Juan de Fuca Ramblings

I've been hanging around the Strait of Juan de Fuca for the past two days. The air has been clear, fresh, and clean, except for some fog over the strait each morning. The scenery has been spectacular, with lush forests backed by the snowcapped Olympic Mountains. There are nice cities on each side of the water...Port Angeles in Washington, and Victoria on Vancouver Island. You can't beat this area for a summer getaway...it's an ideal blend of urban amenities and natural beauty.

Lake Crescent, in Olympic National Park right on US 101. I have been captivated by this lake for forty years. Its setting, surrounded by mountains, is majestic. Its waters project tranquillity. On an overcast day, it has a brooding peace. And it's a mirror when the wind is dead calm. There is a fine lodge right on its shore...I would love to stay there but it's booked months in advance...I couldn't get a room for this time frame when I tried in early May. Next year I think I'll book right after the first of the year for nights in September.

This is one of the cool murals in Port Angeles...they're all over town. This one depicts the raising of the city in 1914. Prior to that year, the downtown area was on tidal flats and was frequently flooded by high tides. So the city sluiced mud off a nearby hill, as shown on the mural, and pumped it onto the flats and raised the level of downtown by several feet, ending the flood problem.

There are many steel sculptures in Port Angeles. This one depicts a railroad worker, fronting a real life freighter and a distant fog bank.

On the other side of the strait, Queen Victoria still reigns over her namesake city, with the parliament building in the rear. Victoria has influences from Canada, Britain, Native Americans, and lots of tourons. But, a few blocks from the waterfront, it's a charming city, with numerous uh, Victorian homes and fine water views everywhere.

To the west of Victoria, the highway runs along the Strait. 60 km along is French Beach, a peaceful spot where the forest meets the sea. A trail runs along the coast and piles of driftwood attest to the fury of the winter storms. I had a nice sloatation on the beach here. There are many miles of trails along the shoreline and inland. You could spend a whole summer intensely exploring Vancouver Island and not see nearly all the neat spots.