Thanksgiving 2014: Olympic National Park

Revisiting Olympic

November 25, 2014

Soundtrack:

• David Bowie -- The Next Day
• Arcade Fire -- Reflektor

I spent Tuesday at Olympic National Park revisiting a lot of the same places I went last year.  I had hoped to be able to get out on foot and explore a bit more, but the rain kept coming so I wasn't able to do much other than drive from place to place and get out on short walks for pictures.  That's OK, it was still an enjoyable day.

Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park, WA

The first stop was Ruby Beach.  It's shores are lined with rocks rather than sand, more like a river in that sense.  A river doesn't have the sort of driftwood deposits that Ruby Beach has, though.  I'd love to explore the beach heading North but that direction is blocked by a large creek this time of year.  I was talking to a woman on the beach and she said there's some interesting sights in that direction.  Perhaps I'll be here at some point when the creek isn't so strong and I'll be able to explore a bit more.

Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park, WA

Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park, WA

Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park, WA

Next, I drove up into the Hoh Rainforest.  The rainforest is about twenty miles inland from Highway 101.  It's a beautiful drive, much of it following the bank of the Hoh River.  I really like that drive and would love to take a kayak trip down the river.  Another something for another day.

Hoh Rainforest, Olympic National Park, WA

I mentioned clear cutting in an earlier post, and I'll mention it here to because the impact here is potentially devastating.  Most of the drive into the rainforest takes place on land that isn't protected by the National Park.  The picture above, for instance, isn't actually in the park, but on the road leading into the central park of the park.  Olympic National Park isn't one contiguous parcel of land, it's made up of a few pieces, the largest being the center of the Olympic Peninsula.  The border of the Park is ten miles or so from Highway 101, which runs along the border of the coastal portion of the park.  Sections of the forest between 101 and the park are eligible for logging, and in fact less than a mile from where I took the photo above a large section has been clear cut.  It saddens me to think that a forest this scenic is being destroyed for the sake of plywood and two-by-fours.  I'd love to see this land between the coast and interior regions annexed into the park.  This place is special and deserves our protection.  The problem, of course, is that I'm sure it would displace some people, or at least alter the lifestyles of the people that already live there.  There are never easy answers, are there?

Hoh Rainforest, Olympic National Park, WA

Hoh Rainforest, Olympic National Park, WA

Hoh Rainforest, Olympic National Park, WA

Hoh River, Olympic National Park, WA

My next stop was at Rialto Beach, which is evidently deep in the heart of Twilight country.  There are even signs warning of the dangers of vampires in the forest.  Kind of fun, if you ask me.  I've seen a couple of the movies, they're not so great, but they do show an appreciation for the beauty of this part of the country, so I wouldn't say they're worthless by any stretch.

Rialto Beach, Olympic National Park, WA

Rialto Beach has an even more impressive assortment of driftwood than Ruby Beach.  There are some truly immense tree trunks lining the shores of this beach.  I even saw a couple of logs in the surf on this particular visit.  The power of the ocean is quite evident here, making this a particularly dramatic place to visit.

Rialto Beach, Olympic National Park, WA

Rialto Beach, Olympic National Park, WA

Colombian Black-tailed Deer

My final stop before finding a campsite was at Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge.  I didn't see a whole lot of wildlife there aside from a few pacific wrens, a northern harrier and a couple of deer.  It turns out most of the interesting wildlife is two to six miles out on a sand spit in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  I didn't have time to hike out there, unfortunately, having arrived at the refuge with about an hour of light left.  Yet another thing I'll have to chalk up for another day.  I really need to spend a week or so out here on the peninsula.

Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, WA

I camped for the night at the Elwha Campground near the bank of the Elwha River.  Much like the previous night, there were only a couple of other campers around.  It didn't rain as much that night, though, so I was able to relax outside by the fire in the evening with whisky and a cigar.  That was a nice end to a wet but enjoyable day.

Elwha Campground, Olympic National Park, WA

Thanksgiving 2014: Crossing the Columbia

Crossing the Columbia

November 24, 2014

Soundtrack:

• The National -- Trouble Will Find Me
• Steve Martin & Edie Brickell -- Love Has Come for You

Lincoln City, OR to Kalaloch Lodge, WA on Highway 101 is an incredible stretch of road.  Some of it borders the ocean, but most of it is inland a bit.  It's two hundred fifty miles of rain forests, marsh, rivers and wetlands, with the biggest towns along the way being Astoria and Aberdeen, homes of The Goonies and Nirvana.

Garibaldi, OR

Tillamook Bay, OR

The little town of Wheeler sits on Nehalem Bay.  It looks like a good place to do some kayaking.  I'm making a note of it for my next trip up the coast.

Nehalem Bay, OR

Nehalem Bay, OR

Nehalem Bay, OR

Manzanita, OR

I stopped at Cannon Beach for a closer look at their Haystack Rock.  Pacific City also has a Haystack Rock.  After careful consideration I've decided Pacific City's Haystack Rock is the real one.  Cannon Beach is going to have to change the name of their big rock.  I propose Big-Assed Rock as the new name.  I'm sure they'll be getting right on that.

Cannon Beach, OR

Crossing the Columbia in Astoria is something I look forward to on the 101 drives.  That bridge is so iconic to me, and the mouth of the Columbia is extraordinarily wide at that point.  Granted, it's not as pretty the Golden Gate Bridge or the Newport Bridge (does that one have a name?), but it might be my favorite bridge on 101.  Well, you know, after the Golden Gate Bridge and the Newport Bridge (or whatever it's actually called).

Willapa National Wildlife Refuge, WA

I blew through the Oregon portion of the drive because I wanted to spend some time at Willapa National Wildlife Refuge in Washington.  Turns out, most of the refuge is only accessible by boat.  So much for that idea.  There's a nice little interpretive art trail next to the visitor's center.  It's a short walk on a curvy wooden platform through a little section of the reserve next to the parking lot.  It was nice, but I'd been hoping to see some wildlife.  No such luck, at least not without a boat.

Willapa National Wildlife Refuge, WA

I usually look for nice scenery to display on this blog, but there's a lot of clear-cutting along 101 in Washington that still goes on today.  Logging in general isn't what it used to be in Oregon, so I don't tend to see it there and I think clear-cutting is illegal now in California.  I'd sure like to see Washington enforce selective logging as the only option for the timber companies.  I'm sure it's not as cost effective as clear cutting, but the lower impact on the environment should be the primary consideration if you ask me.  Obviously, as an occasional tourist I don't have much of an investment in this issue.  I just hate seeing what clear cutting does to the land, which takes decades to recover.  Come on, Washington, how about it?

Clear cut forest along Highway 101, WA

I stopped to photograph some geese somewhere along the highway.  They suddenly took off all together, honking and flapping as only geese can do.  I thought I'd startled them, but then a bald eagle buzzed them and I was off the hook.  That eagle joined a couple of others and flew off into the hills.

Canada Goose -- Highway 101, WA

I reached Kalaloch before dark.  It was raining pretty hard but I was able to find a campground that was fairly well covered by trees, so I set up camp for the night.  It got dark quickly, so I made a fire, ate dinner and had a drink.  It was still a little early, but I was tired so I decided to call it a night.  I was just falling asleep when my wife called me.  She though I was drunk, but I told her I'd only had one drink (true) and was falling asleep.  She laughed and asked me if I knew what time it was.  It was 6:30.  It didn't matter, I went back to sleep after the call and didn't wake up until 8:00 the next morning.  Yeah, I guess I was tired.

Kalaloch Lodge, Olympic National Park, WA

Thanksgiving 2014: The Oregon Coast

The Oregon Coast

November 23, 2014

Souindtrack:

• Depeche Mode -- Black Celebration
• Led Zeppelin -- IV

Sunday turned out to be the day with the least amount of rain on the trip.  It was nice to see California getting some rainmaker love on the previous day, and over the course of this stretch of road it seemed like a wet one, but there were a few solid hours of sunlight to be had which was more than I saw the rest of the week.

Smith River, Redwood National Park, CA

I like the autumn version of the Smith River better than the summer version.  It has a little bite to it.  The redwoods along its shore complete the experience, exuding a unique aura of power and beauty along with an air of timelessness.  These individual trees have witnessed the ebbs and flows of the Smith River for centuries and will continue to do so for centuries more.

Smith River, Redwood National Park, CA

Redwood National Park, CA

Smith River, Redwood National Park, CA

After leaving Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, I was in desperate need of coffee.  I could have made a pot before leaving but didn't want to spend the time.  That's always my issue, I don't want to waste precious time in the morning making breakfast, I'm always too anxious to get the day going.  Things to do.  Places to go.  Things to see.  I met up with coffee in Brookings, after acquiring a bottle of twelve year old Hibiki at the border.  Coffee.  Whiskey.  I was ready to continue the trip.

Whalehead Beach, OR

Whalehead Beach is a spot I like to stop at in bad weather.  I've never seen anyone on this beach, which is right off of the highway.  In autumn the creek is too high to allow access to anything but a sliver of beach, I suppose that might be what keeps people at bay.  Much like the Smith River area, one gets the impression that the only thing that has changed here over the centuries is the seasonal shifts in the water levels of Whalehead Creek.

Pistol River State Park, OR

Pistol River is another favorite stop of mine.  I really need to spend a few days here, I'm always just driving through and I suspect I could easily keep myself occupied for a while.  The shoreline is lined with sea stacks, and the grass-covered dunes are something I've never seen the like of anywhere else.

Bald Eagle -- Coos Bay, OR

I saw two bald eagles near Coos Bay.  The first is seen in these photos.  I caught a glimpse of the bird from the highway, then circled back around to get some photos.  The bird posed for quite a while before taking off.

The second bald eagle flew directly over my head on its way out to sea at Simpson Reef Overlook.  By out to sea I mean way out to sea.  Well, the bird didn't disappear on the horizon, but I was quite surprised to see how far out it went.  It hadn't occurred to me that a bald eagle might hunt the open ocean, but that was exactly what this bird was doing.  At one point it tried to scoop something out of the water but was unsuccessful.  A couple of gulls started harassing it after that, at which point I expected it to turn around and come back to land.  It didn't, instead seemed determined to ignore the gulls.  Eventually it flew off  North, giving up its spot near the reef but refusing to come back toward land and I soon lost sight of it.

Bald Eagle -- Coos Bay, OR

I had decided to make Cape Arago a destination for this trip.  I had never been there before.  It was well worth the detour.  It's not directly off of 101, requiring a twenty to thirty minute drive through the town of Coos Bay toward the ocean.  It was well worth it.

Sunset Bay State Park, OR

Sunset Bay State Park, OR

Sunset Bay was a revelation.  It's the first of three parks on the road to Cape Arago, the others being Shore Acres State Park and Cape Arago State Park itself.  I was not prepared for the spectacular beauty of this little bay.  You'd be hard-pressed to find a stretch of the Pacific coastline that isn't striking, but certain stretches are special.  Sunset Bay and Cape Arago rank right up there with Point Lobos, Big Sur and the beaches of the Olympic Peninsula as one of those stretches.

Simpson Reef Overlook, OR

Simpson Reef stretches out into the Pacific from the Cape.  The reef causes the surf to bend in on itself.  Waves crash into each other at ninety degree angles over the reef at forty-five degree angles from the shore.  The November surf was big, putting on quite a show over the reef as well as outside of it.

Simpson Reef Overlook, OR

I stopped at Sea Lion Caves North of Florence.  I didn't go down to the cave this year.  It's kind of cool seeing the cave, something I'd recommend to folks who haven't done it before or people like me who want to relive a childhood memory.  Don't be discouraged by the roadside attraction air of the place.  Yes it's cheesy and probably a not quite worth the money you'll spend on it, but it's almost worth the money and an absolutely unique experience.  You don't need to go down there to see the sea lions, though, there are usually a bunch hanging out on the rocks a few hundred yards North of the Caves,

Steller Sea Lion -- Sea Lion Caves, Florence, OR

I stayed the night at Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City.  I didn't win enough for a free stay like last year.  I didn't win anything at all, actually.  I had a nice moonlight walk on the beach, though, sans moonlight.

Cape Perpetua, OR

Newport, OR