Steaming hot temps of 93+ on a busy Labor Day weekend in a crowded campground severely burned by a 2015 fire, we waited it out but changed course after the rush on Monday and headed back west to the ocean. The original plan had been to drive east around the Cascades circle but it was too darn hot. As soon as we heard the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Show was the following weekend, it was a no brainer. Turn west!
The drive did not go smoothly. Sometimes a quick decision can change the course of ones life. In this case, all turned out mostly OK but it could also have had an horrendously different outcome. Stopped at a street light, Steve decided to go into a gas station to fill up his propane tank. We were next in line. While filling, propane spewed out and he immediately told the attendant to shut it down. Nanoseconds later, a fire ball shot up from underneath the van. Steve was helping to hold up the grate so he got burned pretty badly on the length of his forearm, nose, and singed much of the hair around his face. If the guy hadn't responded, the van and possibly our friends would have been toast. Mechanical or human error is hard to decipher but the strong message is to get out of the van, don't help and stand back so as not to be the victim of someone else's mistake. Scarey! Details are in Speedy's blog but Steve got checked out in a local hospital and we all were able to continued on.
Being the final day of the long weekend, it was crazy with people at Deception Pass State Park when we arrived but now there is just a cool breeze, sounds of waves on the beach and peace. After a couple days of relaxing, we will all head for the ferry terminal in Coupeville to cross over to Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula and stay at my sister's home in Indianola. The guys are pretty excited about going to the boat show.
