Olympic Loop - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 51

A beautiful sunset hangs over the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Sequim, Washington. The Olympic Mountains kiss the south-
ern border of the town.
6. Sequim
Visitors to Sequim (pronounced Skwim) might wonder why it is that the region surround-
ing this sunny little town gets fewer than 17 inches of rain per year, while the western
slopesoftheOlympicMountainsreceivewellover100inchesannually.Thefactisthatthe
Olympic Peninsula has both the driest and the wettest climates in all of the Pacific North-
west. And the key to this phenomenon is the mountains themselves. Though not high com-
pared to other ranges, the peaks are so close to the sea that they manage to wring most of
the moisture from rising air masses as they move inland from the Pacific. The result is a
drenched rain forest to the west of the mountains and a dry rain shadow to the east.
7. Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge
Curving 5 1/2 miles out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Dungeness Spit tames the strait's
wild waves within a calm saltwater lagoon. The refuge here—founded as a sanctuary for
black brant, one of many migrating waterfowl that feed and rest in the area—is also home
to deer, seals, shellfish (most notably, the delicious Dungeness crab), and more than 275