A Not so Simple Transition to Port Townsend, WA

We spent several nights on the outskirts of Seattle, vising with family, taking care of some business and dealing with the insane amount of traffic that that city generates. Auburn, just SE of Seattle, has a campground in the Game Farm Wilderness Park that allowed us reasonable access to Seattle without pulling the fifth wheel through the inner city.

On Tuesday we were off to the Olympic Peninsula. Unfortunately our transition from Seattle to Port Townsend was not so smooth. About halfway into our two hour drive I heard a strange noise and looked back to see smoke and small bits of tire flying...we had a blowout. Hans pulled over immediately, thankfully the shoulder was just wide enough to accommodate us. The right front trailer tire had blown, it was only two years old and Hans had checked the tire pressure so all should have been well.

Fortunately only minor damage to some underskirting on the trailer.

Fortunately the blowout was on the shoulder side of the highway, not the highway side! Vehicles were whizzing past us at 60 mph with no room to spare on the highway side. We were grateful to have the automatic leveling system on the trailer...we unhooked the truck and proceeded to raise the trailer up on its levelers so we could change the tire. We were back on the road within 45 minutes. Scary doesn't even begin to describe those 45 minutes!

No damage to the rim, thanks to quick understanding of the situation and being able to pull over immediately.

We're staying in Port Townsend, at Fort Worden Sate Park. Fort construction began in 1897 and it was active in one form or another until 1953, and became a state park in 1955. Its 434 acres include historical fort buildings, museums, a conference center, two campgrounds, water sports and beach access, hiking trails, all within minutes of downtown Port Townsend. There are 12 batteries left standing on Fort grounds and you can hike to and explore inside most of them. Here's a few photos from our hikes around the Fort:

Point Wilson lighthouse, activated 1879, automated 1976, closed to the public.

Battery Kinzie.
We were fortunate to happen upon this battery when a group of women were singing inside,
the acoustics were incredible!

A 60 inch carbon-arc light was housed in the building at the end of the tracks and rolled out
to light up targets up to 4.5 miles away. Circa 1911.

Battery Tolles.

Port Townsend is a Victorian waterfront town with an artistic vibe. Once a bustling port and fort town, today cute shops and restaurants invite visitors to stroll and spend their money. Thanks to a tip from the helpful staff at the local visitor center, we enjoyed some tasty fish and chips at Silverwater Cafe.

Several docks allow us to get out on the water and to appreciate the town from another vantage point.

Must be a fried egg jellyfish!

Fort Worden State Park is so popular that when we made reservations last October we could not get an entire week in one spot. We spent the first three nights at the full hookup beach campground, with nice large well separated sites; then moved to the upper forest campground with water/electric hookups for four nights, where the sites are much closer together.

On our campsite transition day (today) we took the trailer in to the local Les Schwab tire store to get four new tires on the trailer. We were happy to learn that, as Oregon residents, Les Schwab was able to sell us the tires with no sales tax, it seems merchants have an agreement with the state of Oregon to encourage Oregon residents to shop in Washington...sweet! Port Townsend Les Schwab did a fine job, very friendly, professional and efficient.

Now that business is taken care of we can really relax and enjoy the rest of our week in Port Townsend!