Steelhead on the Hoh

The weather was perfect — sunny and warm in the Hoh Rain Forest no less, where 13 feet of annual precipitation is common.

Imagine that.

Those are the days that bring the Hoh's incredible beauty to the surface. Crystal clear. Immaculate.

Pat Neal, world class fishing guide and humor columnist for the Peninsula Daily News, found the fishing holes he knows so well after 20 years of working the West Olympic Peninsula's rivers. 

We each caught a 6-7 pound hatchery steelhead, which is always a double blessing on the Hoh.

(Pat's awesome West End nature shots and his hilarious, insightful and historically fascinating prose can also be found here).

The Hoh — often roaring out of control and changing its course at will during the winter flood months — was lying low, exposing rocks that at time put Pat in portage mode. In other words, I got out of the boat, stood on the river bank and watched him gingerly push the boat downriver.

We saw no other drifters that Sunday, Aug. 16.

Just us and two steelies.

Check out this video, shot with a camera in one hand and juggling my catch in the other.

It gives new meaning to catch and release. 

Canadian tiger swallowtail lands in my back yard

I caught a rare close-up video glimpse of a beautiful but aging Canadian tiger swallowtail butterfly, which landed on Ann's potted geraniums and voraciously grazed for nectar (June 27, 2009).

The tiger, with a wingspan between three and four inches, then hopped to the pansies. 

They are lighter yellow than their larger Southern California cousins, which I used to chase down the streets of San Diego as a kid. 

This tiger's tails were nearly worn off, no doubt from many miles aflutter.

They are typically spotted on Olympic Discovery Trail between Siebert and Morse creeks and grow from eggs laid on willow leaves that grow into larger greenish caterpillars, then to the chrysalis state, then hatch as butterflies.

Some research on the Web turned up some interesting facts about this lovely creature: 

• It is the state insect of Oregon, the state butterfly of Georgia (eastern swallowtail). 

• The eastern species is the state insect of Virginia, Alabama, South Carolina and Delaware. 

• The Western tiger swallowtail migrates south from Canada to Mexico, much like the monarch.

One stop, two shellfish dinners

A state Fish and Wildlife shellfish/seaweed license, a recycled bucket, a rusty clam shovel and rubber boots gets you two dinners on the North Olympic Peninsula.

I reminded myself of that in late May, digging clams and shucking oysters on the state park shoreline at Sequim Bay, off Highway 101 between Sequim and Blyn.

The oysters were easy pickings in patch west of the park's boat ramp. The clams just east of the ramp.

I got there just before the crowd hit the beach during the last low tide in May.

In short, I dug 40 native Little Necks and Manilas, waded into the water ankle deep and rinsed the sand off the shells, leaving about six inches of sea water in the bucket to let the clams purge the remaining sand from their bivalves overnight.

I barbecued the oysters in some old shells I keep around at home because you have to cast your shucked shells back on the beach so oyster seeds on them can grow. That's the law and not a bad idea if you want to sustain oyster populations.

I  place a dab of butter on each oyster, pressing some fresh garlic on top and Q-ing them over some coals for about 20 minutes until they are curling but not too dry.

Some use barbecue sauce or port to add flavor. To each his or her own.

When it heats up on the beach, I recommend against slamming oysters raw on the beach. Vibrio fibrosis, caused by exposed oysters warmed in the sun, will make you deathly ill.  In short, be careful.

The oysters made dinner Saturday night. We devoured the clams on Sunday, first rinsing them off, then simply steaming them until the shells pop open.

Some melt a little butter in a bowl to dip them in but others just enjoy tasting the essence of the sea.

 

Digging clams at Sequim Bay State Park

Port Townsend walking tour

I work and often play in Port Townsend, by far the most beautiful city on the Olympic Peninsula. 

The people who live here have taken great steps to keep it that way, from the treed entrance along state Highway 20 to the Historic District downtown to the marinas, the waterfront and Fort Worden State Park, with views of Admiralty Inlet.

It's at least worth a day trip, but there are a number of historic bed-and-breakfast inns and hotels for overnight stays. Another plus, the restaurant's in Port Townsend are plentiful and in most cases exceptional.

I frequently walk downtown to relax and just to take in the visitors and fresh sea air wafting off Port Townsend Bay.

In the latter part of the 1800s, Port Townsend was one of the toughest Victorian port towns on the West Coast. 

It was well-known for the 17 saloons and a dozen brothels that lined its waterfront. Thriving businesses were built on the promise of the coming railroad — and then lost when the railroad chose to go through the small town of Seattle instead. Even today, a stroll through downtown Port Townsend reveals not a town approaching the 21st century, but a haven for the old and majestic, mixed with a healthy dose of tourism and funky shops. As you drive toward the heart of Port Townsend on Water Street, notice the Tides Inn on your right. The love scene in An Officer and a Gentleman was filmed there. The movie starred Richard Gere and Debra Winger. Above, safe from the slowing eroding bluff on Washington Street, is the big grey hulk of The Post Office, as the Customs House and Post Office is known in Port Townsend. Its construction began in 1885, and took eight years to complete. And yes, the carved stone building’s roof is copper. 

Park anywhere northeast of the ferry terminal but in the traffic-filled summer season it is wise to park at the Haines Place Park and Ride by taking a left off the main drag at Sims Way and Haines Street, then left on 12th Street to the park-and-ride entrance. Jefferson Transit downtown shuttle buses leave there every 20 minutes.

The new Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center, which is scheduled to open in May, is at the park and ride. There, you will find many helpful volunteers to answer questions and point you in the right direction.

Port Townsend’s Water Street is where you begin the self-guided tour. For the most part, the buildings are easy to identify. Just look up. The names and dates are carved on most of them. Look at the buildings from across the street to get a complete view of their aging elegance. Look closely at the sidewalk for the little purplish glass blocks, placed to allow light into the old tunnels that spider under Port Townsend. Blended with the old is the new, including the Northwest Maritime Center going up at the end of Water Street and opening in two phases — just before the Wooden Boat Festival Sept. 11-13 and the other half early next year. See video.

Directions: From eastbound Highway 101, take state Highway 20 north to Port Townsend, known as The Key City. From state Highway 104 westbound coming in from Hood Canal Bridge, take the exit to Port Townsend north at state Highway 19 (Beaver Valley Road).

Third Beach

Pulling from the OPtopian photo files: Third Beach on the Olympic Coast, inside Olympic National Park.

Virtual visitor center

A friend this morning asked just what was I up to with this new OPtopian blog thing.
Think of it as a virtual Olympic Peninsula visitor center.
I am the smiling volunteer online, welcoming you to the region.
Like all friendly volunteers at Olympic Peninsula visitor centers, I work for free but have a wealth of knowledge and experiences to share.
My territory is bounded by Hood Canal and the Olympic Coast, east and west. The boundaries south and north run from the only temperate rain forests on the Pacific Coast, USA, to the Strait of Juan de Fuca at the Northwest U.S.-Canadian border.
Like many Peninsula residents, I love to cross the border into Victoria and Vancouver Island for a day trip, taking the Coho ferry out of Port Angeles.
If I can't come up with the answer, I will try to steer you toward the right visitor center or source.
Taking one step further, I also encourage you to share your experiences here through words, photos and videos. Make a comment or send me an email note at jchew@olypen.com.
The beauty of blogging is it's a two-way trail, an ongoing conversation.

Let me be your guide

Welcome to my first personal blog spot, OPtopian, a name I came up with to describe a person who lives on the Olympic Peninsula in this western Washington state of mind.
The much greater Olympic Peninsula runs from Brinnon to Kalaloch (Hood Canal to the Pacific Coast) and from Port Townsend to Quilcene, Discover Bay, Sequim/Blyn/Dungeness Valley to Port Angeles, Joyce, Forks, Clallam Bay and Neah Bay.
While the rim of OPtopia is where most of the people live, the heart of the Peninsula is Olympic National Park and its sister park, Olympic National Forest, with more than 1,000 miles of hiking trails between them.
I moved here more than 15 years ago, finding a safe haven to raise three daughters, far from the East Bay Area of Northern California and Dallas, Texas, where I last worked at daily metro newspapers.
Today, I work for the Peninsula Daily News, which covers all the above-mentioned Olympic Peninsula communities.
I love living here. From my home I am blessed with spectacular views of Hurricane Ridge to Blue Mountain on the south and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, north to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, in Canada.
I invite you to visit the Olympic Peninsula. Have a question? Email me at jchew@olypen.com.

Ruby Beach

This is one of my favorite places on the Peninsula's Olympic Coast.

On our first trip to the coast, I took my daughters there and we saw our first gray whale. Unfortunately, it was a 20-foot-long carcass washed up on the beach. Seagull were perched upon it, picking away. Massive bones were beginning to protrude from the blubber and the stench of decomposition was offset only by a sweet ocean breeze.

We wondered how the sea took the beautiful once-floating mammoth . . .

To get to Ruby Beach, travel south on Highway 101 from Forks to the coast and follow the signs. It is southwest of the Hoh Rain Forest and inside Olympic National Park.

So named for the pinkish sand composed of tiny red garnet crystals, Ruby Beach is easily accessible via a 0.2-mile trail off Highway 101’s scenic coastal stretch south of Forks and the Hoh Rain Forest. It's a wide sandy beach ideal for walking and an easy three-mile beach hike to the mouth of Hoh River. Ruby Beach, with a meandering creek near the entrance trail’s end, is known for its spectacular sea stacks — spires of stone with trees and vegetation growing on them — just off shore. Tidal pools filled with brightly-colored sea urchins, anemones and starfish also dot the shoreline. Caves, colorful cliffs, magnificent sunsets and plenty of driftwood can be spotted along the shoreline. A large parking lot with rest rooms can be found on the bluffs at the end of the entrance road. Directions: 27 miles south and west of Forks off Highway 101.