lunch. A few miles out of town we stopped at Twin Bridges County Park for a picnic lunch. 

The Park had recently been renovated so we ate on a new picnic table and took a brief hike on a new trail down to an along the river.

We then proceeded east on 107, skirted around Tacoma, drove a short stretch north on I-5 and then east along increasingly scenic roads to the southern entrance to Mt Rainier  National Park. We drove through the small town of Ashford and stopped a few hundred yards east of the park entrance where we  checked into the Gateway Inn. The Inn is an older facility with a main lodge and about a dozen cabins set in a forest of towering trees. We were given a small suite with a small kitchenette on the second floor. The outlet on the light tower did not have enough current to power the car and the Inn would not let me plug into the outlets for RVs even though many were vacant. 

After unpacking I walked to the park entrance and picked up a park map. We ate dinner out of the cooler.  I took an evening walk among the tall trees and made some phone calls. The telephone reception during the walk was poor and the internet reception in the room was even worse. 

 

Rialto Beach

 August 24, 2020 Monday

We cooked a big and hearty breakfast in the Inn's kitchen and left the Inn about 10:00 headed for Rialto Beach. We retraced our drive from the prior day, north briefly on 101 and then west for several miles on 110. However today instead of the failed attempt to proceed on 110 to La Push, we turned on to Mora Road. On the way to Rialto Beach we crossed the Sol Duc and Dickey Rivers while frequently paralleling the Quillayute River which flows into the Pacific and passed . It also separates Rialto Beach, a/k/a Mora, from La Push. The scenery along the drive was scrub forest until we neared the coast, when the landscape turned to thicker forests with tall trees. It was about a 30 minute drive.

The road ended in a parking lot that was pretty crowded, but not full. There were picnic tables, water and restrooms at the parking lot. There was a short paved trail which took us over the dune and out to the beach. This was not a shoes off, sand between you toes beach. Rocky, and fairly wide at what seemed to be medium tide, there were lots of drift logs, some of them very large and others clustered together as if they were park of a child's pick-up-sticks game. Lots of gulls squawking and other sea birds patrolling the sky while the waves crashed and at times we were sprinkled with sea spray. Our view was immediately commanded by off shore rocks known as sea stacks which rose vertically out of the ocean. Behind us were towering trees and a lush undergrowth.

 

We decided to head north along the beach to Hole-in-the-Wall, a large rock formation, a sea carved arch. However the trail was along the beach and the tide was coming in so it became increasingly difficult to navigate the trail. Instead we turned around and headed south. We climbed among the driftwood, watched dogs romp in the water and I took a brief dip into the waves. After taking a break at a picnic table to eat the lunch we had prepared, we walked almost to the southern end of the beach From there we could see across the river to La Push and First Beach.

 

By the late afternoon we had finished our stroll and we returned to the Inn. I again parked the car behind the Inn and plugged in. We cooked dinner and ate on the balcony watching the sun set. Ate too much ice cream.

Hoh River Trail

Sunday August 23, 2020

This was another day when the virus and an Indian Reservation thwarted our plans.After a hearty breakfast cooked in the room's well stocked kitchen, the original plan was to drive through the Quileute Indian Reservation to the small town of La Push and then go to the beaches, First, Second and Third Beaches that lie just beyond the town. Supposedly spectacular vegetation, the Sitka, Spruce and evergreen trees, driftwood and ocean views. In furtherance of that we drove west on route 110, but at the fork to La Push Road we were warned of the road closure. The Indian reservation and the town were closed due to the virus. This time I heeded closure sign. We decided to retract our steps, return to route 101 and go south for short drive to the Hoh River Rain Forest which is one of the western entrances to The Park. The drive into the Along Upper Hoh Road to get to the Visitor Center was scenic and twisting and twice as long as the drive on the 101. It was very forested and hard to tell when private property ended and the park began as we periodically encountered residences and cabins during the drive.

The small parking lot was full so we drove back a little, parked on a side road and walked back to the Visitor Center. As usual during the pandemic, it was closed, but the Rangers were outside handing out maps and information. After a pit stop in the restroom we headed out on the Hoh River Trail, this area's main hiking trail. It is an out and back trail which parallels the Hoh River and extends 18.5 miles into the park. It ends at the Blue Glacier Moraine in the shadow of Mt. Olympus. We saw this glacier several days ago from Hurricane Ridge. There are several campgrounds along the trail, but we were returning to the inn that night.

The Hoh Rain Forest gets its name from the ever flowing Hoh River which is fed both from melting glacier and winter rain. It flows from Mt. Olympus to the Pacific Ocean. The name is derived from Indian words meaning either: fast moving water; snow water; or man with quarreling wives. It rains frequently during the winter. The area receives an average of 140 inches of rain annually. As we got to experience during our hike, the result is a forest with a lush green thick canopy with both coniferous and deciduous trees that let in columns of sunlight. On the floor of the forest there are dense collections of mosses and ferns which slinky mosses hang from and cling to the tress all of which creates the environment of an enchanted forest. 

The Hoh River Trail passed through my impression of a classic temperate rain forest. Even though it was not raining it was very moist and at times it seemed as if moisture was dropping out of the trees from fog condensation in the canopy. We saw lots of nursery logs, large trees which had fallen and from which a few or many plants were growing out of. As we walked on the soft and largely flat trail we observed lots of slugs, snails,rodents and salamanders. Lots of birds overhead and a few deer, but otherwise no large animals which reputedly are present. Lots of giant trees, Sitka Spruce, Red Ceder, Big Leaf Maple and Douglas Fur (Kudos to the tree ID guides). Not many other hikers, but those we encountered either were wearing masks or put them on as we passed. There were a variety of green shades, lots of shade, but with a few columns of sunlight piercing down to the forest floor. The Trail paralleled the river and at times ran right along side it. We passed the First River Access milepost and continued on to Mineral Creek Falls, a distance of 2.7 miles.  After resting and snacking there, we retraced our steps back to the Visitor Center. Even on the same trail I am always surprised how different things look when walking in the opposite direction. 

It was getting late, so we passed on the popular, but short Hall of Mossess Trail and drove back to the Inn. We plugged the car in, cooked dinner and ate it while watching the sunset from our balcony.

Around the Park, Lake Cresent and Forks

 August 22, 2020 Saturday

After 5 days in Port Angeles it was time to check out and move on. I was glad to have the last of the bag-o-breakfasts, but I did accumulate a stash of granola bars. With the repacking and dragging our stuff down the stairs we did not leave until 10:30. With a full car battery drove west for half an hour on 101 to Lake Crescent. The drive along the southern shore of the lake was spectacular and the sparkling, turquoise waters showcased the beautiful lake waters. 

 At the lake parking lot I was delighted to find a charging station and after parking and plugging in we walked over to the Lake Crescent Lodge. Built by the Singer family at the mouth of Barnes Creek on the southern shore of the lake it opened in 1915 as Singer's Tavern with seven Lodge rooms and several cabins. It cost $50,000 to build and furnish and for the first 7 years guests arrived by ferry. When the Olympic Highway reached the area in 1922 most guests arrived by automobile. Over time the facility was expanded. President Roosevelt visited in 1937 and stayed at the Lodge shortly before Olympic National Park was created which encompassed the Lake Crescent area. The Lodge was privately owned until 1951 when the National Park Service purchased it and the surrounding property for $95,000 and has subsequently added additional cabins and motel type rooms. The Inn's lobby was not as spacious or decorative as other historic lodges I have scene in national parks, but it was visually pleasant.

We walked down to the beach and then out on to the pier. The water was very clear, due to the low levels of nitrogen, but very cold. People were in the water, but no one was swimming, just jumping in and getting out. Lots of boats on the lake. On the other side of the lake is the Spruce Railroad Trail. A rail line was built there in 1918 to haul lumber for the war effort, but the war ended shortly after it was completed. A fright line operated for a few years, but as logging was restricted, it was converted into a hiking trail.

 The lake was formed when a landslide from Olympic Mountain dammed up a glacier valley. A subsequent landslide divided the lake in two forming Lake Sutherland. The Indian legend says that Storm King Mountain God was mad at feuding Indian tribes so he threw a boulder into the lake killing many of the warriors and dividing the lake in two.

We took the Moments in Time Trail along the lakefront which lead to a self guided nature trail through the forest. It was very green with an open forest floor, flat and soft. Crossing route 101 we got on the Marymere Falls Trail. This took us a mile through an old growth forest with an elevation gain of 400 ft almost all at the end. The Falls is 90 ft high and had a good water flow. We ended up on an overlook almost at the level of the top of the Falls which provided us with close ups of its roar and abundant water spray.  Perhaps because it was a weekend, there were quite a few people on the trail. Very few were wearing masks.

We then walked back to the car which had by then received a substantial charge and bypassing the Sol  Duc Falls and accompanying hot mineral pools (No matter how much time I allot to these trips there never is enough. One day I am going to take a trip with no reservations and no plan.) due to lack of time and the fact that we have seen many waterfalls and been in a number of hot springs, we took off south on scenic 101for Forks. This is a small town, less than 4000 residents, that was formerly a major logging center, but now is the gateway to the entrances to both the western parts of the Park and its Pacific Coast beaches. 

Forks was named because it is near the confluence of the Bogachief, Calawah and Sol Duc Rivers which become the Quillayute River, which flows into the Pacific Ocean. European settlers arrived in the area in the 1850s, but the first road was not built into the area until 1927 and it was not until 1931 when the Olympic Highway got there that there was effective land transportation into the town. With the decline of the logging industry, the major employers are two prisons and tourism. The latter got a major boost from the movie Twilight series which was based in the area, but largely not shot in the area. There is a twilight museum in town, along with a logging museum, but since the release of the first Twilight movie tourism has increased seven fold. I have not scene any of the Twilight films and have only the vaguest idea that they involve vampires.

There were not many restaurants in town. We ate an early dinner at Pacific Pizza on its outdoor patio. Very pleasant setting in the warm late afternoon sun and the food had generous portions and was a good value.  After eating we shopped at the local food market for our three day stay in Forks and then checked into the Olympic Suites Inn. I had looked for lodging in the morning and found few offerings. Very few Airbnbs and most of the hotels were either very high end or low end budget places, the former not worth it since we were not in the room most of the time and the latter too depressing for a 3 day stay. The Inn was an older, but well maintained property set in the woods next to a river. It was a two bedroom spacious unit with a well equipped kitchen, laundry facilities and a nice balcony. Easy to hang out there, watch the river go by and figure out the next days activities. As an added plus the desk clerk permitted me to drive the car around the back and charge it at a wall outlet. Slow charging, but adequate.

 

 

Port Townsend

August 21, 2020 Friday

Back to bag-o-breakfast at the hotel and charging up the car at the Chevrolet dealership. We got on the road about 11:15 and headed east on 101, retracing the route we drove in on Sunday night until Discovery Bay where we turned north on route 20. After a 44 mile drive we arrived in Port Townsend. I got lost driving into town and we ended up driving on Cherry Street to the north end of town driving through Fort Worden State Park. The fort was formerly part of the coastal defense system that defended Puget Sound. What we saw were lots of rhododendron plants, restored, very handsome Victorian homes along the former Officer's row and a large parade grounds. No military. Most of the scenes from An Officer and a Gentleman were filmed at the fort. I finally got myself righted and we drove down to the historic district passing scores of preserved Victorian homes.

The presence of so many Victorian homes, more than any I have scene except for Eureka CA., provides a window into Port Townsend's historic rise, fall and then revival. The town was founded by Europeans in 1851. Located at the northeast corner of Quimper Peninsula which is at the northeastern part of the larger Olympic Peninsula, at the northern end of a large harbor, it was perfectly located to be both the guardian of Puget Sound and the major seaport for the northwest US. It got a fast start. By 1853 it had wrested the Customs House from Tacoma (it briefly lost this plum to Port Angeles) and over the next four decades it grew increasingly prosperous and populated as the growing seaport attracted banks, hotels, consulates, shipyards and commerce. As early as the late 1870s plans were made for it to become a western rail terminus of a northern transcontinental railroad, only to see those plans repeatedly fail. However in 1890 the city secured an agreement with the Union Pacific RR to become its western terminus and the city went wild. In a city of only 4,500 people, in the following year downtown real estate transactions (speculation?) totaled $4.600,000  including the building of 10 hotels, 3 street car lines, 6 hardware and dry goods stores and a new City Hall, plus hundreds of Victorian structures. Alas, that all came crashing down in the financial panic of 1893.  The rail subsidiary tasked with building the extension into town went into foreclosure and the rail lines ended up terminating on the east side of Puget Sound. The boom was over and commerce in Port Townsend came to a virtual standstill. Within 10 years the town's population declined by a quarter and the once fashionable Victorian homes that cost $25,000, were sold for a few hundred dollars, only to stand vacant for decades. The city's dreams of becoming the west coast's major port were forever dashed.  However this economic malaise ultimately, 80 years later, became the basis of the town's revival. Because of the rapid speed at which the economy declined in the 1890s and the lack of any significant economic activity to revive it, very few of the buildings in the area were torn down or built over and unlike many of the other cities in the northwest whose infrastructure succumbed to natural or man made disasters, Port Townsend's buildings were preserved. In 1976 many of its structures were listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the next year the entire downtown was designated as a National Historic Landmark. That lead to a revival of the area as a tourist and retiree destination. 

As we drove into the downtown area I found a charging station next to the marina in the northeast corner of town provided by Maritime Center and Power Trip Energy.  The S'Klallam Indians lived in the Port Townsend area for thousands of years and still reside there. In 1855 the Point No Point Treaty preserved their right to fish, hunt and gather in the area and there was a self guided interpretative Indian walking tour. We started that at Chetzemoka Park, the city's first park along the waterfront. The marina had lots of small boats including what appeared to be working fishing boats. 

 

We briefly toured the Northwest Maritime Center which had Indian artifacts including a totem pole and a canoe, but was largely closed. We walked out on the pier and found a crabber. We talked with him at length. He lives on the mainland, but comes out here regularly to crab. He explained the rules, limit of 6 crabs, had to be a certain size and no female crabs could be retained. He commented wryly about how his family expected him to deliver crabs.I was amazed at how casually he tossed the illegal crabs back into the water as he assured us that did not harm them. He let us toss some crabs, traps and pull in some lines.

It was a windy and cool day but mostly sunny and there was a single sun bather on the small beach. We walked up and down Washington, Jefferson and Water streets taking in the score of large, well preserved buildings including the Rose Theater, library, courthouse and federal building and street musicians. We stopped at the Elevated Ice Cream Co and then did some shopping at the community owned Quimper Mercantile Company. We saw the boats from the Washington State Ferry service take off and dock. 

 

We added 40 electric miles and took off for Port Angeles about 6:00.  After a gasoline refueling stop along the way back we parked the car at the dealership for some more electricity and walked over to Joshua's for dinner. We experienced extreme table spacing and very generous portions.