NORTHWEST COAST Pt.4

Okay all you "Twi-hards"...I now arrive at FORKS, WA! While I am not a fan of the vampire/werewolf "TWILIGHT" book/movie series...my daughters are.  I didn't take very many photos of the small logging town, as most of my time was spent on the rocky coastline nearby.  I do have a few pics, though.  I love the sign below on the right...it's loaded with unintentional irony. (A town full of vampires...of COURSE you would need to have a blood drive!)

This is a favorite photo-op location at the Chamber of Commerce building.  Below are "Bella's Trucks".  (Well...a facsimile thereof.)

Before I headed out for my first morning of exploring, I had breakfast at the cafe across from my motel.  There was this really cool hand-made wooden toy created by prisoners at a near-by facility, with programs to help them re-enter society.

Also at the Chamber of Commerce building were these wonderful rusted-out pieces of logging equipment.  (Might have to do some sketching from these photos later!)

Now I'll show you more photos of nearby RIALTO BEACH.  (I did a gnarly tree sketch there...see Pt. 1 of this blog series.)  I was excited to try out my brand new sandals that I bought for beach walking.  It did not take long before I discovered an unfortunate detail about the terrain.  The holes in the sandals were the PERFECT size for letting in the small rocks that covered the beach.  Very frustrating!!!  So after I finished sketching, I went back to the car and put on my tennis shoes.

I was amazed by all the giant trees that cover the beach...they reminded me of the prehistoric bones of dinosaurs...or maybe even DRAGONS!

So many of the trees were bare and twisted...nothing like I see back in Kansas!

ELLEN CREEK empties out onto the beach...the gray foggy mist gives this "tree graveyard" an eerie feeling.  The perfect stillness of the creek contrasted with the crashing waves on the other side of the rocks.

I like this little "triad" of roots below...so many interesting shapes and textures.

If you stand on top of one of the fallen giants near the shore's edge, and look towards the surrounding forest, you can see that life abounds.

I decided to take the mile-and-a-half walk down the beach to visit "Hole In The Wall" rock.  Along the way, you begin to see several gigantic rocks ("needles") towering in the hazy distance.

Almost there!  You can just begin to see "The Hole" ahead...on the left side of the large mound in the center of this photo.

I managed to arrive just before the tide got too high for me to climb out to the natural tunnel in the rock.  The high tides also create danger for a walk along the beach, as those mighty trees can be shifted around by the water.  The bottom photo is the view from the other side of the tunnel.

The pic below left shows the view just as you come through the hole.  There is a trail near the tallest tree in the distance, that goes up and over the rocky ridge...for those who aren't paying attention to high tide and get stuck!  I wanted to see the view from up there, so I climbed through the dense underbrush, grabbing vines to pull myself up...ridiculous, but fun.  The pic on the right shows the view from the top of the ridge...and the 1.5 mile trek back!

Here's a composite of several photos of the cove...you can see the hole at the bottom of the rock-ridge.

All tuckered-out...but happy!

Next chapter...SECOND BEACH!

NORTHWEST COAST PT.3

Welcome to the third installment of my journey to the Northwest Coast.  Time to hit the road!  Below is the route I took from SEATTLE to CAPE FLATTERY (the most Northwest point of the continental US)!

A major part of the fun for me was going places I've never been to before...there were always surprises just around the next bend in the road!  I think there is a saying that goes something like: "The Journey is the Destination".  (If there isn't...I just made that up, and you have to pay me a dollar every time you say it.)

The next few photos are of things that just caught my eye, and made me pull the car over.  I loved seeing all the little towns and ports along the way.  Below is PORT GAMBLE...sure would have enjoyed sketching that logging stuff if I had the time!

Next are a few shots of PORT ANGELES. 

These beautiful views are of LAKE CRESCENT.

So much of the pleasure of this trip was driving up and down very steep and curvy roads.  On every side there were lush forests of evergreens and ferns.  A good portion of the route I took went through the OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK...more to explore another time!

Now I don't want you to think it was ALL a lovely drive. There was a stretch of the road that had several crews laying new asphalt down...black tar...loose gravel...dust...and LOTS of waiting for our turn to follow the little "Pilot Car" down one lane of the highway.  Probably added a least an extra hour to my drive-time.

Next up...a FISH IN A BRA!  I just had to get a pic of this amusing wood-carving watching over the little town of SEKIU.

As I rounded a curve, I saw this interesting "Backyard Boulder".  I thought it would be cool to have that behind your house.  Actually, it's part of a lodge at CHICO BEACH.

This is the last port before reaching the end of the road...NEAH BAY.

Made it!!  Here's the path that will take you to see the views of CAPE FLATTERY.  It's a very steep walk downhill...had to take lots of stops to catch my breath on the climb back up to my car.  I thought it interesting how "indecisive" some of the trees were..."Do I grow down?...er...no...UP!  Yeah, that's where I want to go...UP!"

This is the first observation point you come to...gorgeous! The fog made it quite magical.

According to Wikipedia: Cape Flattery is the oldest permanently named feature in Washington state, being described and named by JAMES COOK on March 22, 1778. Cook wrote: "... there appeared to be a small opening which flattered us with the hopes of finding an harbour ... On this account I called the point of land to the north of it Cape Flattery."

A bit farther down the trail, looking back southward to the cove that I just showed pics of...the water was an incredible blue green...mesmerizing!

This is the farthest point on the trail...I'm looking west towards TATOOSH ISLAND.  Unfortunately, the fog prevented me from seeing the lighthouse.  I borrowed a photo from Wiki that shows what I missed.

These are the waves crashing directly below that little tree...the colors seemed unreal!

While the fog was so thick on the westward side of the cape...you could make a quarter turn to the right and look north towards VANCOUVER ISLAND (hidden in the fog...but I'm pretty sure I could hear Canadians speaking French). There it was...SUNSHINE on the rocky shore!

That's all for now!  Next time...on to the land of "TWILIGHT"...FORKS, WA.

NORTHWEST COAST Pt.2

Welcome to the next part of my travel journal out to the Northwest Coastal region!  From this point on, I'll be showing some of the photos I took along the way.  This post will focus on SEATTLE, WA.  I hope to return to explore some more...could only do so much in the two days I was there!

I love "cloudscapes"...here are a couple from the window of my flight out to Seattle.

I was thrilled that we flew so close to MOUNT RAINIER on the way into the airport.  It's the tallest mountain in the state of Washington.

In the evening, my friends Michael and Linda Stubblefield took me on a bit of a tour of the city.  As we had a bite to eat on the waterfront, we decided to ride the giant ferris wheel seen at the far left of the photo below.  The views of the port are from the windows of one of the gondolas, as we reached the top of the rotation.

Michael, as I found out, is not fond of heights.

Here are a couple of shots of the Seattle Skyline.  It is a really beautiful city!

The day I went sketching, I returned to one of the areas we had visited earlier...LAKE UNION.  So many cool sailing vessels of all shapes and sizes down there.

Below is the view of downtown Seattle from the north side of Lake Union.  Underneath that photo is a collage-composite of the view from on top of this rather large mound in the middle of the park.  Some kids (and a mom) were sliding down the hill on blocks of ice covered with a towel to sit on...pretty funny to watch.  The mom slid the greatest distance...it was her 43rd birthday that day.  I know this because she was louder than any of the kids, and kept gloating over her win!

On the far left side of the collage, you can see GASWORKS PARK.  Below are all the amazing structures that were "salvaged" and turned into a "destination".  I loved drawing that, and wished I could have explored more and climbed all over it (which, of course, you aren't permitted to do).

Part of the park shows some of the huge machinery, all painted up in bright colors.

The morning I left Seattle for the next part of my journey, I rode on the EDMONDS-KINGSTON FERRY.  It was about a 30 minute ride, and you could get out of your car, and go topside to the observation deck.  A gorgeous day!

 

Next time, we'll get out of the "big city" and head towards CAPE FLATTERY!