The Olympic Peninsula has plenty going on for our 93 days of summer. Check out this week’s staff picks and look for more each Wednesday, along with video highlights of this summer’s festivities on the Gazette’s Facebook page.
• July 5
Try something new by learning the growing sport of pickleball. A newly-opened facility at Carrie Blake Community Park features eight courts for doubles or singles play. Learn from experience hands on Tuesdays or Thursdays, from noon-1:30 p.m. See www.sequimpicklers.net.
• July 6
Never done the Sequim First Friday Art Walk? Now’s the time. Check out local artists and musicians and more from 5-8 p.m. at various downtown Sequim venues. See www.sequimartwalk.com for more details. If you’re looking for a dress code, go with the Art Walk’s July color theme of purple.
• July 7
Go shopping, repurposing-style! Check out the Sequim Gazette and Peninsula Daily News for neighborhood garage sales, or check out major summer rummage sales later this summer at venues like the Shipley Center (www.shipleycenter.org, 360-683-6806), Dungeness Valley Lutheran Church (dvelca.org, 360-681-0946) and other venues.
• July 8
Play ball! The Olympic Peninsula has its own West Coast League baseball squad playing at Civic Field in Port Angeles. The Lefties compete in a summer wood bat league for college-eligible ballplayers through early August. Tickets start at just $5. (www.leftiesbaseball.com). The Lefties host Yakima Valley on July 8 and start a three-game series with the Highline Bears July 10-12.
• July 9
For a fun car trip, cruise up to Cape Flattery, the furthest northwestern point of the contiguous United States where the Strait of Juan de Fuca meets the Pacific Ocean. A short (0.75-mile) hike from the Cape Flattery Trail trailhead to overlook gives spectacular views of Tatoosh Island. (makah.com/activities/cape-flattery-trail/)
• July 10
Stretch those legs, get exercise and a local history lesson with a hike on the Tubal Cain Trail and Tull Canyon Trail. Hikers get to view a mine and the remains of 1952 B-17 plane crash site. Not for the easily-wearied, the trail is 7.2 miles, round-trip. (www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/olympic/recarea/?recid=47949)
• July 11
Take a walk with fellow bird enthusiasts at the Dungeness River Audubon Center. A group meets on Wednesdays from 8:30-10:30 a.m. at the center to see and hear the birds of the Dungeness riparian forest. Information from walks helps to understand the annual cycle of birds in Railroad Bridge Park. All ages, experience levels are welcome. (www.dungenessrivercenter.org, 360-681-4076).
