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Trail: Taking a road trip north al
from page A-38
geographical index e these are big,
colorful map books that dissect a
state, country or region into highly de-
tailed topographic grids. Though huge,
they contain such mapping detail that
you need — ironically -— a magnifying
glass to effectively read them.
Their detail is rich and alluring.
In the dark before dawn I buckle into
George’s passenger seat and stare be-
neath the dash lamp and magnifying
glass, pointing to Foulweather Blufi“
and Tala Point, the two northernmost
points, east and west, respectively,
defining the mouth of the python that
is the waterway shape of Hood Canal.
Well, a short python with a kink in
its hook-shaped tail.
DUCKABUSH & CENIENT MIXER
Port Gamble is going to be the star
of my story, but before we get there
via U.S. Highway 101, I want my
readers to be aware of a few things
you must pass on the way.
The Duckabush River Estuary
has a nature trail you can find on
the northeast side of the Duckabush
bridge. At low tide, especially in
spring, you can walk far out into the
delta, turning around to get great
views of the Olympics behind the his-
toric bridge.
This bridge is either going to be ,
replaced, altered or “added to” sub-
stantially when a new bridge system
goes into construction to help with
river sedimentation and salmon pas-
sage here. ,
It Will mean lane closures, delays
and all the rest. I am not certain of
thgproject’s beginning date, but I
krwa it is funded solidly and will go
forward.
In Brinnon, you have Rocky Brook
Falls and the Geoduck Tavern. I’ve
written ad nauseam on the falls, so
let’s put in a quick plug for the tavern:
great bar food, including soups, chow-
ders and creative specials. Authentic
as it gets, with nice, friendly staff who
really love working there. However,
there’s no seating due to COVID at
the big horseshoe bar. ,
Continuing north is a lot of new
commerce springing up in Quilcene,
inlcuding rumors of a decent sandwich
shop and deli. But I want .to draw your
attention to the public marina, tucked
behind town on Linger Longer Road.
It’s a raw, industrial, barely devel-
oped place with mooring fees at about
$10, but it’s a spot with character and
shellfish history.
I guarantee you’ll take a cellphone
photo of the old cement mixer with all
the hand—painted signs and graffiti
plastered over its surface. It’s a big,
wheeled billboard of populist pain, a
slogan collage by old oystermen out of
business, ranting at the government
for this offense or that. It’s blue collar
anger art with echoes of 1930s Dust-
bowl despair. Oddly, it’s as current as
our last election.
POINTS NOT PUBLIC
One thing I learn about the gazet-
teer: like old nautical charts, it pro-
vides names and indications for every
point of land, hoWever, it doesn’t tell
you that all these great destinations
are private property and have no
point from which visitors can attain
a view.
Basically, we get skunked at dead-
end road after road. We wave at
fences and security cameras. We turn
WE GYM '13 A: SAFE PLACE‘FO‘RTE'TNESS
"’inrrsn,
NO EVIDENCE
THAT THE
POSITIVE CASES
ORIGINATED
IN GYMS
around in many a driveway marked
“NO TURNAROUND” and learn
that poetically named Foulweather
Bluff has a lackluster, public end-
road beach no wider than a sandbox
and that the bluff itself is occupied
by mansions with owners not open
to allowing strangers to walk their
grounds.
GANflBLE PAYS OFF
By contrast, the tourist-friendly
open spaces of Port Gamble provide a
deep breath of relief. Like a detailed
snow globe, this tiny historic log- '
ging town remains manicured and
preserried, ready to charm its visitors
with streets, trees and houses looking
exactly as they did in 1859.
, The Port Gamble mill is gone now,
. its creosote and other pollutants
hauled off -— well, some of them any-
way — with nothing but a lonely pic-
nic table lying en the mudfiats below.
On the bluff above, the old Post Of-
fice is still active. A former filling sta-
tion is now a cleverly renovated coffee
shop. The old company mercantile
store now hosts a cafe and curio shop
of the highest caliber; they occupy the
floors above the official Port Gamble
Historic Museum, which is flanked by
a rare Camperdown Elm tree planted .
in 1875.
Across the street is the Franklin
‘ Lodge, the oldest Masonic Lodge in
Washington, founded in 1859. Honest-
ly, every single house along the main
street has a story to tell. Indeed, me-
ticulously hand-lettered signs in front
of each home tell you who once lived
there, and that person’s significance
to the historic growth of the town and
mill.
The whole town is a museum. And
Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page A—39
ong Hood Canal
most of it’s for rent now, in the vaca-
tion-rental style of the officers’ houses
and barracks at Fort Warden State
Park, in Port Townsend. Just rent a
week back in time.
I would love to shoot a movie in
Port Gamble. Or be a kid again and
trick-or—treat its streets.
SEABECK: HONORABLE MENTION
Skip Port Ludlow, just gray hairs
in golf carts, perfect flat-tepped shrub-
bery and automatic sprinkler systems.
Women with small dogs living inside
their sweaters.
Point No Point Lighthouse? Yes,
yes!
Seabeck, yes, too, as it’s an au—
thentic, low-key oasis away from the
“Kitsap Gittup” of fast-paced develop-
ment occurring all around Bremerton,
Silverdale and Paulsbo.
Known primarily for its two nearby
state parks, its sheltered marina and
hugely expanding conference center,
the town proper is merely a hamlet
of small general store, the original
Seabeck pizza parlor, and an espresso
stand, all with generous public seating
and picnic tables over a large plank
deck.
Seabeck has its own charm, but
doesn’t offer Olympic Mountain views.
For that, you’ll need to get on the
bluffs above, where you’ll encounter -—
surprise! —— private property.’
I Mark Woytowich is a writer, pho-
tographer, video producer and author
of “Where Waterfalls and Wild Things
Are.” He lives in Potlatch with his “0n
the Trail” column appearing every oth-
er week in the Journal. Reach him at
his website, www.wherewaterfallsare.
com, or by email at eyefive@hctc.com.
ALLYN l Case Inlet
DAIE HIGH (FEET)
SHELTON [Oakland Bay
on HIGH rrrn)
UNION Hood Canal
urn HIGH (FEET)
\
l’rrle tables have been transcribed and
may contain errors.‘Nol intended for
navigational use.
llrlal Information Courtesy US Harborstom
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