The Friday before last, David and I took off for our first real regional vacation since moving to Seattle. We planned to spend two nights out at the windswept, overcast Makah Nation on Cape Flattery, the northwesternmost point in the lower 48. (Alert readers will recognize the Makah Nation from David’s business trip back in March; see "Hey, where ya been?" from March 15.) Then, we planned to move east and inland, to the mountains on the north side of the Olympic Range, for two days of camping and hiking.
The trip started with a lovely ride on the Washington State Ferry vessel Tacoma, on a sparkling blue day with great views of the mountain.
We then drove out west along the northern edge of the peninsula, through Port Angeles and along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where the clear weather afforded us the international experience of looking across at Canada. Finally we arrived in the Makah town of Neah Bay, where, to our amazement, it was still clear and sunny, with a refreshing cool breeze. Couldn’t believe our luck. Here’s the little fishing harbor that greeted us in Neah Bay.
The Hobuck Beach Resort just outside of town doesn’t take telephone reservations for their cabins, probably because their remote location encourages too many no-shows. When David was here before, he had no trouble getting a cabin, so we were hoping to have a similar experience. But that was March, midweek, and this was a July weekend with unusually fantastic weather, so of course all the cabins were occupied for Friday night. Fortunately, there was plenty of room to pitch a tent in the field next to the beach, so we booked a cabin for the following night and set up camp next to a fire ring in the field, where, despite the sunny daytime weather, a thick marine dew frosted every surface as soon as the sun went down.
The next morning, we decided to pamper ourselves and went to the Warmhouse Restaurant in town for breakfast, where I saw my first bald eagle fly past the picture window overlooking the harbor. The Warmhouse is a real local place; after we arrived a group of about eight men from the tribe sat down at the table next to us and started discussing plans for an upcoming fireworks show. (In Washington, it’s legal for the tribes to sell fireworks, and it appears to be a pretty big industry for them.)
After breakfast, we had a little time before we could move our stuff to the cabin, so we walked the short Cape Flattery trail. The trail has recently been improved with wood plank walkways, which helps limit the amount of mud you have to walk through. The trail winds through a thick forest on the headlands, then pops you out on stunning cliffside overlooks, with views of gemlike coves below.
As you can see, the weather was still blessing us.
After that, we went back to the Hobuck Beach Resort, packed up our tent, and relocated to swanker digs. Here are the digs, and the view from the front porch.
That afternoon we hiked to Shi Shi (“shy shy”) Beach along a moderate two-mile round-trip trail that wound through another forested area and then descended very steeply to the beach.
We slept well in our cabin after a day of hiking and a spaghetti dinner. Next: the Makah Cultural Center and the campground at Sol Duc.
The trip started with a lovely ride on the Washington State Ferry vessel Tacoma, on a sparkling blue day with great views of the mountain.
We then drove out west along the northern edge of the peninsula, through Port Angeles and along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where the clear weather afforded us the international experience of looking across at Canada. Finally we arrived in the Makah town of Neah Bay, where, to our amazement, it was still clear and sunny, with a refreshing cool breeze. Couldn’t believe our luck. Here’s the little fishing harbor that greeted us in Neah Bay.
The Hobuck Beach Resort just outside of town doesn’t take telephone reservations for their cabins, probably because their remote location encourages too many no-shows. When David was here before, he had no trouble getting a cabin, so we were hoping to have a similar experience. But that was March, midweek, and this was a July weekend with unusually fantastic weather, so of course all the cabins were occupied for Friday night. Fortunately, there was plenty of room to pitch a tent in the field next to the beach, so we booked a cabin for the following night and set up camp next to a fire ring in the field, where, despite the sunny daytime weather, a thick marine dew frosted every surface as soon as the sun went down.
The next morning, we decided to pamper ourselves and went to the Warmhouse Restaurant in town for breakfast, where I saw my first bald eagle fly past the picture window overlooking the harbor. The Warmhouse is a real local place; after we arrived a group of about eight men from the tribe sat down at the table next to us and started discussing plans for an upcoming fireworks show. (In Washington, it’s legal for the tribes to sell fireworks, and it appears to be a pretty big industry for them.)
After breakfast, we had a little time before we could move our stuff to the cabin, so we walked the short Cape Flattery trail. The trail has recently been improved with wood plank walkways, which helps limit the amount of mud you have to walk through. The trail winds through a thick forest on the headlands, then pops you out on stunning cliffside overlooks, with views of gemlike coves below.
As you can see, the weather was still blessing us.After that, we went back to the Hobuck Beach Resort, packed up our tent, and relocated to swanker digs. Here are the digs, and the view from the front porch.
That afternoon we hiked to Shi Shi (“shy shy”) Beach along a moderate two-mile round-trip trail that wound through another forested area and then descended very steeply to the beach.
We slept well in our cabin after a day of hiking and a spaghetti dinner. Next: the Makah Cultural Center and the campground at Sol Duc.
1 comment:
Gorgeous pictures! Cute title for this entry, and I'm glad you got to have an international experience on top of everything else. :-)
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