Our Last Days at Fort Flagler

I had one day with no volunteer tasks so I went off to browse antique and thrift shops.  Driving the big RAM truck is powerful but downtown parking in Port Townsend is not fun with "petite flower" so I went to the Park and Ride to catch the shuttle bus tour.

Our shift ended on July 31st.  We'll be home for a month and then move to Campsite 46 at Lake Wenatchee State Park. We were invited back to Fort Flagler for next summer so I guess we made a good impression.

USS Independence, Sonny's Navy home for 18 months, is now dry docked at Bremerton Naval Ship Yard,  We drove by for a photo on our way back to Fort Flagler.

There were two school track teams housed at the Retreat Center during the week.  Those kids ran 7-8 miles every day around the park.

Entrance to Fort Worden on my bus tour of Port Townsend.  The fort was one of the "Triangle of Fire" forts protecting Puget Sound.

Looking across the Fort Worden Parade Grounds.

I caught a Mt Baker view as the bus drove along the bluff.  It was so clear that Mt Rainier could be seen to the South over Admiralty Inlet, too. 

Officers Quarters available to rent.

At this stops, a group of children with their leaders boarded the bus.  Reminded me of Small Faces' many field trip

days waiting for the bus.

At the Antique Store, there was a display of Chinese artifacts depicting a time when Port Townsend  had a large Asian population. I was told that when the store owner upgraded the plumbing in the building, these artifacts were discovered. Too bad we can't read the little descriptions.  They were interesting.  The Chinese has no status and very little is written about them in Port Townsend.

The Chinese section of town.

No attempt was made to save Chinatown from the flames.  Protection for the other buildings was all that was done.

I wanted to see this museum at the top of the stair but the steps seemed daunting with a cane on a hot day, plus the bus was due shortly.  The brochure described a textile exhibit that I'm sorry I missed.

Haller Fountain at the bus stop.

Victorian buildings abound in Port
Townsend.

Lots of gingerbread wood work to paint. Similar to homes along the Maine coast.

Always fun to see an old truck.

On Saturday, our Port Orchard neighbor, Les,
came to visit. Nice day for a ride.

Artichokes were growing under a maple tree at the
Ranger Bunkhouse. Pretty flower but too far gone to actually eat.

The choir came for several days to Camp Hoskins.  The only singing we heard was chanting around the campfire.

Twins I passed on a evening walk to the bluff.

Evening sky looking South towards Puget Sound.

The flagpole is 80 feet high with a teeny, tiny flag.  

Since the fort is a historical site, and this was the 

size of flag flown in the early 1900s, a bigger 

one can't be used.  I should have taken an earlier photo when Mt Rainier was visible.

The Park Lost and Found box is near the photocopier.  There was a ripe odor coming from somewhere near the box.  Someone thought that something was moldy in the refrigerator near by.  I dug down in the clothes and heard a rattle.  In a child's jacket pocket were three very dead clams.

I washed all the clothes and tossed the clams 
out for the gulls.

There was a wedding at Richmond House over the weekend.  The family had a whole chocolate cake, a pie

and sausage left over to give the staff.  This piece

was my birthday cake.

August 1, 2016  Shift change for the volunteers. In the campground, hosts changed sites. In our little compound, two families were leaving and on coming in.  It's a foggy morning looking at Camp Hoskins.

Looking East from bedroom window.

These neighbors were headed to Oregon to help a friend build an addition to their home.  In October, they plan to be at the Beet Harvest Festival in the Dakotas. They had read about this activity on the internet where the harvest is intense for 2 weeks. Camper-workers can earn $1K-$2K but it's a 12 hour day and can last up to a month.  We'll be wanting to learn how that goes for them.

We got underway about 11 AM and were home 
by 12:30 PM

Pulling into our yard.

Happy Hour Birthday snacks at the Lighthouse Restaurant on the waterfront August 1.

The restaurant provided this insanely large sized apple crisp for the birthday girl! I'll be working that off till the

next birthday.

Our neighbor brought over this

huge bouquet of glads.  They are from

his mother's bulbs in Michigan.

Catching Up on Two Weeks of Photos

I'm not able to access the internet with my computer at Fort Flagler so I'm catching up while we are on our days off at home.

The General Store and Post Office in 
Nordland, outside the park. There's even a 
swing hanging from the rafters.

The best blueberries ever! We ate the whole box for dessert.

We had fresh oysters from the General Store 
with our Calvary Hiker friends.

Sign outside the store.

A few members of the resident deer herd at the park.

View from our picnic table at dinner time. The cloud 
formations are constantly changing.

5:30 AM from our bedroom window.

The Calvary Hikers came to visit on the 15th. We toured the museum and had a special
docent tour of the Fort Hospital.  Afterwards, we walked the Fort trails.  Some went
nearly 5 miles while others did 3.  Sonny got the fire hot to cook the oysters.  
The friends brought soup, salads, cornbread and lemon bars to go with the oysters.  
It was a lovely day with good friends.

The wide open grounds provide space for kite flying.

We went over to Port Townsend to wander around town.  This photo is from one of
the parks looking towards Fort  Flagler.  The little white dots to the
right of the bluff is the lower campground at Fort Flagler.

Harbor at the end of town.

Party Town!

City park on the water

Flowers along the sidewalk.  What are these long pods?

On the way back to our campsite, we stopped at Fort Townsend State
Park.  The 4th US Infantry was holding a re-enactment and we
had an interesting historical conversation with 3 Union soldiers.
The truck in the campsite was a little out of place for the period.

Calm waters under the bridge crossing
to Indian Island on our way to
Fort Flagler.

Western Washington University has a large experimental agricultural
farm on the island.  The piggies have a home near the road.

This car seems to come by the fort every Saturday evening for a cruise.

Our neighbors had their grandchildren for a visit.  The 
breeze kept their kite up quite a while. 

One of the talented park volunteers made this bench
 from an old fort sign.

This is Camp Wilson, an old WWII barracks that will accommodate
 about 30 people but you need to make your reservation 
9-12 months in advance.

This couple toured the park on their bikes.

Can't help but take daily photos of Mt Baker over the camp sign. 
 (Early morning)

July 21st was our 37th wedding anniversary so we went to 
"Music on the Dock" at Pope Marina Park in Port Townsend
 to listen to Uncle Funk and Dope 6. 

The people watching was most interesting! Dancing is popular in Port Townsend.
The dance floor was crowded and you didn't need a partner, just a desire to
express yourself!

Variety of clothing and foot wear.  Long slits on dresses, hiking
boots, bare feet, orange polka dotted knee socks, long skirts, short
skirts, and all in between.

From our chairs, we could see the teenagers jumping off the pier.

We rarely have Thai food so we decided to try out 

Khu Larb Thai Restaurant.

Sonny had duck with curry sauce and I had mussels.  All very good.

Afterwards, we walked to the Soda Fountain for a little ice cream treat.

I covered for the Park Admin Assistant while she was away for 2 days during the week.
 My biggest task was to photo copy and fold the numerous brochures.

I also take messages, answer the phone and relay information on the radio.

We keep hoping to see a submarine pass by.  This wasn't it.

Today, we could see Mt Rainier to the South and Mt Baker to the North.

One of the resident eagles flies by.

Sunday evening cruise ship passes us on its way to Alaska.