Another beautiful day in Seattle!  Typical winter weather means dodging rain drops, but much to my delight it has been uncharacteristically sunny.

My first task of the day was to sort out my dilemma about the cancelled Giant Slalom final.  As expected, when I called the Olympic ticket office the line was busy.  I tried three or four times before I started my day, and was greeted with an annoying busy signal. 

Instead of getting upset about it, I continued with my agenda and started my day's journey to Olympic National Park.  The ferry departure point wasn't far from the hotel, but instead of following my TripTik; I heeded posted signs showing the way.  I must have missed one of them, because I ended up going the wrong way.  Not to worry, I had a trusty AAA map of Seattle and found my way back quickly.  In the meantime, I had an up close and personal look at Seattle's docks.  An assortment of giant cranes, ships and containers stacked high.  It really was interesting.
 
The ferry trip from Seattle to Bainbridge Island was relatively quick and another fascinating experience for me.  I had been on passenger ferry's before, but this was my first time on a ferry which transported vehicles.  It seems everything is huge in the Pacific Northwest.

As I drove along, I was once again awestruck by the beauty of the mountains.  The Olympic Mountains were snow covered and glistened in the sunshine.  Unfortunately, the roads going into the heart of the park were closed because of the snow and subsequent rock slides.  As I drove along US 101 which skirted the perimeter of ONP, I was surprised by the make up of the forest. Olympic National Park truly is a unique ecosystem.  From snow covered mountains to lush rain forest to ocean beach.  I wanted to go all the way to the Hoh Rain Forest, but it would have meant adding another few hours of driving, and then I would have wanted to hike the trails at that site.  Unfortunately I didn't have time for that. 

So, I stopped at Crescent Lake, took a short walk, looked for a place to eat (closed for the season) and began the return drive.  On the way back I took a little detour to the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge.  I didn't see any wildlife (other than a few marine birds), but a short hike through the forest led me to a beach along the Strait of San Juan Fuca which connects Puget Sound and Georgia Strait to the Pacific Ocean.  I wished I had more time to listen to the sound of the waves breaking along the shore, but I was getting quite hungry.   I ended up stopping at a general store, grabbing trail mix and a soda to carry me through to dinner time.
 
On the final stretch of highway, I got another thrill!  Perched on top of a dead tree was our national icon, a bald eagle.  I thought about finding a place to turn around to take a photo, but the first turn around was miles down the road.

Oh, and I finally did get through the the Olympic ticket office.  While I can't switch out my tickets for another event, I will be able to get a refund.  (The customer service reps did not know if the tickets for the bus to Whistler were refundable because those were sold through a different vendor.)  So all is not lost.  

Tomorrow . . . a few more sightseeing opportunities in Seattle, before heading to Vancouver in the afternoon.  The adventure is really about to begin.