Port Townsend - Second Visit

For Spring Break I didn't want to do a big trip that left me exhausted heading back into school, so instead I requested a day trip to Port Townsend and then the boys planned their own separate trip while I stayed home alone for a bit! :)

We've been to Port Townsend as a family before, but I wanted to go back and do the full Sea Glass beach trail to make it to the spot that has the best sea glass selection. 

We turned it into a two day trip and stayed at a really fun (and inexpensive) historic hotel. Day one included exploring the hotel, spending time at Fort Warden, and having dinner at a cool Scottish pub!

I  highly recommend spending time at Fort Warden- it's huge, lots to explore and we had fun seeing the sea otters!

and eagles!

You can walk around the old bunkers with spots for turret guns and prisons and creepy dark corridors

Here's my dish from Tommyknocker's, a skillet mac n' cheese. Alex got a cornish pasty and tried scotch eggs for the first time. It was all SOO good!

The hotel we stayed at is called The Palace Hotel. It's right on the main street of Port Townsend and it has uniquely decorated rooms, as in, each one is a little bit different. Some even have lofts and multiple levels. It was originally built in 1889 and still features some original decor and of course, modern updates. The one downside is NO elevators, so lots of windy stairs to get to your room :)

Little library nook off one of the set of stairs

Lobby

Yes, I played it

After a day of driving, touring Fort Warden and the town of Port Townsend we got some sleep and got ready to hit the beach the next day. 

We timed our visit to Port Townsend so that would could take advantage of favorable tide times. Your start at the North Beach Trailhead, pass the 'end of the world' lookout point (not a way down to the beach!) and then keep going until you get to the bend. This walk in the video below isn't always accessible if you visit at high tide. Folks often get stuck out too far and can't get back safely. It's 2 miles out, two miles back... rocky beach all the way. Some times little pebbles under your feet, other times large boulders!

BUT when you plan it right, then you have a lovely, long walk on the beach and plentiful opportunities to find sea glass! The way the land comes to a point after that two miles is a great collection point for items that have turned into sea glass since it was a common dumping ground between 1905-1967. 

Apparently when you come across this car axle you know you're getting close to 'the spot'

We spent A LOT of time digging through rocks to find our own personal hauls of sea glass. White is the most common, then brown, then green and then blue, especially cobalt blue is the hardest to find. You can sometimes even find worn down pottery as well. 

If you make the visit to Port townsend you can find sea glass by just starting at the trail head and walking around that first beach area. However, the further you go, the more you'll find, and the bigger the pieces you'll find. I watched some videos and at times folks really finds some decent pieces. We took all of ours home, but thought we'd find some bigger pieces than we did. Still totally worth it :)

Here's what we found, sorted by person. We rinsed them all off and then coated them in coconut oil to keep them translucent and smooth, like when they're wet.

Then we sorted them by color into these cool bottles we found at an antique store in Port Townsend on our last trip there! The first multi-colored bottle are our favorites and the last bottle are just cool rocks and pottery we found.

A hike and our furry friend

As winter was ending we were ready to start getting out and exploring a bit more. Dan showed us a trail he'd done with his unit called the Sequalitchew Creek Trail. It's not terribly long, but it is unique in the fact that it is all downhill until you reach the beach, which means it's all uphill on the way back! Slow and steady, lol.

Right before you reach the beach you have to pass through a tunnel with an old train track, so we snapped a fun picture :)

Secondly I just wanted to share a bunch of random cat pictures we take when he's doing weird cat things. Apollo is now a outdoor/indoor cat and it seems to have calmed his crazy tendencies a bit!

This is our neighbor's cat, Kona. They play all the time, but we caught them playing at the door

Animals and laundry, am i right?

We still very much miss Carson, but we do love our Kibby :)

Glacier National Park

While Alex was at FSY and Cade was in Hawaii, Dan I and took a camping trip to Glacier National Park! Dan visited Banff and Glacier in 2023 on a solo motorcycle trip and was so impressed by their beauty that he wanted to return. Since I'm not up for riding on the back of a bike for 600 or more miles, we both journeyed our own way to Glacier and met up for the adventure of exploring together.

Here's a few pics from Dan's ride up to Glacier- he loves taking the scenic route and seeing all there is to see.

Dan met Sue, a worker at Glacier, last time he was there. She remembered him!

Checking out the campsite

Laura's here!

Our campsite is THE MOST gorgeous campsite I've ever stayed at. Sure, it may not have running water or electricity, but it had a clean vault toilet and a view to die for. This is Cut Back Campground on the East Side of Glacier, and I highly recommend it.

There were cows everywhere!

Dan's hammock set up

And my tent!

We had our Mountain House freeze dried breakfasts with a view of the mountains (and we moved there so the sun could warm us up too!)

Day ONE at Glacier! We spent the day on the Motorcycle dressed and ready for whatever adventure might come our way. We entered the park from the East and made our way West on the Going to the Sun Road, and while we made some little stops along the way, we mostly wanted to make some distance and get to the Lake Macdonald area and go against traffic. The scenery is breathtaking. Such vast, craggy mountains with deep and severe drops that create visually stunning backdrops. Stupendous was my word for the day. 

Bumblebees and Butterflies were very present at Glacier!

Made it to Lake Macdonald! Check out my video montage at the end for a look at our adventure here

I'd love to comeback and do some horseback riding through the park!

This area was called Red Rock. Not the reddest we've ever seen, but still gorgeous

We tried to take a little nap at this overlook- we were getting worn out!

Snow!

Lots of Mountain Goats to see and observe 

Towards the end of our day in the park we made our way to Logan Pass and hiked the Hidden Lake trail up to the overlook. And when I say up, I mean up. The whole way! I took my time and wasn't always sure if I was going to finish the trail, but look what was waiting for us at the top! Last time Dan was here he continued on the trail down to the lake and then you have to go back up to the overlook and back down to the trailhead. I wasn't up for that much intensity and it was already nearly dinner time so we headed back to our campsite buzzing from an awesome day ONE!

Day TWO! It wasn't nearly as cold overnight or the next morning, but it sure was windy! I guess being in the valley of large mountains for your campsite might mean some interesting weather patterns! Since we had ridden through and explored a large part of the main part of Glacier Nat'l park, we headed to a second area of the park called Two Medicine. Since this area had very little road to it, we took the car this time and set out with the idea of hiking around two medicine lake. When we parked and chatted with the workers we discovered that the trail wasn't open all the way around the lake, but that they did offer a boat ride back if you hike to one side of the lake. With our plan in full swing we headed off on our hike for the day! 

The trail to the top of the lake was about 3.5 miles, and we also took a few detours off the trail and back onto the trail towards some views and water falls, totaling about 6 miles. Here's the first waterfall we found was Aster falls. We took a moment to take our socks and shoes off and switch to sandals to get our feet wet and cool off a bit!

There were moments on this hike that you would just want to stop and soak up the scenery. It was pretty awe-inspiring. Made all the elevation gain worth it :)

We got to cross a 'foot bridge'! Only one person allowed at a time :) 

Near the end of the trail we couldn't even use our poles the path was so overgrown. Can you see Dan in all that vegetation? This is us descending down the mountainside towards the lake.

We made it to the top of the lake! While we waited for the boat to arrive we ate our PB and Honey sandwiches and then took a dip in Two Medicine Lake! Dan actually dove off the dock into the water and nearly lost his breath it was so cold. I just put my feet in and that was enough for me :)

Boat ride 

So the captain of our boat said if we were done hiking for the day we should still make sure to stop at Running Eagle Falls before we left the Two Medicine area. We are SO glad we did, because not only was the waterfall the most unique waterfall, but the water was much warmer for swimming! Check out the water just pouring out of the middle of the cliff. And if the water is running high there will be a second waterfall coming from the shelf above that opening. It was rushing fast and loud.

And then we noticed a family that seemed like this was their second home. They were running up and down the trails and then diving off the rocks into the water.

So we got closer... and...

Dove in! Even me too! It was still cold, but not nearly as cold as Two Medicine Lake or Lake Macdonald! 

And we couldn't get over the color of the rocks. What a memorable stop on our trip!

The captain also recommended we go to East Glacier and check out the Glacier Park Lodge for its historical value, and for dinner. Since his waterfall recommendation was so spot on, we did just that with the rest of our evening. 

This lodge is HUGE. It sits directly across from the Amtrak station and back in the day this was the place to be along your travels in Montana. 

And there was a piano in the lobby with a binder full of sheet music, so Dan convinced me to play a few. Someone tipped me $5!

After a very nice, non- freeze dried dinner, we headed back to the campground for s'mores and some stargazing. We had to wait until nearly 11pm to get a good view of that big Montana Sky. 

That was our short AND sweet trip to Glacier National Park. I drove home all in one shot the next day and Dan took two days on his bike to make it home, so here's a few closing pictures from his ride home. Don't forget to check the video montage at the end!

Moose!