Previously we visited Port Townsend and Fort Worden and the other day we went to Fort Flagler.
Fort Flager is on Marrowstone Island and we drove there to start our ride. Marrowstone Island’s name comes from Marrowstone Point, bestowed upon the northernmost tip of the island by British explorer George Vancouver in 1792. Vancouver apparently detected a mineral type he called “marrowstone” jutting out of the islands cliffs. Marrowstone Island was thereafter settled by Norwegian immigrants in 1889, as reflected by the island’s one town, Nordland. Most of the descendants of those settling families remain on the island to this day.
We started by riding a short distance on the main road before turning onto some back country roads along the side of the island. The properties are all beautiful spreads and most have wonderful views of the water. A short side street took us down to East Beach for a great view of the water. Back on the bikes we rode on to Mystery Bay State Park.
The name “Mystery Bay” derives from smuggling activity on the island during Prohibition days. Transporting booze from Canada was a profitable and somewhat honored occupation in the remote waters of northwest Washington. Sequestered between Marrowstone and Indian Islands, Kilisut Harbor was one refuge used by smugglers to evade Coast Guard vessels.
On we rode to Fort Flagler. Fort Flagler is situated on 784 acres at the northern end of Marrowstone Island. It overlooks Port Townsend Bay and Admiralty Inlet, the entrance to Puget Sound. Fort Flagler was one of three forts that guarded the entrance to Puget Sound but today it’s a park. We were able to ride all through the park on trails along the bluffs. There are many historic buildings and heavy batteries to explore and we were able to check a lot of them out.
After getting our historic fill, we rode back to the start only this time towards the end we took a series of trails we saw on our way out. This kept us off the main road mostly and allowed better views of the water. Total success!
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