The Beauties of the State of Washington Part 3

THE ISLANDS.

Puget Sound would not be nearly so interesting without the many enchanting isles dotting its surface from Olympia to Blaine and within easy reach of the cities located upon its sh.o.r.es. Some are hidden within partially concealed bays and others appear like portions of the mainland until circ.u.mnavigation has proved their seclusion. Although a few have sufficient area and commercial importance to form entire counties, the larger number are of rather small compa.s.s, and a few are tiny gems suitable only for private resorts away from the busy cities. Nearly all are clothed in evergreen trees, bespangled with flowers and ferns, and girdled with gravelly beaches suggesting the real charms of camp life.

SAN JUAN GROUP.

Travelers agree that no islands anywhere are more beautiful than the San Juan group, blocking the entrance to the Straits of Georgia, rivaling as they do the Thousand Isles of the St. Lawrence or the cla.s.sical Grecian Archipelago. There are 172 of them, including 122 with names suggesting their own peculiarities and others known chiefly by their location and shown only on the mariner's chart. The largest are San Juan, Orcas and Lopez. Apart from them but closer to the mainland are Lummi, Guemes, and Cypress, similar in formation and of like attractiveness. They are approachable with almost any kind of craft, no great distances separate them, and often there is just pa.s.sage for a steamer. They offer rare opportunity for playing hide and seek on the water, a game which in days gone by men played in earnest; for the smuggler stealing away from the international boundary line found within their shady inlets havens of safety from the unfriendly eye of "Uncle Sam's" revenue cutter.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE SUCIA ISLAND

BATTLEs.h.i.+P ISLAND

WALDRON ISLAND

j.a.pANESE ISLAND. EAST SOUND

FIRST IRISHMAN IN AMERICA--BLAKELY ISLAND

TURTLEBACK MOUNTAIN, ORCAS ISLAND

AMONG THE SAN JUAN ISLANDS.

Photos by J. A. McCormick.]

And only to think, these islands were nearly lost to us! Had it not been for the wise decision of William I. of Germany in 1871, the Union Jack instead of the beloved Stars and Stripes might today be floating over them. The two distinct camps on San Juan Island where the British "Red Coats" and the American "Blues" waited and watched from 1860 to 1872, are still protected as points of interest; the former near Roche Harbor, and the latter near Friday Harbor, the county seat.

The usual way to reach them is by steamer from Seattle, Bellingham or Anacortes. The boat stops at all the main towns including Friday Harbor, where the University Marine Station and two large salmon canneries are located; Roche Harbor, where one of the largest lime kilns is prospering; and Deer Harbor, West Sound, East Sound, Rosario, Olga, and Doebay, attractive as summer resorts.

Many people spend their summers among these isles. The tourist with limited time should, besides visiting the historic sites on San Juan, make a trip to Mount Const.i.tution on Orcas Island. Two good wagon roads lead all the way to the top, the one from East Sound and the other from Olga. A pleasant day's outing is enjoyed by going up one way and returning by the other. Its alt.i.tude, 2,408 feet, is nothing compared with the peaks in the Cascades. Nevertheless, few places offer more comprehensive outlooks. On the descent it will be difficult for the "wise" to resist the temptation to pa.s.s through Rosario, the beautiful country estate belonging to Robert Moran, a retired Seattle s.h.i.+p builder, who has harnessed the water power from the lakes lying a few hundred feet above and equipped a modern mansion with all that man can desire or money and art can supply. Who would guess that a great pipe organ might be heard in this seemingly remote spot in the universe, bursting out in unexcelled magnificence, rendering the masterpieces of the great composers.

WHIDBY ISLAND.

Extending about fifty miles in front of Skagit and Snohomish counties, midway in the Sound where the views of the Cascades and the Olympics are un.o.bstructed, is Whidby Island, the second largest island in the United States proper and sometimes called "The Long Island of Puget Sound."

With Camano Island on the east and two other very small ones it const.i.tutes an independent county. Having much water front and its western sh.o.r.e facing the straits where direct breezes from the ocean are felt, it draws many campers from the cities. There are no mountains to climb, although a number of eminences offer views of the distant landscape.

The largest improvement has been near the southern extremity and between Coupeville and the northern limits, where the world's record for wheat production per acre was made. A beautiful road decorated with rhododendrons leads from Fort Casey to Deception Pa.s.s separating it from Fidalgo Island on the north, which is connected with the mainland by a first cla.s.s highway. Near Coupeville is Still Park, where summer Chautauquas are held and many campers congregate.

OTHER ISLANDS.

A few minutes' ride out of Seattle is Bainbridge Island, having forty miles of water front lined with summer homes or suitable for camping sites. Tributary to both Seattle and Tacoma are Vashon and Maury Islands, practically one, comprising some twenty-three thousand acres, which yield for these cities berries, fruits, vegetables, and flowers, and offer some of the most delightful sites for homes along their fifty miles of attractive sh.o.r.e line.

Fox, Anderson, and McNeils Islands are integral parts of the Bay Island country, a rich district tributary to Tacoma and offering unlimited opportunities for campers who are always welcomed by the hospitable ranchers. Hartstine Island maintains one of the largest vineyards in the west, yielding delicious grapes which find their way to distant eastern markets. Numerous smaller islands are scattered about the Sound and insure pleasant retreats for all that love the simple life.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MT. OLYMPUS

FALLS

BRIDAL VEIL FALLS

OLYMPIC MOUNTAINS FROM HOOD Ca.n.a.l

WHAT YOU WILL SEE IN THE OLYMPICS.]

OLYMPIC PENINSULA.

Lying between Hood Ca.n.a.l and the Pacific Ocean and extending from the Strait of Juan de Fuca southward toward the Chehalis river valley is the vast Olympic Peninsula, whose resources and wonders are probably less known than almost any other section of the world. The central portion const.i.tutes one great forest reserve within which is the Olympic National Monument set apart by the government for the enjoyment of nature lovers. The population is distributed among the cities and towns situated on the level lands skirting the waterfront. This Monument contains the most rugged mountains, the deepest canyons, the most turbulent rivers and the thickest forests in the state.

The Peninsula is now reached both by steamer and automobile. Highways lead well up into the foothills from the cities of Port Angeles, Sequim, Port Townsend, Quilcene, Shelton, Aberdeen, Hoquiam, and Hood Ca.n.a.l points, and pa.s.sable trails thread their way to the summits beyond. It is easy to surprise both deer and elk, confident of safety from the approach of man. Numerous flowering parks display seas of gorgeous colors which make the region famous for its beauty.

It also serves as a huge treasure chest. Billions of feet of choicest timber remain uncut; valuable ore veins and a vast lake of petroleum are buried within its depths; land well suited for agriculture girdles the entire peninsula; and the neighboring waters yield liberal quant.i.ties of fish.

Certain beauty spots in the mountains have been supplemented with the conveniences and luxuries of modern invention. Among these are Sol Duc Springs, at the headwaters of the Sol Duc river, where a little palace has been lifted into the mountains, Government Hot Springs, and Lake Crescent, all reached from Port Angeles; Lake Cushman, approached from Hoodsport; and Lake Quiniault, north of Grays Harbor. A visit to any of these resorts or any part of the peninsula will satisfy the most extravagant expectations of tourist and mountaineer.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LAKE CRESCENT, A POPULAR LAKE RESORT NEAR PORT ANGELES.

Photo by Curtis & Miller.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE HARBOR COUNTRY

"We stand on beetling crag or cliff and gaze from farthest west To the bounding ocean billows, to the broad free sea, We hail the flags of all the earth and welcome here to rest Amidst the smiling waters by the tall fir tree."]

Everybody in the state of Was.h.i.+ngton knows about the "Harbor Country,"

the only part of the state where almost simultaneously one may enjoy the rare combination of the un.o.bstructed ocean, an inland sea, and trout streams lined with giant firs and cedars, which all but encroach upon the dominions of the waters. Here the oyster, the clam and the crab seemingly try to outdo one another and the mighty forest, in yielding splendid profits to the people, who lend every encouragement to the remarkable compet.i.tion.

Thousands from the larger cities hie themselves to this section, at least once during the summer, to feast their eyes upon another variety of scenery, to enjoy its peculiar attractions, and experience again the pleasure of riding through a valley that appeals alike to the Pullman pa.s.senger and to the automobilist; for it is human nature to love a change, even if one's home environment approaches perfection itself.

There are two important salt water harbors in southwest Was.h.i.+ngton, the more northerly one in Chehalis county, and named Grays Harbor after the great explorer who discovered it in 1792, and the southern one in Pacific county bearing an Indian name, Willapa Bay. They are separated by only a few miles of territory, which is served by no railroad other than a short logging road. Regular traffic is usually around by Centralia, excepting that during the summer months auto stages traverse the beach from Coha.s.set to Tokeland; for the beach here is level and broad, and the sands packed so firm, when the tide has receded, that it is used as a highway, and even as a race track for automobiles and motorcycles. This is true not only of the portion lying between the two harbors but also of the twenty-five miles known as "North Beach"

extending from Willapa Bay to the mouth of the Columbia.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ON THE BANKS OF THE CHEHALIS, LEWIS COUNTY.

Copyright by Asahel Curtis.]

The entire region is fraught with charms that can be duplicated nowhere else. Pacific, Moclips and Coha.s.set beaches are patronized especially by people from the Sound cities and from southwest Was.h.i.+ngton. North Beach to the south of Willapa Bay attracts as well crowds from Portland and other Oregon cities. On Sundays or at week ends special excursions are numerous, when great crowds avail themselves of the opportunity of visiting the seash.o.r.e.

[Ill.u.s.tration: POINT GRENVILLE.]

The modes of amus.e.m.e.nt are numerous. Wading and bathing in the surf or burrowing in the warm sands; hunting for sh.e.l.ls, agates, and Indian relics; rowing, and trolling for salmon; or searching for the rare floral specimens abounding in the neighboring woods occupy the time of many. Others enjoy visiting the canneries, observing the motor races, or watching the sailing vessels, with canvas inflated, gliding quietly into the harbor or, heavily laden, being dragged out across the bar by some fretful yet powerful tug boat. Then there are the clam bakes and, at the end of the day, the big bonfires, the beach parties and the story telling, after which one is lulled into sweet slumber by the unceasing roar of the ocean surf.

So fascinating is this region that its extensive ocean beach will undoubtedly in time be ornate with one continuous array of summer resorts reaching from Ilwaco on Baker's Bay, at the mouth of the Columbia, to Neah Bay at the entrance to the Straits, and interrupted only by the narrow gaps marking the entrances to the two harbors. Every manner of dwelling is provided for those who wish to stay several weeks.

Cottages may be rented, camping sites engaged, or board obtained at one of the homelike hotels looking out upon the sea.