Day 33 - Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge

 Dungeness Wildlife Refuge is an area located in a small town as we approached Olympic National Park. We stayed overnight in the park (no hookups) but it was really nice. We were able to hike a trail through the Refuge which led to the Dungeness Spit area. Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge is located along the northern coast of the Olympic Peninsula in Clallam County, Washington. President Woodrow Wilson established the Refuge on January 20, 1915 by Executive Order as a refuge, preserve, and breeding ground for native birds. Eelgrass beds and tide flats teem with migrating shorebirds in spring and fall; flocks of waterfowl find food and rest in these protected waters during the winter; eel grass beds also provide a nursery for young salmon and steelhead. The Refuge currently consists of 636 acres, including a sand spit, second-class tidelands and bay, and a small forested upland area. Dungeness has one of the world's longest natural sand spits, which softens the rough sea waves to form a quiet bay and harbor, gravel beaches, and tide flats. Dungeness Spit is one of only a few such geological formations in the world which was formed during the Vashon Glacial era ten to twenty thousand years ago.

On the trail - looking down to the Straight of Juan de Fuca

Walking on the Spit

Looking toward the lighthouse which was 5 miles in
the distance at the edge of the Dungeness Spit

We sat and watched the clouds and took in the incredible scenery
for about 1/2 hour. This cloud was particularly fascinating. The
sun shining through it gave it a rainbow of colors.

On the trail back from the Spit.