Hurricane Ridge hike and Port Townsend

Dave and I went hiking over the weekend at Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. Even though it's almost November, it was warm, sunny and summerlike. The altitude is only 5,242 feet, which helped keep it warm.

Besides the blue mountains and sky and dark green trees, there was a surprising amount of gold from dry grasses and other dry plants glowing in the sun. It's been a dry season out here.

We only hiked a few miles, but it was a steep uphill climb that had my heart pounding. From the summit of our trail we had spectacular views.

Then it was a much easier descent and a stop in Port Townsend for refreshment. Dave's beer glowed through my water glass, almost the same gold as the dried grasses on the mountain.

After a late lunch and drinks, we wandered out onto a pier to watch the boats on this brilliant sunny Sunday.

Fall color was in abundance, but it was hard to get photos from the moving car. 

On the way out we stopped at the Quilted Strait in Port Gamble and I scooped up some luscious colors to work into my new wool applique quilt.

Have a colorful day