Advertisement
Published: August 22nd 2013
Edit Blog Post
August 20 – 21
st, 2013
Our first morning here and we briefly lost our fabulous view. On waking we pulled back the blind to discover a wall of fog and mist. The sound of the lapping waves the only indication the ocean was still there.
The mist still hanging we travelled up the coast, traversing between fog and a reassuringly blue sky and into the Makah Nation (Indian) Reservation and the tiny coastal town of Neah Bay. (I nearly used the word “resort” here but if you’ve ever visited you’d understand why I didn’t. I’m not trying to be rude, it’s just that this does not have the feel of somewhere that invites tourists. The sign says, “Leaving Neah Bay. Please come again” but I don’t think they’d give a monkeys whether you did or didn’t. Sure the brochures tell a different story and the Makah Cultural Museum is supposedly world-class (I can’t comment on that as we didn’t go in) but the town itself…. The views, however, are to die for and the surrounding forest and coastline are certainly world-class. And, well it’s different, so all part of the experience really. Trying to find something for lunch was
interesting though and we quickly discover why we had been advised to stock up well before leaving Port Angeles.
At the very tip of the peninsular, in fact the very northwest tip of the lower 48 States of America is Cape Flattery near Neah Bay and we head out here next. The scenery is spectacular although as we descend through the rainforest the blue sky overhead is suddenly hidden by the mist and fog that hangs persistently over the coast. So that as we look out from each beautifully built wooden viewpoint hanging over the cliffs all we see are eerie huge shapes rising out of the rumbling ocean below. These stacks dominate the coastline around here and create quite the spooky atmosphere when wrapped up in a blanket of fog.
The trails here are very well maintained and mainly boardwalk and I’d happily contribute towards this by paying the elusive Discover Pass. I say elusive because we have no idea exactly what to pay and where to pay it. So far we’ve seen mention of an Olympic National Park pass, an Olympic National Forest pass and even a Makeh Nation Fee. All three appear to be independent
of each other, which could make for a very expensive couple of days but how to pay any or all of these has eluded us so far and how necessary they are is questionable. Not every car displays one and not all car parks mention it.
As we later drive back to our accommodation we’re enticed onto a beach by an attractive rock formation out to sea only to realize there are a couple of grey whales swimming up and down very close to the shore. Our sightings of North American wildlife is getting pretty impressive!
That evening, as the sun goes down and a blanket of stars begin to emerge, we rejoice in the fact that the fire ban has been lifted in this area and enjoy s’mores over a fire pit back at our cabin, looking down over the sea. Messy but delicious!
August 21, 2013
The following morning brings with it a perfectly blue sky with no hint of the fog we had yesterday. Through our picture window I eagerly scan the calm, kelp filled area beyond the rocky shore looking for a glimpse of our resident sea otter. He’s not to be
found and I wonder where he goes when he’s not there?
We make a prompt start after Steve has done his couple of hours work and head over to the Pacific Ocean and another Indian Reservation at LaPush. It’s a different tribe this time. The Quileute Tribe is in charge over here and I already like them better than the Makah. Maybe it’s the authentic, tidy look of the Village Stores (or possibly the name, Lonesome Creek Store?) combined with the fact that they stock more and better food than we’ve seen since arriving on the peninsular) or maybe simply the outstanding beach but I instantly feel better about this place.
There is something breathtaking and exhilarating about the wild, untamed North Pacific Coast. It doesn’t have the variety of scenery and easier to view wildlife of the gentler Juan de Fuca or indeed the waters between Vancouver Island and the mainland but for me the surf is intoxicating and invigorating - albeit bloody cold! Just before entering LaPush itself you can park at Second Beach and walk the mile through temperate rainforest down to a quite stunning beach with clear waters and soft fine sand. It’s inviting
LaPush
Into the harbour and we pull off socks and shoes and roll up trousers and sink our feet into the cool sand. But the pleasure ends there for the sea is, as I’ve said, icy cold. It’s a painful cold and one so intense it doesn’t get better the more you stand there, not for me anyway. Maybe it’s an age thing but I failed to get past the pain barrier to the numbness beyond. Still, for me it was reassuring; it meant we were ok not to have brought cossies and towels. There was no way any of us would ever submerge ourselves in that glacial like water without the aid of a full dry suit and even then I’d probably chicken out. Temperatures were hitting the high 20’s at this point though so I guess it doesn’t get much better than this. But don’t misunderstand me; this was heaven on earth. We laid back against the logs, let the sun warm our faces and the sound of the surf calm us as the boys played with a tire that had been washed up, possibly all the way from Japan after the tsunami (as far as the boys were concerned anyway). As
LaPush Beach
These washed up logs get pretty big!! a friendly older gentleman said to me, ‘that’s boys for you. Give them a huge beach and they find an old tyre to play with!’ He was right of course and I’d been thinking the very same thing.
It was hard to drag ourselves away but we wanted to check out Rialto Beach (very beautiful and rugged although Second Beach was still top of our list) and then onto Forks.
Forks, WA, is the place every teenage girl will probably be able to tell you all about. It’s the tiny (and I have to say, nondescript) US town made famous by the Twilight book series. Every other motel, restaurant, store refers in some way to it and you can pick up your free Twilight Information Pack if you’re that way inclined. As none of us had so much as seen a trailer to the films let alone read one of the books we just headed for “Forks Outfitters”, selling itself as “Twilight Headquarters” and “The farthest west shopping center in the United States” as well as “everything you need under one roof!” Well I don’t know about that but it certainly did come as a relief after the
LaPush Beach
And more log balancing! lack of choice we’d experienced so far. And it was certainly big. A bit like a lesser version of a Walmart and Safeway combined. It would do nicely.
One last little claim to fame about Forks and absolutely nothing to do with vampires or werewolves; Forks apparently has the highest annual rainfall of any town in the United Sates, some 120 inches annually. Quite impressive and you thought London could be pretty miserable. I guess that made our day even more impressive as we had seen no clouds all day and by the time we stopped in Forks it was 27degrees outside.
That evening we played Scattergories, one of the many games at our accommodation. Not a game we’ve played before but will now be a firm family favourite! I love it when we come across a game by accident and really enjoy it together.
And finally, to bring you up to speed on wildlife seen so far I forgot to mention the pelicans flying over the beach at LaPush and the adorable little chipmunk on Second Beach!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.117s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 11; qc: 30; dbt: 0.0758s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb