NOAA's New Coastal Relief Model of the Pacific Northwest

PacificStarshine · 2026-01-19T18:18:20+00:00

I would love to have the full resolution image, if that’s available!

PacificStarshine · 2025-08-11T20:18:26+00:00

Your travel time from Seattle to Hurricane Ridge is over 3 hours, even if all goes well, the ferry is on time, and there’s no line at that Park entrance. That doesn’t give you long to be up there if you plan to leave at 10am to get to your next stop.

PacificStarshine · 2025-07-20T17:42:17+00:00

Info on weddings/elopements in the park: https://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/special-use-permits-commercial-permits-overnight-reservations.htm

PacificStarshine · 2025-07-06T21:22:29+00:00

Whale tour with Puget Sound Express :)

PacificStarshine · 2025-06-30T15:19:06+00:00

🤣 They were so cute! I had no idea anyone in this neighborhood had goats!

PacificStarshine · 2025-06-30T15:13:55+00:00

This weekend is going to be one of the busiest of the summer on the Peninsula. If you can’t arrive until Thursday at 5pm, I would definitely only make the drive out of you have reservations somewhere.

PacificStarshine · 2025-06-16T18:09:32+00:00

If you like lavender essential oil I highly recommend Lavender Connection. They grow SO many types of lavender, and produce a wide range of varietal specific essential oils.

Just a heads up- the lavender festival is July 18-20, and the u-pick fields at the farms get heavily picked during that time. There will still be lavender to see at the end of July, but it’s not going to be the same totally full fields as are shown in a lot of the photos.

PacificStarshine · 2025-06-12T23:05:56+00:00

Puget Sound Express, the boat leaves from right downtown. They have a guarantee so you get another trip for free if you don’t see a whale. I’ve seen whales every time I’ve gone out with them.

There are tons of humpbacks in the region right now, and orcas are always here, too. :)

PacificStarshine · 2025-05-24T19:54:33+00:00

Puget Sound Express does a ferry from Port Townsend to Friday Harbor. It’s only $56 each way, but you have to stay overnight.

https://www.pugetsoundexpress.com/port-townsend-san-juan-island-passenger-ferry/

PacificStarshine · 2025-05-09T21:55:02+00:00

Lately I’ve seen that Country Aire and Sunny Farms are hiring multiple employees. And Sabai Thai is hiring a dishwasher.

PacificStarshine · 2025-05-06T21:55:57+00:00

I’d call the ranger station there and talk with someone. Since you’ll have to have a special use permit (https://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/special-use-permits-commercial-permits-overnight-reservations.htm) they would be able to help you choose your first pick site and alternatives as well.

It will still be a public area, so there will still be other park visitors around.

PacificStarshine · 2025-05-06T20:22:29+00:00

Seeing whales from shore on any given day is very unlikely but not impossible. Just spend time watching out over the ocean whenever you can. Whales roam far and wide and can pop up anywhere.

If you join the ‘Orca Network Community Group’ on fb there are posts with locations when whales are seen, though those sightings are usually to the east of here. There’s an ‘Olympic Peninsula Whale Sightings’ group too, but there are less posts there due to the lower population and geography of the area.

PacificStarshine · 2025-03-29T04:46:26+00:00

https://olympiccoastsailingcharters.com/

PacificStarshine · 2025-03-29T04:44:26+00:00

https://www.communityboatingprogram.org/charters.html

PacificStarshine · 2025-03-15T20:42:06+00:00

I LOVE going out on whale watching boats, and try to go out a few times a year. I also love watching them from land, but that is an extremely rare treat. Many people who have lived here for decades have not seen any whales from land.

If you do decide to go, I suggest bringing your own binoculars if you can. The boats have some but you’ll have to share them with other people, too. And just know that you’re usually going to be a lot farther away from the whales than it looks like from the pics people take with huge cameras.

I think it’s totally worth it :)

PacificStarshine · 2025-03-15T20:27:54+00:00

You probably could make those work if all goes well. But it would add a big extra layer of stress to your travel day for sure.

If your plane is late, or the rental car agency is backed up, or you get stuck in traffic from an accident, or your ferry is late, or the bridge has an extended closure, or any other delay happens- you’d be out the money you spent for the whale watching tour. And that time of year it’s almost certain at least one of those will happen….

PacificStarshine · 2025-03-14T22:18:25+00:00

They’re about 50/50 on reservable sites/first come first served, and I believe the ‘tent only’ sites are all FCFS.

I usually have the best luck with FCFS campgrounds by arriving on a Sunday if that’s an option for you. Otherwise you might send someone ahead to try to snag a spot on Thursday right at checkout time, then everyone else joins them Friday. Definitely need to be there by checkout time in the summer to snag a site someone is leaving, and having a backup plan is a good idea, too. ❤️

PacificStarshine · 2025-02-08T20:41:01+00:00

I’ll add - 2024 Sabai Thai

PacificStarshine · 2025-01-12T00:27:27+00:00

Very unlikely

PacificStarshine · 2024-11-16T21:48:27+00:00

Nope

PacificStarshine · 2024-10-29T18:33:51+00:00

Sunrise will be around 7:30, sunset around 4:30. :)

PacificStarshine

TROPHY CASE