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Gig Harbor Territorial Paradise~4308 NW 88th Ave MLS#1118366
As history tells it, the harbors along the Puget Sound region are rich with tale of discovery, adventure and shelter. Gig Harbor, was a hidden treasure inner harbor unveiled by explorers May 15, 1841. Lieutenant Charles Wilkes (1798-1877) had led several ships on an expedition around the world. He sent one of his ships, the Porpoise, to probe deep into the southern reaches of Puget Sound on a surveying expedition. Lt. George Sinclair, the ship’s sailing master, dispatched a longboat to check out the shoreline north of Tacoma Narrows. It was later noted that there existed a “pretty little bay that is concealed from the Sound” and which was guarded by a sand spit….now known as Gig Harbor, Washington.
Although fishing continued to be Gig Harbor’s most predominant industry, both logging and farming took seat. Farming had long been an important industry in the logged-off areas overlooking the harbor where for thousands of years the Native Americans built their homes and sustained their tribal lives through the abundant natural resources of this shoreline. So, from cows to lumber milling to boat building, to fishing, the Gateway to the Peninsula provided the foundation for a way of life and love of trees, peace, and life’s essence that still exist today.
To discover a preserved oasis within the boundaries of such a historic City that one could live upon, thrive within and grow amongst the gentle tree giants and solitude in arms-reach of the City and Harbor proper, is a gift. This beautiful home of 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms on a park-like 2+ acres of land is an escape with ready access to all of life’s amenities and conveniences. This beautiful home is host to mature trees, unique perennials and fruit trees of great variety. As you make your way off of the quiet main road through a gated drive, winding towards the main property, it strikes you that you have left all of your modern cares and worries behind and can breathe long and deep as you embrace your new sanctuary.
Depending on the time of the year, the yard and garden will roll into variegated colors of Fall, flowered blooms of Spring and energetic efforts of generations of Mason Bees a buzzing. With outbuildings, workshops and room for tractors, you will have time to marvel at the peaceful and harmonious sounds of a waterfall, play soccer or volleyball, put-put golf or croquet on the vast sprawl of green before you.
Garlic, tomatoes, raspberries, apples and more provide opportunities for even more discovery and joy. To live amongst the giants of the forest, to bathe next to the sea as the salt air wafts through your landscape is to have found a home where generation upon generation can understand the true meaning of what it is to live and breathe in the great Pacific Northwest.
Why on earth would you live in Pierce County?
Quality of life has very specific meaning for every individual. Choosing a home in a particular geographic location is often tied directly to those individual quality of life definitions to include proximity to recreation and environmental jewels. Pierce County, comprised of Tacoma, Gig Harbor, University Place, and beyond, is uniquely positioned within Washington State to provide a pivot or launch point for easy access to breathtaking recreation and natural settings.
The Olympic National Forest is one of those amazing milieu's. This National Park is located along the northwestern most corner of Washington State. Nestled along the southeast portion of this park, just 1 hour from Tacoma, Gig Harbor and University Place, Washington is a place called, The Staircase Rapids Trail. Towering old growth Douglas Fir trees and other Evergreens create a canopy of moss adorned branches, rocks and waterfalls.
The curvy drive along the Hoods Canal, Lake Cushman and Skokomish River provide time and opportunity for quiet reflection of journeys once made by mule and cart while hauling logs and supplies through the Olympic Peninsula. A dam on Lake Cushman, originally created by glaciers during the last ice age, now provides electricity to the growing City of Tacoma carried across the lines that span the Tacoma Narrows, an active supply since March of 1926.
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Sometimes it is hard to imagine how this location, so close to home, could remain so wild and free. Even in Spring, the peaks of the mountains wear dustings of snow from low passing clouds building pack to supply the lake below and in turn, electricity for the City of Tacoma and nourishment for flora and fauna in the seasons to come. The waters of the river and the lake are so aqua-green-blue, you can feel and smell the frigid, clean and cold temperature without even a touch.
The Olympic National Forest is within arms reach of any resident fortunate enough to have chosen to live and breathe within Tacoma, Gig Harbor and University Place. To ride in your vehicle and hour or so west while gazing at passing Bald Eagles, tufts of white bubbly current along river ways, tumbling lake beds and waterfalls provides a much different experience than driving north in commuter traffic for an hour or more. So, when considering what to do to enhance your quality of life by touching nature, absorbing pure wild west ambiance, throw the Olympic Peninsula and the Staircase Rapid Trails into the mix–I pledge to you, your exposure to this wilderness and beauty will bring you a sense of peace and awe, not just about what you have seen, smelled, touched and tasted, but that you live so close to such an unbelievable utopia.
