Friday, July 31, 2015

Suquamish Museum

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  Less than 1/2 mile from the museum is where Old Man House, the largest longhouse in Washington state once stood. It was the home of Chief Seattle and Chief Kitsap and the location of the winter home of the Suquamish tribe for at least 2000 years. In 1870, after Seattle died, the federal government burned the longhouse in an effort to force the people off the coast and into farming. The Suquamish rebuilt the village but in 1904 the U.S. War Department took the land to build fortifications. Even though nothing was ever built the land was not retuned to the Suquamish but sold to a developer in 1950. The former longhouse site is covered with tract housing but a tiny part is reserved as a park.

  The museum is small with beautiful exhibits and artifacts.
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   Everything is accessible.

   Small RVs will fit in the larger parking lot. Wheelchair visitors will have to go out on the street and enter through the smaller parking lot (where the handicapped parking spaces are located) to avoid a set of steps. There’s very little parking at the site of Old Man House so walk or visit with a small vehicle only.  Museum
47.72959, -122.55671
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Point Casino

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  A large, flat parking lot makes this casino a good place to spend the night if you’re planning on an early ferry ride over to Seattle or Edmonds.

  The casino is small with fairly easy to move chairs and easy to reach card and money slots.  Casino
47.84523, -122.54184
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Thursday, July 30, 2015

Port Gamble Historic Museum

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  In 1853 Josiah Keller, William Talbot, and Andrew Pope, lumbermen from Maine, built a mill to take advantage of the abundant forests that they found along the Washington coast. A small company town with a distinctively New England flavor grew near the mill. Everything was built and owned by the company and, even now that the mill has been closed and dismantled, the town is still owned and cared for by Pope Resources.

  The entire town consists of just a few streets. The larger houses are shops. Interpretive signs are located in front of many of the buildings so a short walking tour gives a bit of  history. Most of the smaller houses of the mill workers are no longer standing and some of the houses are private homes.

  The historic museum is in the basement of the general store. It’s tiny with beautifully constructed displays about the owners of the lumber company but hardly anything about the workers and their lives. There’s also a sea creature and seashell museum on the second floor balcony area of the general store.
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  The historic museum, except for the bank vault display room, is accessible but getting to the entrance involves going down a steep hill. There’s a handicapped parking spot at the entrance where a small RV might fit. The seashell museum is not accessible. All of the shops have good ramps and the sidewalks and curb cuts are in good condition.

The best place to park a large vehicle is along Puget Way.  Museum
47.85573, -122.58342
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Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Olympic Discovery Trail-Blyn to Sequim

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  Olympic Discovery Trail, when it’s completed, will be a paved 130 mile biking and hiking path with some sections also suitable for horses.  It’s easy to access the trail from 7 Cedars Casino, just be careful when crossing the highway. Go to the far north end of the lot until you come to the road and then cross over Highway 101. The trail goes in both directions but it isn’t completed to the right so we always go to the left towards Sequim.  Most wheelchair users will need to have help due to some very steep sections.   010015
  If you like blackberries bring a bucket. You can pick gallons of them.  Trail
48.02434, -123.01127
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7 Cedars Casino

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   We often stay overnight at 7 Cedars when we’re on the Olympic peninsula because it’s so quiet and peaceful. The RV parking is in the rear lot with acreage and trees isolating it from the highway. We usually stay for two or three days before moving on but I don’t know their official policy. The lot is slightly slanted so leveling may be necessary.

  The rear entrance is a short walk/roll from the lot. The chairs are very easy to move and the money and card slots are easy to reach. Casino
48.02016, -123.01059
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Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Olympic National Park–Hurricane Ridge

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  A series of minor problems (leaking brake cylinder, leaking water heater, ladder crunch) quashed our plans to drive the loop of Olympic National Park but we did manage to drive to the top of Hurricane Ridge. At first the views were concealed in a veil of fog…
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  so we were very happy when the fog dissipated to reveal a hazy look at Port Angles, 11 miles away.
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  Several trails begin at the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center parking lot. The trails are paved for a short distance and loop back to the parking lot. These sections are accessible but there are steep parts so most wheelchair users will need to have help. The dry, warm spring and summer meant few wildflowers but we did enjoy the curious young deer.
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   A picnic area and the Hurricane Hill Trailhead is located about 1 1/2 miles past the visitor center lot at the road’s end. This section of road is not open to RVs. Hurricane Hill Trail is paved for 1 1/2 miles but becomes very steep and inaccessible after 1/2 mile . The paving is rough in spots and there’s a steep drop off on one side.
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  For more information about accessibility check the park website -here.

  We stayed at Heart O' the Hills Campground which is supposed to have an accessible restroom in loop A but we didn’t check it out. There were many empty sites during our middle of the summer, weekday visit. A lot of them are small and not level. Our daughter was visiting for a couple of days and we needed a spot large enough for our RV and her car so we chose a site that was parallel to the road. These sites and a few pull-throughs are large enough for 30-35’ RVs but the roads are narrow with tight bends.
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   Hurricane Ridge Road starts a sea level, travels 17 miles and gains 5,242’ in elevation. RVs are permitted as far as the large parking lot at Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center. There are long RV spaces at the far end. If you chose to leave your RV at the bottom a few long spaces are located at Olympic National Park Visitor Center.  Park
48.09977, -123.42616
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Saturday, July 25, 2015

Naval Undersea Museum

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   Outside exhibits include this huge vessel which is capable of  operating at a depth of 20,000 feet below sea level.  Very nicely done exhibits inside cover everything from the first explorations of the sea to ocean currents, the development of torpedoes and submarine technology. 

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  The museum is completely accessible.

  RVs will fit in the lot by parking through two spaces.  Museum

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Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Squaxin Island Tribe Museum

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  Seven large wall panels depict the history and lives of the Squaxin Island Tribe who live along seven inlets in the southern Puget Sound. A basket collection and artwork is on display in cases and on the walls. A boardwalk path leads to huge canoe, hand carved from a 500 year old tree.

  The path and museum are accessible. Some of the informative cards in the cases are laying flat which makes them hard to see from a seated position.

  RVs will fit in the lot if parked across the spaces. Museum
 47.12126, -123.08127
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Little Creek Casino

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    A large dirt lot is located close to the casino but it’s dusty especially when the wind blows. Most overnight RVers park in the paved lot near the campground. It’s fairly level with plenty of room.

UPDATE 2019- This casino got a lot busier. RVs must be in the RV park or the gravel lot. Sign in at hotel desk required- good for one night.
  The entrance casino is an easy walk/roll from the lot. The chairs are light but the plush carpeting makes rolling a bit difficult.  Casino
47.12974, -123.10344
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Monday, July 20, 2015

Ocean Shores Interpretive Center

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   A hands-on room with bones, shells, rocks, fossils, and other natural things to touch and explore fills the first room of the center. Follow the hallways to rooms and cubbyholes for more of this rather eclectic collection of everything to do with Ocean Shores. There are mounted animals, films and displays about earthquakes, flotsam and jetsam that has washed up on the beach, Native American stories and artifacts, pieces of shipwrecks, and promotional posters from the not very successful Ocean Shores Development Corporation.
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   The center is accessible but some of the exhibits may be hard to view from a seated position.

   RVs will fit in the large, unpaved lot across the street from the center.  Center
46.95163, -124.13177
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Quinault Beach Casino

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   RV parking is in very large, gravel lot with marked and numbered spaces. Check-in at the security desk is required and a hang tag is issued. Parking is $5.00 Sunday through Thursday and $10.00 on Friday and Saturday. There’s a boardwalk that goes to the beach near the casino.

  A shuttle van is available but I don’t think it’s accessible so wheelchair visitors may want to park as close to the paved lot as possible because the gravel is very rough. The casino is fairly accessible.  Casino
47.03937, -124.17072
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Sunday, July 19, 2015

Aberdeen Museum of History

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    The historic collections in this little museum are displayed in store front mockups. Larger items include fire engines and boats.

   Everything is accessible.

  A few long accessible spaces are located near the museum entrance ramp.  Museum
  46.97777, -123.8205
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