Look up!  That’s what we pilots call a sucker hole.  Hope this one turns out OK.

We’re headed for the Blue Hole!  (Yes, I’ve been known to fly my airplane up through holes in the clouds to get on top and fly in the clear air above.  But that’s not what I’m talking about.)

The Blue Hole I’m referring to is a rain shadow on the Olympic Peninsula.  The Olympic Mountains block all the heavy rain that soaks the Seattle area and keeps a little town by the name of Sequim (pronounced Skwim) dry and basking in blue skies during the winter.  (So we’re hoping this Blue Hole isn’t a sucker hole.)

Here’s the science

Sequim, Washington is also strategically placed for ferry rides across Puget Sound and the Strait of San Juan de Fuca to such fun destinations as Vancouver Island in Canada, Seattle, and any number of unique islands in the strait.  Plus there are all kinds of hiking and biking trails on the Olympic Peninsula, walks on the beach, and the opportunity to watch the huge container ships coming in from Asia.

Rainfall: Sequim-15 inches, Seattle- 38 inches, Olympic National Park- 200 inches.

Who would have thought we would be headed for the northwest corner of the United States for the winter?  But after six months spent outdoors every day in the sun of Wyoming, we’re ready for pine trees and a cold weather port.

Our next great adventure!  We get a happy little tickle in our tummies when we plot out a course like this.

We expect to leave Wyoming on October 24th and head northwest 1,242 miles.  We calculate this will take at least 21 driving hours and around $500 in diesel fuel.  How many days will we be on the road?  Who knows.  If it were earlier in the season we would go by way of Jackson, WY and climb up into the mountains through Idaho.  But this late in the season we’ll probably stick to the interstates and hope to avoid winter weather.  Plus there are people on our route that we would like to visit.  So this journey could take us a while.

The way we travel, we typically start to roll at 9am and come to a stop no later than 3pm.  We like the no stress approach.  So this trip could take a week or two — or three.  Suffice it to say, we should arrive in Sequim, Washington before Thanksgiving.

Do you have any suggestions for places we might explore on our route?

-Clay