Auburn, Washington

Good morning, my friends. Sheesh. We didn't travel very far yesterday, but it seemed as if everything took longer than expected. It was still a good day with some interesting things to see along the way. As we left Port Angeles, we noticed the spooks have arrived at this house.

Just down the road, we passed through Sequim (pronounced "Skwim").

We visited Sequim a few years back for their annual lavender festival. You can read my post about our visit right here.

There's more fall color appearing along the way.

The image below shows a couple of totem poles we saw as we passed through the Jamestown S'Klallam Reservation. (We saw many totem poles in Neah Bay and along the way from there too.)

I was curious about the "Jamestown" part of the name. The Google informed me that “S’Klallam” is a Salish term for “The Strong People.” It goes on, saying:

In 1855, the S’Klallam leaders signed a treaty with the Federal government with the understanding that they would always be able to hunt, fish and gather in their “usual and accustomed” grounds. As increasing numbers of non-Indian settlers began to arrive in the area desiring the same abundant lands and waters that were so important to the S’Klallam people, the S’Klallam people living in the Dungeness area decided that in order to survive, they had to adopt a new value system that included property ownership.

In 1874, under the leadership of Tribal citizen Lord James Balch, they pooled $500 in gold coins and purchased the 210-acres along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, now called Jamestown. This provided a geographical center for group identity and independence, and was the start of the Jamestown S’Klallam community.

On down the road, we crossed over the Hood Canal Bridge.

The Hood Canal bridge is a floating bridge that carries State Route 104 across Hood Canal in Puget Sound and connects the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas. At 7,869 feet (1.490 mi; 2.398 km) in length (floating portion 6,521 feet (1.235 mi; 1.988 km)), it is the longest floating bridge in the world located in a saltwater tidal basin, and the third longest floating bridge overall.

And there's Hood Canal.

We had a couple of things on our agenda, including a visit to a chocolate shop in Bremerton. When we arrived at the chocolate shop, we found a parking lot that was, unfortunately, too small for us to be able to get turned around. Bagging that idea, we drove on to our second agenda stop. The Bremerton connection worked out because...like an oasis in the desert...we found our home-town grocery store there. 

We picked up a few grocery items and filled the fuel tanks on both our vehicles. I left the fuel prices in that image intentionally. Happily, we got a discount with our "valued customer" points. It's still too effing expensive, even with the discount. 

Okay, but we weren't finished crossing historic bridges yet. We still had to cross the Tacoma Narrows toll bridge. They nicked us $11 to cross. The usual toll is $5.50, but they must be counting axels. The toll both operator asked us if we were towing our Jeep. Yes. And that doubled the price. 

So here we go. It's a fancy bridge with an interesting and somewhat amusing history.

The original bridge collapsed only months after it opened when it got into an oscillation that tore it apart. You can see video and hear how it gained its nickname of "Galloping Gertie." If you can't see the video, click right here.

And here we go...crossing the Tacoma Narrows strait.

Below is the Tacoma Dome. We've attended a few events here.

The Google tells us that it stands at 530 feet (160 m) in diameter and 152 feet (46 m) in height, the arena seats 20,722 for basketball games, with a maximum capacity of 21,000. It was the largest arena with a wooden dome in the world by volume at the time of its opening. (The Superior Dome in Marquette, Michigan, opened in 1991 with a larger-diameter geodesic dome at 536 feet (163 m), but is 143 feet (44 m) high and seats a maximum of 16,000.) The Tacoma dome's roof weighs 1.44 million pounds (650 t); some of the planks that form the roof were sourced from felled timber following the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.

And not long after that, we pulled into the municipal park where we'll spend two nights. It's a nice park here, and relatively inexpensive. There is a nearby riverwalk where we might walk today.

Beginning about bedtime last night, it started raining hard, and it rained a good part of the night. We're expecting rain off and on for most of the day today. Originally, we had a hike planned to the Franklin Ghost Town. After spending some time reading more about the trail, it sounds less appealing than when I first learned about it. For one thing...they had me at "ghost town." In my reading, I've determined it's really just an abandoned mine, and that the trail is overgrown with thorny blackberry vines. If the weather clears enough, we might still do it. And if it doesn't, a day of relaxation and perhaps a walk along the river sounds just fine to me.

The weather is expected to return to sunshine and little chance of rain by tomorrow. By then, we'll be heading north to Granite Falls, and we have a couple of hikes planned for that area. For now, we'll probably sit tight, stay dry, pet kitties, read, and slow-stitch. Sounds like a good day, no?

So, I hope you have a relaxing day planned for yourself. The weekend is coming. Be like a boy scout and be prepared.