Monday, 21 May 2018
Gig Harbor RV Resort — Gig Harbor, Washington
Temps: 68F (20C) / 50F (10C)
We have a plan! It calls for alternating sightseeing with other stuff — such as checking out our options for ‘future livability’ … daily errands and chores … and just chillin’ on the patio. Another part of our plan is to stay home on the weekends … leaving those days to be enjoyed by people who have a work week to consider in their plans. We explore locally, of course, but don’t necessarily do anything blog-worthy. It’s because of our plan that I’m able to skip three days to write about today ;-)
The day started out overcast. Yeah, yeah … “second verse same as the first” when it comes to the weather in the PacNW. By the time we crossed the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, however, the sun was out … and stayed out for the most part.
We made a couple of detours on the Tacoma side of the Narrows, driving around some of the neighborhoods to find vantage points from which to photograph the bridge that is the only way off the Gig Harbor Harbor Peninsula … short of taking a ferry that is.
Looking west from the overpass that spans Highway 16.
The current pair of suspension bridges replace Galloping Gertie … the original Tacoma Narrow Bridge, which collapsed in November 1940 … just four months after it went into service. If you’re curious why the bridge was so nicknamed, Google its collapse and you’ll find some amazing footage from the day the bridge was destroyed by gale force winds. I found the one linked in this Wikipedia article quite compelling.
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge charges a toll …
but only on the newer eastbound crossing (left span).
The bridge that was built in 1950 to replace the original one serves as the westbound span now. Today’s eastbound span opened to service in 2007 … after it was determined that traffic was exceeding the design capacity of the 1950s bridge.
The bridge and the Tacoma Narrows for which it’s named.
Our reason for crossing the bridge today was to go to Point Defiance Park to do some hiking. Getting to the park is no easy feat as there is construction near the Pearl Street Entrance that causes considerable delays … especially if the ferry from Vashon Island is unloading.
The Vashon Ferry crossing over to the landing near Point Defiance Park.
Luckily our timing was good today and we did not have to wait long to get waved through. Instead of going into the park, however, we circled around to check out a waterfront promenade first. Parking the car near the head of the paved promenade, off we went to Owen Beach — .79 miles (1.3 km) one way.
The paved path is an easy, flat walk. On the right one has expansive water views … on the left an old-growth forest looms tall. Green foliage lines the edge of the trail, adding another dimension to the scenery.
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When we reached the end of the promenade, we wandered along the beach for a while. There were a few people enjoying the pebble-strewn beach, but no one ventured past the walkway to follow in our footsteps.
Our hope was to stay on the beach all the way to the point, round the tip along the water, and return to the park by way of the beach on the other side. It looked doable on Google Maps. Unfortunately, driftwood eventually blocked our path. We hopped over a couple … we scrambled under a few more. Eventually, the tangle of big pieces of driftwood and fallen trees became unmanageable, so we turned around.
Over and under the trees we go until the tangle of trees stop us in our track.
When we reached Owen Beach again, we found a set of stairs that took us up to Five Mile Drive, which circles Point Defiance Park … with several viewpoints along the way. Even with little traffic to bother us, we didn’t want to walk along the road, though. Instead, we connected to the Rhododendron Garden Loop, and from there to the Outside Loop Trail … estimated to be about 4.3 miles.
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A black and white study of driftwood on the beach contrasts
with colorful blooms in the Rhododendron Garden.
The trail goes through an old-growth forest, with access to all the viewpoints one can reach by car. I put the camera away for the most part, and just enjoyed being out in nature. At the Vashon Viewpoint we took a ‘snack break with a view’ before continuing along to the other viewpoints and Fort Nisqually. If the latter was open today, it certainly didn’t look like it. But we had no plans to visit anyway, so we kept hiking.
Vashon Island from the viewpoint on the Outside Loop Trail.
An expansive view of the waterways of Puget Sound.
Staying on the trail would have returned us to Owen Beach. Instead, we left the trail near the zoo and followed the paved road back to some steps that led us down to the parking lot where we had left the CR-V. That’s when we realized that the paved promenade was now closed due to construction. Good thing we did not try return by way of Owen Beach.
It was after 3:00p when we pointed the car towards home … 6.92 miles (11 km) of walking recorded by our step counter. Time to go home and rest our weary feet.
© 2004-2018 Two to Travel's Phaeton Journeys. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.
Beautiful pictures. I like the idea of staying away from the tourist areas on the weekends. Its going to start getting really busy with summer coming.
ReplyDeleteWe do the same in usually leaving the week-ends to those who really need them. You have to love a town that has a ferry. I remember living in Newport when that was the only way to get there without driving way around. I'd hear the ferry whistle when it approached and left and it always made me smile. Looks like a great beach for a walk. So sorry you got stopped by impassable driftwood. Great intuition not to try to return by way of Owen Beach.
ReplyDeleteAll right! Reading your post and seeing the pics makes me want to travel to WA! The area looks lush and lovely. We have long-time friends who live on Vashon, and we've spent some happy weeks on the island. Thanks for the memories.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I didn't get a notice for this post. Looking at Feedly for the first time in ages, there it was. Loved seeing the walk on the beach, the driftwood, the
ReplyDeleteBridge. Weekends around home sounds like a very smart idea