Sunday, July 25, 1971

July 25, 1971

Seattle, Washington

Dear Vivian,

It’s bright and sunny this morning here in Seattle and I’m sitting outside in the shade, at the motel we spent the night at, looking out over a body of water in the city here — don’t know it this is the one called Lake Washington — I rather think it’s one of the other & smaller ones in the city. doing misc packing & cleaning up I guess while Laurel is washing her hair. We let her “sleep” in this morning as she’s been complaining that we’ve been getting her up too early to start on each day’s activities. However I noticed she woke up about as usual and used the time to read in bed which is just what she’d have been doing had she been in the car riding along. I think today will be a fairly warm day here, tho I hope not like some last week which we read in the paper or heard over TV were up in the 90s. After lunch we are meeting this family that Jean knows and are spending the afternoon at the science museum & other exhibits at the site of the World’s Fair here some 8, 9 or 10 years ago; then having supper with them before we proceed on a ways before stopping for the night.

Yesterday morning we drove up to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic Park, this being the last of our several side trips into various parts of it. This ridge is at about 5000 ft elevation, and because of the combination of altitude, latitude & precipitation is in an Arctic zone as far as vegetation is concerned. From it we had a good view of the high mountains of the peninsula (including the highest, Mt Olympus at close to 8000 ft — Laurel pointed out that the real Mt Olympus was in Greece), several of the some 60 active glaciers in the park, and a somewhat obscured view of the straits of San Juan de Fuca (the entrance to Puget Sound) and British Columbia. The view was obscured partly by natural haze due to a temperature inversion but also by smog from a Crown Zellerbach plant in Port Angeles (where we’d spent the night before). We drove as far as we could but late melting snow prevented us from driving in as far as we might have later in the season. We went on a brief naturalist-conducted tour which was rather interesting, saw several flowers, some animals and clambered over several big snowbanks that still lay astride the trail we took.

On leaving the park we drove on to Port Townsend, partly because I thought it sounded interesting, and also because a member of my ride group at Shell has bought a lot there, where he intends to retire someday. Shortly after we got to Port Townsend we stopped briefly at the site of a Fort Townsend, now a state park. There he chanced across the individual in charge who was doing a little spade work putting in some parking facilities and he gave us several old square nails he’d just dug up — probably part of the old Fort buildings. In Port Townsend we drive around and looked at various of the old Victorian houses — several very well preserved ones, as the ones in Astoria, Ore that we’d seen earlier. Jean & Laurel went in one and we all visited another county museum, which seem to abound both in Oregon & Washington.

From Port Townsend we had a ferry ride to Whidbey Island — one of the larger islands in Puget Sound which we drove down, then took another ferry to the mainland & on down to Seattle. The view from the ferry wasn’t spectacular but it was interesting & certainly reminiscent of ferry trips in San Francisco Bay in years back. I think ferries will be operating a long time in Puget Sound as the distances to be traveled are large and traffic is relatively light so that the cost of bridges would be prohibitive. Also there are so many places to be connected that a large number of bridges would be required.

I’ll let this be all for this time — could you send this along to Verner’s when you write to them.

With love,

Carl

Friday, July 23, 1971

July 23, 1971

Quinault, Wash

Dear Clarice

I got this far on this letter this morning and then as things worked out I used my time for other things so hardly got started. Now we’re settled in a motel in Port Angeles after another day of sight seeing and I’m sitting by the pool while Laurel has a swim (an adult is supposed to accompany a child under 12 — in my case Laurel knows a lot more about swimming than I do & what I’d do in an emergency isn’t quite clear in my mind, but here I am to fulfill the rules). This choice of a motel with a swimming pool is a concession to laurel, who is getting tired of this traveling & sightseeing and would like to get home shortly; hopefully a good swim session will mollify her for a couple of days. We still have two weeks scheduled, but the traveling aspect tapers off now and perhaps when we stay “put” a little longer when we stop each time she’ll be a bit happier.

Today has been a continuation of our exploration of Olympic Park on the Olympic peninsula in western Washington. Yesterday we started on this by driving up along one of the rivers which originate in the park & flow to the Pacific. We drove in as far as the last housing accommodations and there rented a house keeping cabin for the night — left Laurel to read & play while Jean & I drove in further thru the “rain forest” typical of the park. Later in the day Jean & I took another short hike into an area of big trees — Douglas fir, western hemlock, Sitka spruce etc towering some 300 ft & perhaps 500 years old — really peaceful & lovely in the late dusk (which is after 9 PM this time of year in this latitude). Today we took another drive into the park along another river (the Hoh river this time) thru similar forested terrain, but I thought even more impressive and scenic. We also took a couple of short hikes down to the Pacific (there is a non-contiguous portion of the main park that lies along the coast). The shore was still foggy when we were there but the drives into the park were in sparkling clear weather. We’ve been fortunate in the weather we’ve encountered here in Washington according to the daughter & son-in-law of a member of my ride group, who are living in Seattle. We had planned to drive into an area of the park caller Hurricane Ridge late this afternoon but the park ranger thought tomorrow morning might give us a better view from the ridge (of Mt Olympus, the highest in the park, and also such topographical features as the river valleys in the park & the the adjacent parts of Puget Sound) so we put it off till then and gave Laurel a chance to swim instead.

My initial impression of Washington when we entered it yesterday wasn’t too favorable but it has certainly improved since, and I think the Olympic park is truly one of the most beautiful spots I’ve seen in all the west. The rain forest is really beautiful, whether it’s shrouded in fog or in sunlight. Both give it a kind of beauty which is quite breathtaking. And of course the Washington beaches, as present in the park, are similar to the Oregon beaches and just as spectacular. Makes me wonder why anyone keeps on living in California.

Tomorrow in addition to driving up to Hurricane Ridge we plan to visit an historic town of this area — Port Townsend — which is supposed to have some interesting Victorian houses. Then onto Seattle where we’ll see some friends of Jean’s on Sunday, plus a museum-viewing that’s available on the side.

All for now — could you send this on to Vivian.

With love,

Carl

Thursday-Saturday, July 22-24, 1971

Quinault

on Lake Quinault, Wash

July 22, 1971

Dear Muriel and Palma

Yesterday we arrived in Astoria from Tillamook. On the way up from Tillamook we continued to see the beautiful Oregon Coast making a few view stops but choosing Ecola State Park as our lunch stop. There was a lovely drive through the woods a mile or so to the parking area. Again we saw a pretty bush with bright red berry clusters which I later found were red elderberry. After lunch we walked out on the headland which had rugged rocky cliffs under it much like Carmel. In the area near Astoria we stopped to see Fort Clatsop where Lewis & Clark wintered in 1806. The Astoria Column is high on a hill and honors the many men who first did this & that.

This morning it was dried cereal & fruit before seeing the Bumble Bee Canning factory where we saw tuna (albacore) being slit, detailed & beheaded, skinned, cleaned off, fed to cans, cooked & labeled. Also saw a small job of canning salmon steaks — one to an oval can. I bought Ritchies’ Christmas present.

Then to the Clatsop Co Museum in the old Flavel mansion occupied continuously by family until 20 years ago. [Google also turned up links to a second Flavel house, two of which I am including here because they are so interesting. —LRS] Then the Maritime Museum which we will recommend to Ray. We’ve seen several extensive displays of sailor’s (macramé) knits and several purses made with knots. Finally over the Astoria Bridge into Washington — 4 years since the ferry was replaced.

Fri

Washington didn’t look as good as Oregon at first. We almost froze when we stopped for lunch in the “foggy foggy dew.” But as the afternoon came on we came out of it and the state looked better. We bought bread in Aberdeen and headed toward Quinault on Lake Quinault in Olympic National Forest. The National Park was across the Lake. After renting a rustic cabin we left Laurel and drove about 13 miles into the Nat’l Park along a river canyon into the rain forest. At the end we took a short hike. After supper of beans and Canadian bacon & Daddy’s home grown beans and the last of my Virginia Bakery brownies Daddy and I again set off a short distance to walk a short trail to see some big trees: red alder, douglas fir, Sitka spruce and red cedar.

It was foggy when we awoke and you could just see across the Lake. We stopped for a short walk to show Laurel the beautiful stream we’d seen on the Big Tree Walk. The road took us along the beach area in the Park and we stopped at Beach Walk #2 (there are 5 or 6) and Ruby Beach. It was foggy, chill but beautiful. Lots of driftwood. We chose Hoh River for our next Park exploration. It proved delightful and we walked the moss trail. It hangs down in gobs on the branches like a blanket.

Highway 101 turns and goes until again you enter the Park at Crescent Lake and it looks like Tahoe must have looked even before my time. There are some cottages on the north shore but the lake was beautiful and blue today with no neon signs. A ¾ mile walk with a short steep grade at the end after crossing a log across the river (with a handrail) took us to see Marymar or Marymere Falls. They aren’t very high and they aren’t a single drop but they are very nice — waterfalls always are. Then on to Port Angeles. 

First we stopped at the VisitorsCenter for the Park — I’ve never know one to be outside a park. Then we found a motel with an indoor swim pool. Laurel is in it now. Children under 12 must be with an adult, so Daddy is sitting down there writing a letter. Of course there were no adults with the 3 or 4 other children swimming when I left. Yes I went in but found it very unsatisfactory — it was like swimming in a bathtub in a warm room.

We’ll call you tonight.

Sat am — Laurel’s watching color TV cartoons in bed. We’ve had 7 dinners. Twice we ate on our own, once out of our lunch basket and once in our kitchen as mentioned. Otherwise I’ve had salmon 3 times and crab twice. Daddy is still eating ground cow.

We’ll probably see Canada today but we won’t get there. The northwest has had good weather for about 2 weeks — we’ve been lucky.

Love,

from your mother JRS