A Doe, A deer, A Female Deer

The boat out of Victoria didn't leave until 7:30pm. We pulled the van into line at 4:00 and spent two hours walking along Victoria's beautiful harbor. By 8:00 we were on board. (The last car to pull on, we were tucked sideways against the engine room with barely an inch between the nose and the wall.) By 8:30, the boat finally left the dock.

We weren't planning on a late night, but the last one on was also the last one off (Boats apparently do not abide by the LIFO rule). By time we cleared customs in Port Angeles, it was almost 9:45 and we still needed a place to stay. We picked a road on the map that led into Olympic National Park and began driving. But the line on the map in no way compared to the road it depicted. We drove up and up and up. We turned and turned and turned. We had no idea where we were going or what the area around us looked like outside of the 100 feet of light thrown from our headlights. For 18 miles, all we saw was a dark one-lane road that turned continuously. Occasionally I did catch glimpses of illuminated emptiness where the edge of the road gave way to a sheer drop-off. Not once did I panic. (Alright, once ..but not more).

Finally, it seemed like hours later, we drove to a point where we could drive no more; the top of a mountain overlooking the city lights. I was almost too tired and too frazzled from the hair-pin ride up to notice how beautiful the lights looked. Another 1/4 mile twisty ride down from the peak brought us to a small parking lot. Everywhere we looked, it was pitch black. "Park it," I cried. "We sleep here."

When the sun rose in the morning, we got our first glimpse of where we were. At the top of Blue Mountain. The night black had been replaced with blue sky, green trees and snow capped mountains.

A doe and two spotted fawns came up to greet our van and nibble of the flowers by the trees. Over breakfast, two more does wandered by, and we were serenaded by folk guitar by a camper who had pulled up next to us (she was complete with the headband and multicolored tights).

We decided to stay on that mountain for a few days before heading down; one became it was so peaceful there and two because we weren't anxious to drive back down that one lane road the other way.

R and R

We are lounging and it is so needed. It seems for the last nine days we have been on the move trying to escape the rain. We haven't spend two consecutive days in the same place and the feeling of being homeless vagabonds is beginning to set in. Our wildest fantasy right now is to sit at a picnic table, in the sun and do nothing but enjoy the rays.

So at last we are finally experiencing that 'lazy Sunday afternoon' feeling that we have been longing for. John is replacing the gasket on our leaky sun roof and I am writing this entry and will soon begin reading the book I bought on Canadian Indian stories. Oh, have to go now. Two deer are strolling through camp and I want to be ready to snap the shutter when they are within range.