Olympic National Park and Chimacum Washington

We arrived in Chimacum Washington on 30 September 2025.  The RV park is Evergreen Coho Escapee Park.  We are Escapees members and have our TX address through that membership along with our mail forwarding service.  Our plan was to stay in Chimacum for seven nights to see the northeast portion of Olympic National Park.  We accomplished that along with a few other site seeing daytrips.  We ended up extending our stay at Evergreen Coho Escapee Park for another week while Anita was waiting for the time and location of her CMP (Civilian Medical Provider) evaluation for a VA claim filed in November 2024.  The appointment is scheduled for 20 October in Mountlake Terrace WA, a suburb of Seattle.  We’ll go to Forks WA for 5 days to see the west side of Olympic National Park, then return to Chimacum on 19 Oct 2025 for three nights to attend the appointment and then start heading south to Oregon. Overall, we have a 10-day delay to our trip south.

Morning of 30 Sept 2025 outside our window in Packwood Washington

Our first day of site seeing in the area, we drove to Port Townsend WA, the nearest city with restaurants and a pharmacy for Steve to get a prescription.  Port Townsend is a very charming and cute town.  The pharmacy is Don’s Pharmacy and they were very helpful is getting Steve’s RX from CVS.  Steve had to jump through a few extra hoops because the CVS in Sedro-Wooley WA showed that they filled his RX, but they had not due to their remodel and being out of Steve’s meds.  So he had to get our TX provider to submit a new prescription at the CVS in Livingston TX and then the pharmacist at Don’t Pharmacy could get it from them.  We expected this to take a few days at least, but the next day Steve got a text that his RX was ready.  It was just in time too, as he had taken his last pill the night before.  It’s for cholesterol, so he didn’t want to go too long without it.  At one of our stops in Port Townsend we saw a mobile RV Repair truck with “RV Appliance” being a specialty.  Steve spoke to the guy and he came to look at our stove the next day.  We’ve been living with our oven not working and having to light our stove burners manually because of the igniter knob being broken.  We’ve lived with that for a few months.  Anyway, it’s fixed now, so we’re happy we came across that guy and that he was able to fit us in.  We still want to take our camper in for a thorough check up when we go to Arizona for the winter.  With the rough roads this summer on our Alaska trip, we want to make sure there are no cracks underneath anywhere.  We can’t see any problems and don’t suspect any, but to be on the safe side, we’ll get it checked out.

Port Townsend Washington - 1 October 2025

Port Townsend Washington - 1 October 2025

Port Townsend Washington - 1 October 2025

On 2 October 2025 we headed to Olympic National Park.  With the government shutdown, the visitor center was closed and pit toilets were not emptied.  We found clean restrooms with flush toilets at Hurricane Ridge at the end of a side road off of Hwy 101.  Those were independently owned and serviced.  Hiking trails were open so we took a couple of trails and the roads were open so we drove Hwy 101 around the park and took secondary roads to sites inside the park to trailheads.  Highway 101 forms the "Olympic Loop," a 300-plus mile scenic drive encircling Olympic National Park on the Olympic Peninsula.  We drove quite a bit that day and found the parking at trailheads to be full.  We ended up doing the Madison Falls trail (.5 mile RT) and the Marymere Falls trail (1.8 miles RT), each easy walks to see the waterfalls.  With walking to various viewpoints in the park and having to park pretty far away at trailheads, we got about 5 miles in that day.  Olympic National Park is just beautiful!  We can’t wait to see the west side of the park. 

On the way to Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Blacktail Deer

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Hurricane Ridge

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Madison Falls

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Madison Falls

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Huge tree stump...

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Lake Crescent

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Lake Crescent

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Lake Crescent

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Lake Crescent

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Lake Crescent

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Salmon Cascades

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Salmon Cascades - So much fun to watch the salmon leap...

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Salmon Cascades

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Salmon Cascades

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Salmon Cascades

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Salmon Cascades

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Red colored fungus

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Stellar Jay

Olympic National Park - 2 October 2025

Marymere Falls

On Friday 3 October Steve washed our camper.  It was in great need yet again.  We’d gotten caught in rain showers while towing and it was just enough to make the truck and camper look very dirty.   It’s looking good now.

On Saturday 4 October we washed the truck and thoroughly cleaned the inside.  With our mission to see as much as we could each day this summer, we had sort of just tidied up when it got bad.  The truck needed a good cleaning inside.  That afternoon after our chores we drove out to the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge in Sequim WA.  We walked a couple of miles on the Dungeness Spit Trail but it was mostly driving through the refuge.  We made it home to get cleaned up for mass at St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church at 5pm in Port Townsend.  The current building of St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church was built in 1945, and the St. Mary Star of the Sea parish started back in 1881!  We treated ourselves to a good Mexican dinner after mass.  We had not had Mexican food that good since before we left for Alaska in May!

Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge - Sequim Washington - 4 October 2025

Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge - Sequim Washington - 4 October 2025

Cascades Blacktail Deer

Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge - Sequim Washington - 4 October 2025

Dungeness Spit into Strait of Juan de Fuca

Between Sequim and Port Townsend Washington - 4 October 2025

St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church - Port Townsend Washington - 4 October 2025

St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church - Port Townsend Washington - 4 October 2025

Sunday 5 October, we had a very long day with waking at 5:30am to leave at 6:30am to catch the 8:30am ferry in Port Angeles WA to Victoria BC in Canada.  The ferry ride was an hour and 40 minutes, so we got there around 10am.  We were to get on a bus to The Butchart Gardens around noon.  We walked out to Beacon Hill Park to see the world's tallest totem pole (127ft).  The “World’s Tallest Totem” was erected in Beacon Hill Park Saturday, June 30, 1956. The totem in Beacon Hill Park was the world’s tallest totem until 1973, when it was surpassed by a 173 foot pole erected at Alert Bay.  We noticed the totem is faded and remembered that the Native American tradition is not to repaint totems until all the paint naturally fades. It was a farther walk that we anticipated, but we made it there and back to the bus in time having walked 3.75 miles already. 

The driver on the bus to The Butchart Gardens gave us information and stories about Victoria Canada.  He was entertaining with describing the demographics of Victoria being the “newly wed, the overly fed, and the nearly dead”.  He also pointed out the street in Victoria that was skid row where “commercial affection” could be found back in the day.  We had a few chuckles.

The Butchart Gardens is a beautiful place!  It is a 121-year-old world famous 55-acre display garden created by Jennie Butchart, and still privately owned and operated by the family, The Gardens was designated a National Historic Site of Canada, in 2004 for its 100th birthday.  The Butchart Gardens had beauty and character that we just couldn’t capture in pictures.  We highly recommend seeing for yourself if you’re ever in Victoria BC.  The only other gardens we could compare it to are Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania.  The Butchart Gardens is a bit smaller and feels less commercialized than Longwood Gardens.  We made it back to the Empress Hotel where the bus had picked us up near the Ferry Terminal around 4pm.  The next Ferry back to Port Angeles was at 7:30pm so we walked around some more.  We had planned to grocery shop in Port Angeles on our way home, so we made it home around 11pm, having walked just under 10 miles that day!

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Snow capped Olympic NP in background

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Victoria BC shoreline

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Victoria BC harbor

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Coho ferry

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Victoria BC

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Victoria BC

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Victoria BC

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Victoria BC - Parliament House

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Victoria BC- Parliament House

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Victoria BC

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Victoria BC - Coastal Redwood described above...

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Victoria BC

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Victoria BC

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Victoria BC - Beacon Hill Park

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Victoria BC - Beacon Hill Park - 127ft tall Totem

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Victoria BC - Beacon Hill Park

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Victoria BC - Beacon Hill Park

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Victoria BC - Beacon Hill Park

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Brentwood Bay BC - Butchart Gardens

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Brentwood Bay BC - Butchart Gardens

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Brentwood Bay BC - Butchart Gardens

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Brentwood Bay BC - Butchart Gardens - Angels Trumpet

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Brentwood Bay BC - Butchart Gardens - Sunken Garden

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Brentwood Bay BC - Butchart Gardens

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Brentwood Bay BC - Butchart Gardens

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Brentwood Bay BC - Butchart Gardens

Jennie Butchart was 60 years old when she hung in the bosun's chair mentioned in this sign...

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Brentwood Bay BC - Butchart Gardens

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Brentwood Bay BC - Butchart Gardens

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Brentwood Bay BC - Butchart Gardens

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Brentwood Bay BC - Butchart Gardens

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Brentwood Bay BC - Butchart Gardens

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Brentwood Bay BC - Butchart Gardens

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Brentwood Bay BC - Butchart Gardens

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Brentwood Bay BC - Butchart Gardens

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Brentwood Bay BC - Butchart Gardens - A Fall display...

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Brentwood Bay BC - Butchart Gardens

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Brentwood Bay BC - Butchart Gardens

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Brentwood Bay BC - Butchart Gardens

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Brentwood Bay BC - Butchart Gardens

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Brentwood Bay BC - Butchart Gardens

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Brentwood Bay BC - Butchart Gardens - Star Garden

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Brentwood Bay BC - Butchart Gardens - Italian Garden

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Ferry to Port Angeles - Full Moon and Victoria BC coastline lit up...Empress Hotel background

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Ferry to Port Angeles - Full Moon and Victoria BC coastline lit up...Empress Hotel

Daytrip on ferry to Victoria BC from Port Angeles WA - 5 October 2025

Ferry to Port Angeles - Victoria BC Parliament House lit up...

Monday was spent on chores.  It had been 12 days since doing laundry so it took all morning. 

Tuesday 7 October 2025 we took the ferry out of Port Townsend to Coupeville WA, a town on Whidbey Island.  We found a grass trail in Ebey Reserve leading to Fort Casey Historical State Park which goes along the water.  We enjoyed walking that trail especially since we had it mostly to ourselves.  We had packed our lunch in a backpack, so we ate lunch at a picnic table watching a group of California sea lions in Admiralty Inlet.  After lunch we walked around some more to see more wetlands and look for birds. We found that birds like Whidbey Island.  We took the 2:45pm ferry back to Port Townsend.  This was a much easier day than our day trip to Victoria.  We only walked 5 miles that day.  Steve’s knee is in pain most of the time now so all these miles we walk are a miracle for him.  We’re grateful that he can endure the pain to do everything he wants to do.

Daytrip on ferry to Coupeville/Whidbey Island WA from Port Townsend WA - 7 October 2025

Daytrip on ferry to Coupeville/Whidbey Island WA from Port Townsend WA - 7 October 2025

Port Townsend WA - Port Townsend Paper Company stinking up the area...

Daytrip on ferry to Coupeville/Whidbey Island WA from Port Townsend WA - 7 October 2025

Port Townsend Washington

Daytrip on ferry to Coupeville/Whidbey Island WA from Port Townsend WA - 7 October 2025

Coupeville WA

Daytrip on ferry to Coupeville/Whidbey Island WA from Port Townsend WA - 7 October 2025

Coupeville WA

Daytrip on ferry to Coupeville/Whidbey Island WA from Port Townsend WA - 7 October 2025

Coupeville WA - Banana Slug

Daytrip on ferry to Coupeville/Whidbey Island WA from Port Townsend WA - 7 October 2025

The Kennewick

Daytrip on ferry to Coupeville/Whidbey Island WA from Port Townsend WA - 7 October 2025

Fort Casey Historic State Park - We were there on a Tuesday

Daytrip on ferry to Coupeville/Whidbey Island WA from Port Townsend WA - 7 October 2025

Ebey's Reserve - Admiralty Inlet

Daytrip on ferry to Coupeville/Whidbey Island WA from Port Townsend WA - 7 October 2025

Ebey's Reserve - Admiralty Inlet

Daytrip on ferry to Coupeville/Whidbey Island WA from Port Townsend WA - 7 October 2025

Ebey's Reserve - Admiralty Inlet - 6-8 California Sea Lions in the water...

Daytrip on ferry to Coupeville/Whidbey Island WA from Port Townsend WA - 7 October 2025

We wished we'd brought our truck on the ferry...

Daytrip on ferry to Coupeville/Whidbey Island WA from Port Townsend WA - 7 October 2025

Coupeville Ferry Terminal

Wednesday 8 October the forecast predicted rain.  We woke to find it had indeed rained overnight, but the sky looked pretty good for the day.  Steve went with 5 other guys on a men’s luncheon.  They went to an Asian buffet in Port Angeles WA.  Anita did some cleaning and worked on the blog. 

We were sort of stuck inside with rain showers the next couple of days.  Saturday 9 October, we went to find the local farmers market and then we drove to Manresa Castle Hotel.  Anita had seen a sign for this the first time we drove into Port Townsend.  The castle was built as a private residence in 1892 and was later empty for 20 years when Jesuits bought it for a training center in 1927. 

Picture inside the Manresa Castle Hotel - Port Townsend WA - 9 October 2025

Picture inside the Manresa Castle Hotel - Port Townsend WA - 9 October 2025

Manresa Castle Hotel - Port Townsend WA - 9 October 2025

Anita remembers a place named Manresa on the Severn in Annapolis Maryland.  A little research shows that today it’s an assisted living facility but was once a Jesuit retreat house.  More reading explains that Manresa is a city in Spain where the Jesuit order was founded.  The term "Manresa" has come to symbolize a period of deep spiritual reflection and formation.

We also drove out to Indian Island. The whole island is covered by the Marrowstone CDP. It is located between Port Townsend Bay and Kilisut Harbor. Naval Magazine is located on Indian Island and is quite a large site considering it's ammunition and ordnance. While on the island we noticed some people fishing so Steve went down to ask what they were fishing for. It turned out they were fishing for Dungeness crab. Steve got to talking to this older couple and they were saying that they've lived in Washington over 50 years and the property tax that was $46 a year when they first bought their house is now $10,000 per year. We like Washington, especially the community where we've been staying in Chimacum for the past two weeks. Many of the folks live here year round because the temps are moderate. There is a 6 year waiting list to get a lot in this Escapee park. We find food and fuel prices to be high though, so it's doubtful that we'd consider settling here.

Indian Island Washington - 9 October 2025

Indian Island Washington - 9 October 2025

Male Dungeness Crab

Today (Monday 13 October 2025) is sunny in Chimacum WA and we decided to drive out to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park since it was rainy and yucky the last time we went.  When we got to the park, we found that the road to Hurricane Ridge is closed due to snow.  We stopped on our way back to the campground to grocery shop since we’ll be in a remote location for about 5 days.  Tomorrow we drive to Forks WA to see the west side of Olympic National Park and then we’ll come back to Chimacum for Anita to make a VA/CMP appointment on the 20^th.  We’ll head south to Oregon on the 22^nd. 

Olympic National Park - 13 October 2025

Olympic National Park - 13 October 2025

It was 40 degrees inside the park...