Category Archives: Washington

Sail By on the Adventuress

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The three-day Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival concludes on Sunday afternoon with a grand finale in an event known as the “Sail By.” For three hours from 2:00pm to 5:00pm, it’s a mass exodus of the sailing fleet as 300+ boats congregate in Port Townsend Bay for a festive informal parade.

In doing some research prior to the festival start, I somehow landed on the website for the Sound Experience, an environmental education and sail training program on Puget Sound aboard the historic schooner, the Adventuress. Sound Experience is a non-profit whose mission is “to educate, inspire, and empower an inclusive community to make a difference for the future of our marine environment.” The Adventuress was offering a three hour passenger sail during the Sail By, and it was listed as one of the best vantage points for viewing this end of festival celebration. And so I splurged. Continue reading →

A Closer Look Inside the Wooden Boat Festival

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I spread out the three day seminar program from the Wooden Boat Festival to plan my weekend with low expectations.   Not being exactly skilled in working with my hands, I didn’t have much interest in learning laminating  techniques or tying thump mats, though some of the tech sessions like Maintenance of a Diesel Engine could have transferred over to RVing.  Still, I anticipated that most of my time at the festival would be spent outdoors, going from boat to boat Continue reading →

Port Townsend’s 40th Annual Wooden Boat Festival

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I’m not sure where my fascination with wooden boats comes from…a most unlikely passion for a person raised on a land-locked farm in Central Texas for the first third of my life.

My first introduction to sailing came in an attempt to make the PE requirement at the University of Texas more palatable.    Bobbing around on the Colorado River in a twelve foot Laser while the instructor screamed at me through a megaphone from a rowboat, it’s a wonder I ever set foot on a boat again. Continue reading →

Harvest Moon

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We interrupt this blogcast from the Port Townsend 40th Annual Boat Festival for a quick music break.

If you are not familiar with Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon,” do yourself a favor and click on the link or go to Youtube and have a listen to one of the best “feel good” tracks of all time, while you enjoy this slide show of the Harvest Moon, straight from the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Continue reading →

Hull Raising

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Now within striking distance of Port Townsend, my “pinnacle of summer,” I needed a place to hole up for the Labor Day weekend before I and a few thousand of my like-minded friends descend upon the small town for the 40th Annual Wooden Boat Festival.   The Evergreen SKP park in Chimacum, Washington seemed like a convenient place to ride out the holiday weekend, particularly with their $5 per night dry camping lot. Continue reading →

So What if the Mountains Are Calling…

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So what if the mountains are calling but you can’t see them?  Would you still go?

That’s the question I asked myself sitting in the dry camping spot, 50 miles down a lone road from the Johnston Ridge Observatory overlooking the socked-in gray wall of clouds that lie between me and Mt St Helens.   “If I can’t see the volcano, is it worth the 100 mile drive?” Continue reading →

Winthrop, WA – Such a Lovely Place

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I originally planned to bypass Winthrop, in spite of the fact that some people had said “Don’t miss it!” I am not much for Western reenactments like Tombstone or Rawhide. When the men wearing spurs and bandanas tied around their necks come out with dueling pistols at high noon, I am outta there. But I got a late start leaving Newhalem due to a particularly busy day at work. Jim, Gayle, and Debbie had already gone before me, and reported back on a nice RV Park and a good brew pub, so how could I pass? Continue reading →

High on Maple Pass

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Though I am enjoying the beautiful “enchanted forest” of Newhalem Creek Campground, I am feeling the urge to “get high.” I know there are some incredible mountains around, but it seems as if most of them are hidden. Newhalem is only 500 ft in elevation, so any type of vista is tough to find through the thicket of trees.

It’s now the weekend, which means I have all day to hike. I am more of an endurance hiker than a speed hiker, so I like to do “big hikes” and take my time. Continue reading →

North Cascases National Park — Its Electrifying!

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In trying to make everything fit in before my planned September week-long vacation in Glacier National Park, I have to do a little mid-week travel, something I rarely do. But since I work Central Time Zone hours while on Pacific time, I am able to squeeze out a couple of extra hours of daylight. North Cascades National Park is an easy 76 mile drive from Anacortes, so I make a run for it mid-week, with the hopes of exploring the least crowded of our National Parks over the weekend. Continue reading →

Anacortes Revisited

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After my three day weekend in the San Juan Islands, I arrive back to the Anacortes Cap Sante Marina.   Already the place seems more welcoming as Jim and Gayle, Debbie, and Kim have all arrived, and Karen and Hailey are on their way.    The friendly faces and laughs help ease me through the “back to work blahs.” Continue reading →