SATURDAY, AUGUST 16

SATURDAY, AUGUST 16:

     Got up reasonably early. I used the campground shower to take a nice, looong shower with plenty of hot water and pressure.  Then we buttoned up and left. 

     We enjoyed our stay here, but, again, probably wouldn’t make it a point to come back unless we were in close proximity to the area.  Saw what we thought were the high points of the National Park, with the exception of Hurricane Ridge.  But the main draw there is the great views from the mountain hiking trails, and it never did clear up while we were here enough to make that worthwhile.   Not really complaining about the weather – in a way, the foggy, damp days were totally appropriate for this area, and enhanced the atmosphere here. 

     Took the scenic route on our way to Portland.  West on Hwy 101, down past the turnoff to the Hoh Rain Forest, to popular Ruby Beach.  This was a lovely beach – really pretty from the parking area looking down on it. 
                                                                 

 And a pretty clear day! :)   We spent some time on the beach, once again scrambling over rocks, admiring the rugged rocks and seastacks.
                                                              

                                               

 Someone walking along the beach beside us  told us that this rocky, scenic beach isn’t really typical of the Washington coastline – it’s more typical of the Oregon coastline.  I’d recently read that sentiment expressed as well – that the Washington coast isn’t really that interesting.  But we have time, so will take this semi-coastal route.

     Continued driving south a few miles to Kalaloch.  Stopped there for lunch at the historic Lodge, and then went out and looked at the cabins.  This would be a possibility if we ever follow through on our fantasy of a winter storm-watching trip to the Pacific.

     Then drove on through some little towns as we worked our way south on Hwy 101 – typical small towns, whether in the mid-west, south, or northwest . . . some neat, well-kept homes lining the main street, others dilapidated and rotting.  Plus the usual assortment of cafes, small businesses and shops.  Usually each town had a noticeable sign/monument announcing the “city limits” with pride. 

     Crossed over a couple of neat bridges as we got closer to the Long Beach Peninsula.  This is a long, very narrow peninsula along the southernmost west tip of Washington.  At the bottom of the peninsula (the southern tip), right across from Oregon, is the mouth of the Columbia River as it empties into the Pacific.  This area is chock full of history, especially relating to Lewis & Clark – this is where they finally set eyes on their long-delayed goal, the Pacific Ocean.   

     We followed the signs to a State Park Interpretive Center of L & C, looping on narrow roads through the State Park, past a campground, trails to the beach, etc.  Intrepid RV’ers, pulling that 36-foot trailer behind our diesel truck as we did so.  Only to be met with a sign at the foot of a steep road leading to the Interpretive Center which said  “No RV Parking.”  Nice that they informed us at that point, not a few miles earlier, before we were “backed in a corner,” so to speak.  Yes, yet once again, the issue of turning around in a tight space.  Short version: after the better part of an hour, and trying from 2 difference places, one of which was down a little road which had warning signs all around:  “This is a private road, for [Coast Guard] residences only . . . no public access,” blatant law-breaker Bill finally made it.  And a good thing that I was out of the truck at that point, as turning around at the bottom of that road involved avoiding 2-feet culverts on either side.  I wouldn’t have fared well watching that drama unfold.

      And all we wanted to see was a little bit of history!

     After all of that frustration and work, we had little appetite nor energy to drive all the way on to Portland tonight.  And we'd have had to stay in a WalMart parking lot there anyway, as every place we'd called earlier last week was booked Sat nite - can't get into the place we found in the Portland area til Sunday.   So decided to look for an RV campground in the area.  Bottom line:  a Kite Festival this weekend.  After half-a-dozen phone calls, finally found a park that had vacancy.  Gratefully and tiredly got situated there (with the expert help of the owner, a former pro truck driver, who directed Bill into backing into yet another pretty tight spot.  He actually told Bill afterwards, “I could see that you were going to make it just fine . . . I could see you deliberating about how you were going to turn . . . I’ve had to actually take over and back in for lots of people, but I could tell that I wouldn’t need to do that with you.”  Bill thought, “Yeah, right, where were you 30 minutes ago when I really needed you??”)  I think that we’re both beginning to see the advantages of a compact little travel trailer!

     But all’s well that ends well.  Had a simple frozen pizza dinner and fell into bed early.