Day 14, How Much Colder Can It Get and Still Be Fun?

Denis took coffee beans and the grinder to an unoccupied spot with electricity so we were able to make coffee in the Pod this morning. That provided a warm start to a windy and chilly day.

The Port Angeles Fine Arts Center has a wonderful collection of 75 outdoor art installations hidden within trails that wind their way up and down and through woods that surround the small museum. On our trip last summer, we loved being able to enjoy art without having to go into a museum and we were happy to wander around despite the weather. Many of the pieces were made out of natural materials. A sign suggested that they would weather in place and provide a different view of art as the natural materials returned to the earth.
When we got too cold, we did go into the museum. Masks were required but we were the only ones, aside from the welcoming woman as the entrance, in the museum. They have special exhibits and the current one is on art and science. I especially liked the exhibit that used plant materials to make prints.

It was lunchtime so we headed into PA to Barhop Brewing and Artisan Pizza. It was pretty empty for a Saturday afternoon but given the weather, I don't suspect there were many local tourists heading there today. We enjoyed the microbrews and the pizza. They proudly make their own sourdough pizza crusts and sell loaves of bread. We bought one to take with us. 

We headed to the Olympic National Park Visitors Center. It has some nice educational exhibits and a "room of discovery" for kids. There is a nature trail out back which we wandered through. 

The park is big but there aren't really a lot of roads. Some are closed due to winter weather and another, closer to us, is closed due to a landslide. Instead of venturing further into the park and having to double back we decided to use our time heading to the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge. 

The main trail goes along a spit out to a lighthouse. It's a long walk and even before we got there, we weren't sure how far out the spit we'd go. The cold and wind helped up decide the answer was not very far. It is beautiful but we can watch the waves crash about from the warmth of our RV.
We returned to the parking lot using the "primative" trail. The tall trees provided a wind break which made it much nicer.

It never got above 45° today but the wind chill can really make it feel colder. The lady at the museum said the winds coming over the snowy Olympic Mountains makes it feel even colder. I'm not sure that's true but I was happy to get back to the pod. Snow is expected tonight. 🤞 we have enough propane to get us through the night.

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