Neither Danelle nor I had ever spent much time in the Pacific Northwest. Our first post-COVID vacation together aimed to fix that. We rented a Mercedes Metris from Peace Vans in Seattle and planned to spend six days driving around the Olympic Peninsula. First stop: the Dungeness Recreation Area north of Sequim.
We had a gorgeous sunset over the Strait of Juan de Fuca our very first night just a five-minute walk from our campsite.
The next morning I woke early hoping to catch the sun rising over the eastern end of the Dungeness Spit. Instead, I received my first lesson in how overcast the conditions along the coast could be.
The trail along the spit was dotted with numerous cairns, which seemed a little unnecessary since there really wasn't any way to lose the trail. Still, the combination of cairns and driftwood is striking.
The trail along the spit was dotted with numerous cairns, which seemed a little unnecessary since there really wasn't any way to lose the trail. Still, the combination of cairns and driftwood is striking.
I returned to camp and encouraged Danelle to join me in making the short walk to the overlook of the spit. Our wildlife sighting? A Pacific Banana Slug making its slow, slimy path across the trail.
It felt SO good to be outside and not sweating.
The clouds hadn't completely broken up when we reached the overlook, but the view was still pretty beautiful.
We had to take what was referred to as the "Primitive Trail," which was softer, flatter, and wider than most main trails I've hiked across the country.
Sequim is a somewhat unexpectedly perfect area for growing lavender -- at the same latitude as Provence, and very dry due to the rain shadow cast by the mountains on the Olympic Peninsula. So we stopped at the B&B Family Lavender Farm.
We had a wonderfully informative tour of their operation, then got to walk right through the blooming plants.
You know who loves lavender? Bees. Standing in the middle of the lavender my ears were filled by their persistent, gentle buzz. But I didn't mind walking right through their midst, because the insects were much more interested in the lavender than in me.
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