October 26-29, 2018
Let’s go back to the end of October, 2018, and let me tell you about my final camping trip of 2018.
I had plans to head to the north end of Whidbey Island, to the same campground I had visited in October, 2017, since the weather was so stunningly beautiful for that 2017 trip. But the weather this past October on north Whidbey was predicted to be a constant downpour of rain. Well, that didn’t sound like fun!
So I opted instead to head to the northern edge of the Olympic Peninsula and to Sequim Bay State Park for just a few days of camping. See the map below … the large red X in the lower right corner is where I store the trailer. Sequim Bay State Park is right on the beach on the edge of Sequim Bay which is part of the ocean salt water of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
So what the heck is a “sequim” you ask? Well, I have answers!
First off, the word/name Sequim is pronounced as one syllable, “skwim”. The most common mispronunciation is SEE-quim. But I recently heard another mispronunciation. I was watching a national PBS program where the moderator kept calling it suh-QUIM. Sure wish he had done his research before recording that show. He sounded pretty dumb. Remember … one syllable … skwim.
The word/name comes from the native Klallam language and means roughly “a place to go shooting”. It’s a reference to the area’s once abundant elk and waterfowl hunting.
Today, the area is still known for elk herds and waterfowl (though they aren’t as abundant as they used to be), and it’s known for monstrously huge fields of commercial lavender, and for a deliciously plentiful supply of Dungeness crab (yum).
Most importantly to me for this camping trip is that the greater Sequim area is also known for sunshine. It is commonly called the “banana belt” of western Washington. The area averages only 65 days of rain a year because the area lies within the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains. Those rain clouds simply zoom by overhead and head pretty much straight towards Seattle.
So with all that in mind, I made a campsite reservation online and took off for a few days of adventuring in the area surrounding the small town of Sequim.
The drive to Sequim Bay State Park was beautiful, as most drives are anywhere on or around the Olympic Peninsula. I arrived late Friday afternoon to an almost-empty campground and settled in nicely … welcomed by the campground mascot.
Here’s something I hadn’t seen before … the plants in the rockery all around the office building included all manner of herbs and spices that camping folks like myself could pick and use for cooking, and each plant was labeled with its common name. I availed myself of a tiny portion of several of the plants, and left a thank-you note.
Here’s the campground mascot (above). I don’t know … was this person also the herb gardener? Could be!
Friends who live in Sequim took me on a number of driving adventures over the next couple of days … stay tuned. 🙂