Port Angeles, WA - Olympic Peninsula

We left Poulsbo, WA last Monday for the short drive to our next destination of Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula.  The weather here is a little different than in the islands.  It is warmer and dryer here.  We still have to run the heater in the mornings for a few minutes (lows in the upper 50's), but the afternoons are really nice with highs in the upper 60's in the higher elevations, and low 70's in town and in the valley areas.  Boy are we going to be spoiled!

Olympic Game Farm:  Monday afternoon we drove over to the small town of Sequim (pronounced Skwim).  We wanted to check out the Olympic Game Farm.  This is a self-guided drive through a wild animal farm.  The owner of the farm is a man named Lloyd Bebee.  He worked with Walt Disney for 28 years, filming at the farm and on other set locations.  Walt said that Lloyd could always get the animals to do what they needed for the film.  Over 100 films and/or movies were shot using the animals on the farm.  Some of the more popular titles are, Grizzly Adams, Charlie the Lonesome Cougar, The Incredible Journey and White Wilderness. 

You can purchase whole wheat bread to feed the animals at the ticket office when you drive in.  No other food types allowed.  It is a U.S.D.A. government rule.  I'm glad we bought the bread!  Here are a few pictures of our drive through the farm.

 

Ticket Booth....buy ticket to enter and bread to feed animals.

 

 

The roads below are where you drive around and through the farm and you don't know what you will come across next.

 

 

Okay, here is where the fun starts.  We came across these Yaks in the road.  They knew just what to do.  They walked up to the car and stuck their heads in wanting the wheat bread. 

They were so gentle! 

 

 This big guy didn't know when to stop.  I must have fed him 4 or 5 pieces of bread.  As did the next car and the next car.....get the picture? 

 

 

The elk were a different story.  The sign clearly said Do not stop where the elk are.  Do not let them surround your car.  So what does the guy in front of us do......Yep, he stopped and they surrounded him.  Then they saw us.

 

 

Uh Oh!  He was a big guy and he had his sights set on us.  We didn't slow down.  It's a good thing they know to get out of the way.  I threw them some bread as we drove by.

Except for this one......didn't see him in time to drive by.  He stuck his nose in the window. 

 

 

 

 

And Alan did get to feed this elk before the rest of the herd came running.

 

 

 

The deer were so cute.  They would stick their tongue out for the bread.   They would eat until your bread was gone if you let them.

 

I saw a bison running hard and fast for a car up the road from us.  It looked really scary.  We were warned not to let them get too close because the matted fur could actually scratch your car.  Luckily there were none too close to the road when we got there.

Lavender Farm:  While we were in Sequim, I wanted to see some of the Lavender farms in the area.  Sequim is known for being the Lavender capital of the US.  From the main highway we followed the signs to the Washington Inn and Lavender Farm.  It was a beautiful Inn and the setting was high above the water which is the Straits of Juan de Fuca separating the US and Victoria, BC.  As we neared the long drive leading down to the Inn and Gift shop, we saw a sign that said U-Pick Lavender $5.00.  So, I did.  The lady in the gift shop walked out and showed me how and where to pick the lavender.  The annual Lavender festival is the weekend of July 18.  Glad I made it to the farm before then.  Thousands of people come to Sequim for this festival.