By Monday morning on Labor Day, most of the
WetWesties have gone their separate ways. We were planning to take a ferry to
Whidbey Island and then move onto
North Cascades National Park, but problems with the ferry system on one of the year's busiest days is forcing a change of plans. To avoid being stuck waiting hours for a stand-by spot on a ferry, we decide to go to the coast instead. Sigh - it seems like
our trips to any of the San Juan Islands are doomed. Maybe the third attempt on another journey will do the trick.
The Ukelule Ladies and Fred recommend we see the viewpoints on nearby Mt. Walker. Sounds like a good idea, so we drive up the long winding road to the summit and are treated to magnificent views of the
Quilcene area of Puget Sound.
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| View of Puget sound from the summit of Mt. Walker |
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Back on Hwy 101, we continue north as it snakes around the top of the Olympic Peninsula towards
Port Angeles and the
Hoh River Campground in
Olympic National Park.
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| Great classic car |
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| Main square in Port Angeles WA |
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| Shoe store |
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Just after we enter the National Park, we are greeted by two members of the famous
Roosevelt Elk herd that freely roams the park.
We are delighted to find the campground only 25% full and we settle into sites alongside the Hoh River, very close to where
we camped returning from Alaska.
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| Campsite next to the Hoh River |
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| Phil & Sue across a meadow |
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| Evening clouds |
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| Photographer sets up below our camp in the evening |
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| Morning fog |
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The weather report is forecasting rain by 11am so we move on leaving this beautiful and peaceful rainforest behind. Of course on our way back to Hwy 101, we have to stop at
Peak 6 and check out their end-of-the-season sales.
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| Goodbye Hoh River |
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| Peak 6 Outdoor store |
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| Inside Peak 6 |
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Wow - the weather prediction was right on the money as rain starts to fall at 11am reminding us we are in a rain forest. The cloudy skies and drizzle add a sense of foreboding to the area. It's easy to see why the first
Twilight Saga movie was filmed here. At one time, almost every store in
Forks WA had the word "twilight" as part of their name. Since the movie came out several years ago in 2008, the twilight craze has faded and along with it stores have gone back to their original names.
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| Rain drops on windshield |
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| A little rain doesn't slow down the log trucks |
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| Perfect location for "Twilight Saga" |
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Since we didn't have time on our last visit, we elect to have lunch at the historic
Lake Quinault Lodge in their scenic Roosevelt Dinner Room. Although, a little pricey we were delighted with both the wonderful food, view, and friendly staff. One of the head waiters told us much about the local history making this lunch truly memorable.
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| Peter at entrance to Lake Quinault Lodge |
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| Main fireplace |
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| Comfortable lobby chairs |
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After lunch we search for the world largest spruce trees (one of many largest of several species in this area). It's pouring rain when we park, so Sue and I wait in the vans while Peter and Philip set out to find the tree. Turns out it's not far away.
We continue south on Hwy 101 along the Washington coastline through lumber and fishing towns.
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| The lumber industry is still strong in Washington |
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| Looks like a another great lunch stop |
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As the sun is starting to peak out behind the clouds, we pass ocean inlets and bays perfect for shellfish.
That afternoon we share a campsite at
Cape Disappointment State Park, home of
The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, Camp Canby, and at least two lighthouses.
Camp Disappointment has an interesting history. Some say it was named in 1788 by a British fur trader John Meares who was turned back by a bad storm thereby missing the mouth of the might Columbia River. Others say it was named by the
Lewis and Clarke Expedition when they were disappointed to end their long trek to the Pacific Ocean only not to find any ships to sail them home.
Across from our campsite is an informational placard illustrating how the land we're standing on was formed. The enormous boulders we're camped by fell off a nearby cliff. The whole campground was under water in the 1800's until jetties were built around the mouth of the Columbia which caused sediments to accumulate forming the ground where the campground now stands.
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| Campsite at Cape Disappointment |
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| Scar on cliff |
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| Hugh rocks from cliff above |
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In the morning, we walk the trails to the beach. On our way we meet a couple from Portland who are just folding up their tent and whole camp into a
SylvanSport Go - Mobile Adventure Gear Camping Trailer. We've never seen anything like it before and pepper them with questions. Fortunately they don't mind our curiosity and happily indulge us. They explain while this camper trailer isn't cheap (~ $9000) it does allow them to haul all their gear and provide a comfortable shelter in a small enough trailer they can easily pull it with their Subaru.
The beach itself is classic Northwest with stretches of long white sand littered with drift wood. Some scientists contend the abundance of driftwood along these beaches may be due to a gigantic tsunami generated by a large earthquake on the
Cascadia Fault a few hundred years ago. Indeed native legends do tell of such catastrophe. Word to the wise, keep your coastal properties on high ground in the Pacific Northwest.
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| Trail to beach |
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| Driftwood shelter |
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| Long sandy beach with large driftwood logs |
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Speaking of coastal properties, this beach does have some cheap beach fronts available. Actually, I do know why people build these shelters. The weather isn't very beach friendly for most of the year so beach goers need shelters to escape wind and rain.
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| Driftwood shelter in a rock crevasse |
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| Can we get a good price on this one? |
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| Container ship putting out to sea from the Columbia |
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After packing up we drive a mile or two to the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse parking lot which gives us three attractions to explore:
- Cape Disappointment Lighthouse
- Lewis and Clarke Interpretative Center
- Fort Canby
We first explore the old fort as it's first as it's closest to the parking lot. This fort was built in 1863 along with two others, Fort Stevens and Fort Columbia to guard the shipping lanes in and out of the Columbia River. These forts were updated during World War II to guard against a possible strike by Japanese forces. Today Fort Canby has long since been decommissioned and is slowly falling into ruins.
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| Ferns along trail from parking lot |
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| Fort Canby |
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| Foot thick concrete walls |
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| With the fireplace and painted walls it's almost homey |
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| Give up nothing! |
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| Base for anti-aircraft gun turret ? |
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| Salt air makes lace out of steel doors |
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| These doors must have been strong once |
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| Rust never sleeps |
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After admiring the views from the terrace over the Pacific, we explore the
Lewis and Clarke Interpretive Center. On the side of the building is a quote from Thomas Jefferson:
"The object of your mission is the Pacific Ocean."
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| Cape Disappointment Lighthouse |
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| Lewis & Clarke Interpretive Center |
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| Native Americans made their mission possible |
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| Sacajawea helped lead the way with baby in tow |
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| The expedition crossed wide expanses of uncharted territory |
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| Replica of a dugout canoe they used |
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| Caches enabled their return |
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The Center also houses exhibits on the US Coast Guard, which has a training center nearby. The mouth of the Columbia River is so treacherous that over 150 ships have been lost in these waters. The combination of rough stormy waters, shifting sand bars and rocky shores continue to challenge the best sailors even with today's technology. This footage from Coast Guard rough water training illustrates:
A series of lighthouses along the rocky shores has saved countless ships from disaster. Fresnel's inventive lens use a series of prisms to bend and focus a light source making it visible to mariners at sea. Each lighthouse uses a different frequency of light flashes so sailors can tell their location at night.
After exploring the Center, Peter and Philip take a short trail to the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse while I dog sit and Sue finishes up with Lewis and Clarke.
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| Cove by lighthouse |
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| Cape Disappointment Lighthouse |
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| Cliff below Lewis & Clarke Center |
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| Jetties protecting the mouth of the Columbia River with hills in Oregon visible to the south |
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We all climb back into the vans and drive towards our next destination on the Oregon Coast, but first we must travel through the small town of
Ilwaco WA and then over the
Astoria Bridge.
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| Ilwaco WA |
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| looks beautiful today |
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| with old pier pilings stretching. |
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| Astoria Bridge from North to South |
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| Big sandbar at the mouth of the Columbia River |
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We stop for lunch at
Mo's in Cannon Beach. The seafood's just ho-hum with lots of breading and frying, but the view is spectacular, especially from the outdoor patio on a such nice day.
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| View to the north from Mo's |
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| Sue & Philip waiting for lunch |
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| View to the south |
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Much to our delight, we're joined by a white rabbit (the waitress tells us many of them live around town - probably escapee Easter rabbits) and of course a bold ever hungry seagull.
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| Where's Alice? |
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| Handouts? I'm hungry too. |
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| View from Hwy 101 south of Cannon Beach |
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Later that afternoon, we set up camp at
Nehalem Bay State Park and walk the dogs on it's amazing beach.
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| Nehalem Bay beach |
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The campground is protected from the coastal winds by low lying sand dunes covered with vegetation. Signs abound warning beach goers about debris washing ashore from Japan's devastating
2011Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
The next day we set our sites on touring the
Tillamook Cheese Factory. Even though my family lived in and around Tillamook for two years, I've never seen it.
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| Small haystack rocks by Hwy 101 |
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| Tillamook Cheese Factory |
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| Philip in a VW bus - of course |
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| Me and Peter moo it up |
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| Early cheese maker at the factory |
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| Modern factory floor |
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| Sue tackles a mega ice cream cone |
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| Sunny window in cafe |
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After feasting on ice cream in the Tillamook Factory Cafe, we split up. Philip and Sue head back home in Eugene while we turn toward the Cascades. First we need to drive a little south through the small town of
Hebo OR. During my freshman year in high school my father was commander of a radar base on top of
Mount Hebo. The housing area was two miles below the station which meant it was a 45 minute drive one way to the town of Hebo. It was a lonely existence for a young teenager.
Mount Hebo gets over 200 inches of rainfall a year. Consequently the surrounding forests grow thick and covered with moss. Ferns that only grow to 2' high at our home in California grow over 6' on Mount Hebo. Once while we were living there, a young family went out for a walk on a rare sunny day. The forest was so thick they got lost and couldn't find their way back to the road even though they could hear cars on it. Fortunately, a search party found them early the next morning without their suffering too much from spending a cold night in the forest. Needless to say, this part of the Oregon coast tends to make me uncomfortable even to this day.
Onwards to the Cascades!
