 Cape Flattery, the northwestern most point of the contiguous US. | Typist: Bethany It was late afternoon by the time we finished our short hike along the Cape Flattery Trail and enjoyed the breeze where the Straight of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean meet. Having not been on the Makah reservation for many years, we stopped in Neah Bay on our way East. The Makah Tribe has a fantastic heritage museum and the outdoor grounds are dog-friendly. The Makah's are whalers so a lot of their art reflects that. I wish I knew a bit more about the gorgeous artwork we enjoyed outside of the museum. Maybe learning more about the art we saw is a good reason to return to the area again very soon. The museum and the grounds were mostly deserted because the town was busy preparing for Makah Days. This festival sounds like yet another thing I'd like to come back to the area for. We did enjoy our self-guided museum grounds tour. I think the grass felt nice to the dogs feet after the mostly plank boardwalk hike to Cape Flattery. |
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My photo skills could not do justice to this freshly carved cedar canoe. It smelled heavenly!
The drive from Neah Bay to Port Angeles on the Straight of Juan de Fuca Scenic Byway is the most beautiful drive I have done all summer. My dad used to love driving this road and now I understand why. I wish we hadn't been racing daylight, because we could have stopped for some pictures but I wanted to get into town and find somewhere for us to stay before it got very late. We had been camping for five nights and still had a long weekend of camping ahead so I thought the dogs and I deserved one night in a motel. I considered stopping and looking for somewhere to stay in Port Angeles but I was so enjoying the top-down drive we kept going. I know there are a lot of dog-friendly lodging options in Sequim because we stayed there last summer. But when we got there I thought "we stayed here last summer. Boring!" We were just 30 minutes from Port Townsend, which also has a lot of pet-friendly lodging, and there was still a low sun in the sky. In retrospect, arriving in Port Townsend for one of the most spectacular sunsets and moon rises I have ever seen was an excellent choice. However, when the dogs and I were done relishing the scenery and playing, I found myself searching for somewhere to sleep and eat in a tiny town at 9PM with very bad reception on my smart phone.
Sunset in Port Townsend, Washington
Moonrise in Port Townsend, Washington
| Going on a road trip with the dogs and not planning every last detail is very, very out of my comfort zone. Doing anything and not planning every last detail is very out of my comfort zone! But I worked tirelessly to plan the prefect cross-country trip for the dogs and I so I thought it might be fun for us to just have a few "anything goes" days on the Olympic Peninsula. After all, if something went wrong, we were just a few hours drive from home. So here we were, our last night with no plans or reservations and I didn't want to have to give up and go home. Internet searches for a pet-friendly motel were taking too long with extended network reception. It was time to just go into motels and ask if they'd take three dogs. As I waited in line at the front desk of the first motel with a "vacancy" sign we passed, I had good enough reception on my smart phone to check their ratings and it wasn't bed-bug bad. They were pet-friendly* and very affordable! We are very lucky Nomads. There are a lot of wonderful things to do in Port Townsend but we only had the morning to spend there. After some fabulous coffee at Sunrise Coffee Company, we went on a hike at Fort Worden State |  The dogs are not usually allowed on the bed in a motel and if they are, the motel bedspread gets covered. The sleeping bag and another sheet we brought was under all of the dogs when I first allowed them up there. We were very bad pet-friendly motel guest and are now advertising it on the internet because this picture is too cute not to share. Sorry.  The adorable and friendly coffee house dogs of Sunrise Coffee Company, Port Townsend, Washington |
Park and saw the fourth and final lighthouse of this trip, the Point Wilson Lighthouse. We bid farewell to the Olympic Peninsula on the ferry north towards Whidbey Island.
 Point Wilson Lighthouse, Fort Worden State Park  Atop Battery Kinzie at Fort Worden State Park |  Point Wilson Lighthouse, Port Townsend  Battery Kinzie, Fort Worden State Park |
Many historic military buildings remain on the site of this 19th century fort, Fort Warden State Park, Washington
 Good-bye Olympic Peninsula |  Hello Mount Baker |
We drove from the south end of Whidbey Island to the north end and met some of the friends we were going to camp with over the weekend at Deception Pass State Park. Once again, we arrived with just enough time to stroll to the beach and enjoy a beautiful, golden sunset.
I honestly don't like Deception Pass State Park. It is noisy, over-crowded and dirty. But this is our second annual trip camping there with friends and we would camp anywhere in order to spend time with this awesome group of people (who call our campsite "the petting zoo.") Plus this year a Cascadian Nomads Granny came and brought Auntie Lucie and Uncle Morgan so 'R' Blood on the Tracks Boys couldn't have been happier. We had some nice beach time, a great seven mile hike from our campground on Whidbey Island, across the Deception Pass bridge to Rosario Beach and back. Another fabulous thing that happened on the end of this road trip is that Wilhelm celebrated his 6th birthday.
Huxley, Wilhelm, Brychwyn, Morgan (other corgi) and Lucie
 Brychwyn over Bowman Bay |  Wilhelm's first hike as a six-year-old doxie |
Bowman Bay, Deception Pass State Park, Anacortes, Washington
 The Maiden of Deception Pass, Ko kwal al woot, a beautiful Samish maiden who married a handsome man from under the sea hence keeping the seas bounty plentiful for her people. This is Ko kwal al woot before she went to live in the sea. |  This is Ko kwal al woot, the Maiden of Deception Pass, after years of living in the sea, with hair of kelp. |
The view north from Deception Pass State Park to the San Juan Islands
 One of two bridges we hiked on over the fast moving waters of Deception Pass | Flowing water from Deception Pass bridge. In this unique narrow passage, salt water flows through as fast as a river |
Morgan, Lucie, Brychwyn, Huxley and Wilhelm, West Beach, Deception Pass State Park, Oak Harbor, Washington
There you have it! All the drama of an awesome road trip from the not at all disappointing Cape Disappointment to the gratifying cliffs of Cape Flattery to duplicity of a crowded but fun Deception Pass. Plus historic lighthouses, fabulous kites, a gorgeous lake, epic hikes, giant trees, fascinating art, breathtaking sunsets and, last but not least, really adorable dogs. Thank you for joining us; we hope you enjoyed the vicarious tour of some pure Cascadian experiences.
The End.
*We are not providing a link to the Port Townsend motel we stayed in even though the staff was friendly and it was quite nice. When we got to our room, Ithe motel information folder and their official pet policy stated that they only allowed a "maximum of two dogs under 50lbs." I did tell the front desk staff I had three dogs. My room was next to the front desk and she saw us come and go. She even came out in the morning and told me stories of her childhood desire to have a collie. So perhaps, in an effort to fill rooms, they will stray from their written pet policy. My experience has been that when motels have a wishy-washy pet-policy, it can either benefit a pet traveler, like it did us, OR it can be a nightmare for a pet traveler, like randomly added extra cleaning fees. If you are planning a trip to Port Townsend and really, really must know the motel we stayed in, please contact me, and I will tell you. It was nice and I would recommend it but I would caution you be very clear about your traveling pet needs and possibly get their pet policy/fees in writing before your arrival.
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