Today was the day of the Olympic Discovery Trail. This is the first time I’ve visited this area of the country and this trail was one of the reasons why my route went so far north. The trail today consisted of paved bike paths that comingled with a variety of different roads. This trail went through lush green forests and residential areas. For the most part the traffic was very nominal. Because of the intermingling of the trail and roads it took a while to navigate, making sure I was staying on track. I passed through the hometown of the S’Klallam tribes, Jamestown. The tribe had a beautiful community center and well maintained town. Continuing through, I entered the town of Sequim where I decided to stop and get some coffee. Lisa Marie was on her own today but as I entered into the town she was also there. So we met up for a little break. Today was cold and overcast all day. It had rained overnight and the forecast called for more rain during the day. Thankfully that rain never came. Leaving town Lisa Marie and I agreed to meet a few hours later in Port Angeles. She would go on to explore different lighthouses while I continued my meander down the ODT trail. Once again this trail amazed me with the amount of berry bushes that lined ten’s of miles of this trail. And I crossed over numerous train trestles where there always seemed to be a crowd. I also marveled at the wildflowers that always seemed to be prevalent trailside. I saw plenty of bikers and walkers going in both directions. At one point while climbing a very steep hill, Brian and Sandy came whizzing past me on their e-bikes. They cruised ahead but eventually I caught up with them as they had stopped on the side of the trail to put on some warmer clothes. We talked about their travels and mine. They had come in from Colorado to spend some time in the area and bike the trail. We played hopscotch along the trail for a few more miles when eventually I think they turned around to head back from where they started. Thanks for the good conversation Brian and Sandy – safe travels. There were plenty of different sites to see, but one of my favorites was rolling into Port Angeles when the trail hugged the coast. It was fun to see the different freighters and small boats out in the distance. I probably spent 8 miles traversing the coast with the best view. I met a family vacationing that had stopped riding their bikes and were just enjoying some time playing some games, taking some pictures, and listening to the waves crash onto the beach. Arriving into the town I met Lisa Marie where we took some more time for a leisurely lunch. Riding out of town the trail continued to sparkle. The point of the after lunch ride, was to shorten the distance for tomorrow. Continuing down the trail I eventually we at our agreed endpoint. Time to prepare for my last day. Tomorrow will be a special day, one that I’ve been looking forward to for some time.
Insights From Lisa Marie
Today we left our wonderful suite at the Monarch, a thank from Norm🥰. Saying goodbye to Port Angeles, I dropped him off at starting point. My morning was spent exploring 2 of the lighthouses in the area. Point Wilson is at the tip of the peninsula on the eastern side in Fort Worden State Park. Was cloudy off the coast most of the day but I enjoyed the short beach walk. Got pictures of both the lighthouse and the caretakers house. From there I took a long scenic drive through Cape George and the Dungeness Wilderness refuge. Here I had to do a five mile round trip walk to get to the New Dungeness Lighthouse. Again nice beach area and pictures of the coast guard ship and lighthouse. For the afternoon I decided to explore Olympic National Park. Drove through forests on a fantastic road that went from pavement to dirt. Guess what I saw, yep the primitive road sign again! Then I came out to where Norm was ending for the day. It was a long ride day for him, but I think he is excited about the finish😁
