Today is my birthday, Woo Hoo!!, and I'm in the most northwestern area of the US here on the Macah Indian Reservation at Neah Bay. I arrived at Olympic on Monday and camped along the beach at Kalaloch then at Lake Ozette further north. While at Ozette, I met 4 people(Dane, Nicole, Angela, and Taylor) who had flown from New Orleans to explore Olympic and hang out in Seattle. They invited me to hang out with them at their campfire and we enjoyed some friendly conversation ranging from careers to music. I've been to some amazing coastline here as well going on a 7 mile hike into the Hoh Rainforest. The views here are breathtaking with snowcapped peaks looming over spruce covered hills, snow melt fueled rivers and waterfalls, and secluded beaches. Yesterday I hiked 2 or 3 miles down to Shi Shi Beach(pronounced shy shy) on the Macah reservation. It was really peaceful and I took many photos! Then I went to Cape Flattery to hike down to the actual most northwestern point in the US. The view overlooked a rugged coastline and Canada to the north.
I will write more as soon as I can but the power is about to be turned off where I'm hanging out and I still have to upload a couple of pics...
I arrived in Portland on Friday with an offer extended by Jodi and her friend Peter to stay at his house for the weekend. This ended up working out great for me as it was not far from Portland proper.
Thanks to Peter for putting me up at his house and Jodi for showing me around, I had a lot of fun!!
Today I'm heading down to Portland for the weekend after spending four days with Rich and Sheila. Thanks you two!
Many of you probably don't know the story of how I know Richard Beveridge but our history goes all the way back to our grandfathers who roomed together at Harvard. Then my mom and Richard's aunt, Debby, roomed together in Jamaica Plain after graduation from their respective colleges. Since then our families have remained friends. We have also spent time together at the Beveridge family cottages on North Haven Island in Maine. When I was about 10 years old, we traveled there and Rich was there with his cousins(Debby's children). At that time I had quite a head of hair! I hadn't seen Rich for many years until we got reacquainted at Tom
Here's a few pictures from my wanderings around Astoria the past couple of days:
This afternoon I rolled into Astoria, Oregon, a small old school city that keeps watch over the mighty Columbia River. I left the Redwood National Park Hostel in California on Sunday and cruised into Eugene to enjoy some much needed nightlife. There isn't much live music on a Sunday night but I found a very good open mic Grateful Dead themed jam at Jo Frederigo's Jazz Club and Restaurant. A couple of times during the evening a train would rumble on by blowing its horn in the key of B! I was fortunate to have the band play a my request of "Mississippi Half-Step/Uptown Tudaloo"! I told them they had my permission to wing it! They were a quality band with people filling in on fiddle, flute, grand piano, and congas. The significance of my request were the words sung liltingly "Across the Rio Grandio...oh, across the Rio Grandio". The words rang true for me as I'd crossed the Rio Grande in New Mexico, the furthest west I'd ever driven. I stayed at a hostel in town but my main goal had been the nightlife so I didn't spend much time there except to shower and sleep. Since I'd been hosteling it for the past 5 days, I opted to head back to the coast for a night of camping. I found a great place about 2/3 of the way up the coast called "Cape Lookout". This is a barrier beach that stretches out between two headlands. My camp site was behind the beach with tidal flats and marsh directly behind where I set up my tent(see picture). This is a large campground with about 100 tent sites, yurts, and cabins and minimal RV's. After I arrived, I cooked a meal of artichoke and basil ravioli with smoked salmon, on my trusty 2 burner Coleman stove, and accompanied by a bottle of "Spruce Ale" flavored with actual tips of Sitka Spruce! After dinner, I walked the beach, the constant roar of the waves in my ears. Then it was back to the campsite to get a fire going and play some guitar. I fell asleep to the sound of waves crashing ashore. Today I took a 4.5 hike out to the tip of Cape Lookout. The view from this sheer 1000ft headland was spectacular!
I've been noticing ever since entering Oregon that they are obsessed with espresso and there are espresso stands every couple of miles! The populace is wired!
Everything checked out OK with the car so I can proceed with peace of mind! I've decided to stay at the hostel until tomorrow and then I'll finally hit the road for Oregon.
Here's some advice for you the next time you go hiking: Don't attempt to bushwack around fallen trees no matter how tangled and no matter how close the road and your car appears to the trail, DO NOT attempt to create your own short cut! I found this out yesterday in an attempt to create my own path to the car! After falling down a small hill and getting scraped up and covered with dirt and probably poison oak, I had only made it about 20ft towards the road. With another 50ft to go, I turned around and fought my way back through thick brush and fallen trees to the trail and back to the hostel for a hot shower and nap. Lesson learned!
Here's some pictures I've been trying to upload.
I'm getting the car checked out here in Crescent city by a mechanic who was recommended to me by one of the staff at the Redwood Hostel, Tara. Thanks, Tara, for the recommendation and some great conversation!!
I really enjoyed staying at the hostel which overlooked a windswept, driftwood strewn beach. I went for an invigorating hike through towering old-growth redwoods, spruce, etc down to a desolate beach. I didn't run to a single person on this 4 mile hike. It's amazing driving down the coast highway here and see big trucks dwarfed by these giant trees.
Hopefully I can get some pictures to upload this time!
My pace and forward progress has been slowed significantly by the magnificent and awe inspiring sights and by the interesting people I've been meeting along the way. This is a good thing but I may not make it back until Christmas at this rate!
After finally leaving Mendocino, I headed north to Fort Bragg and went to a place called "Glass Beach". I'm not sure of the history but it appears as if tons upon tons of glass was discarded here many years ago and has since been worn down by the effects of the ocean and elements. I have never seen so much beach glass in one place. I could dig down a foot and still be hitting glass. It was hard to wrap my mind around it! At first glance it appeared just like any other stony beach but close up it was all glass. I took some pictures and collected a pocket full of glass to bring home. I wish I could have collected a bucket or two full then brought it back east to distribute on area beaches!
JUst north of Fort Bragg is Ten Mile Beach(self explanatory) and the dunes here reminded of the Cape. I had an invigorating walk on this nearly deserted stretch of sand.
As it was getting late, I needed to start looking for a place to camp. I've been sticking to national parks or state campgrounds so I stopped at a small general store in Westport and asked what they recommended. They said I should check out Union State Campground a couple of miles up the coast which is located on a bluff overlooking the ocean. I usually don't like to camp out in the open with no trees for protection but this seemed like the best bet as darkness was soon approaching and the price was right at $10. The spot I picked out was next to a couple of bicyclists. When I got out of my car and plunked down my bundle of firewood, I was greeted by one of them with "Guess we'll be joining you next to the fire tonight!"(or something to that effect). Jenn is biking from British Columbia to San Francisco or further south and Jorgen(from Denmark!) is traveling from Washington state to Los Angeles. Immediately we established a humorous rapport and I felt as if I'd known them longer than the 10 minutes I'd been at the site! I was reminded of Chris and Yvette and how they broke the ice with me on the beach in Big Sur by offering me a beer so I whipped out my collection of Californian Microbrews and offered them up to these two weary travelers. When it came time to choose who would get the fire going, Jenn, who just got her degree in Mechanical Engineering, seemed like the most logical person to step up to the plate or grill, as it were. Unfortunately, the humidity here is so intense that her attempts were futile. We all took turns fanning the coals to no avail and we were left to sip our beers around mere glowing but quickly fading embers:(
We arose to another foggy day with faint glimpses of the sun. We exchanged info of what lay to the north and south and our contact info. A passerby offered to take a group photo of us with each of our cameras. I recommend checking out their travel blogs:
Jenn's: www.jennmclean.com
Jorgen's:www.travellog.dk/baggerontour
I'm inspired to do a bike tour in New England this summer. I've done two 200 mile tours in the past so if anybody is interested in planning something, let me know.
I explored some of the "Lost Coast" then spent the night at Hidden Springs Campground. I'm now at Sacred Grounds Coffee Shop in Arcata, CA and plan to hike at the Redwoods National Forest today.
A couple of things I've learned so far:
Don't forget items on top of the car!! I almost lost my expensive camera to this near fatal mistake! I've also left a pottery cup, a native american made dish, and countless food or drink items up there. OOPS!!
Don't drive too fast on dirt roads while looking at the scenery! I almost lost control when I slipped off the crown of the road and also banged my head on the ceiling when I hit a bump too fast.
Murphy's Law or Situation Normal All F-d Up. Just when I think things are going well, I've had a couple of issues with the car come up completely unexpected. The battery went in Santa Cruz and this morning the car was running quite rough and running hot. I shut it off and let it cool off. When I started it again it was running fine. Weird. I was just thinking prior to that about how good it feels to be having a successful fun trip so far! Don't worry, I'll get it checked out before I leave this town.
That's it from here. Ciao for now!
PS Having trouble uploading pics this time. Will have to try again later...
I spent a night at Mary Fisher's(Robin's Grandma) house in Stockton. I'd heard so much about Robin's grandma from Robin and it was funny because Robin always referred to her as "Grandma". So it was neat to finally find out her name and put a face to "Grandma"! Mary is 92 years old and has a great sense of humor. Though, I was only there for a short amount of time, I got a good sense of who "Grandma" is. She's a sweet woman with a sharp wit and intellect. While I was there, I got a much needed haircut from a beauty salon that Mary goes to that is owned by 2 Cambodian sisters. It was cheap but well done and they had a great sense of humor!
Thanks again to Mary and Robin for putting me up for the night and for your hospitality!
From there I headed west then north through windfarm country(I think these compliment the landscape rather than detract from it! See pictures) and
The baths themselves vary temps from 60 degrees(for plunging after soaking in the hotter baths) to 98 degrees to a scorching 112 degrees. As I may have mentioned before, alternating between hot and cold baths is very good for the immune system and as a result I have yet to feel any tinge of sickness on this entire trip. Even my allergies have been virtually non-existent.
After a couple of days of Harbin, I headed back towards the coast in a northwesterly direction through more wine country. I stopped at a couple of wineries from tasting. Most charge a fee but I found a couple that don't. One of them(the name escapes me) has quite an array of solar panels which they are able to use to fulfill all of their electrical needs and even give back some to the grid.
Then I finally reached the coast and found a great place to camp at Russian Gulch State Park in Mendocino. It is so gorgeous here and it has the look and feel of a quaint New England town. Some of the people who originally settles here were from Maine and the Cape and it is reflected in the architecture.
Here's some pictures for ya!
So it just so happens that a friend from Jamaica Plain, Robin, was staying with her Grandma in Stockton which is about 60 miles east of SF. We rendezvoused in the Haight-Ashbury district and walked around checking out the vintage clothing stores. I'd spent the night at one of the hostels in town in the Tenderloin district which is not the most savory area of town and on top of that there was an entire 6th grade class spending the night! It was quite a transition from sleepy Santa Cruz. After the Haight, we took a bus to Market St and walked from there through Chinatown with its vibrant store fronts, then to fisherman's wharf in search of a non-existent farmers market, and then to the Mission District for the famed Mexican food. Robin was kind enough to invite me to stay at her grandmother's in Stockton. I caught up on my sleep and we went down to a coffee shop situated in the lobby of an old movie theater. Today I'm heading up to Harbin Hot Springs which is North of here via Napa Valley. I'll probably get to do some wine tasting on the way!
Here are some pictures I've taken along the way:
My Groups
-
Macro Photography Updated: 6 hours ago
Neighborhood
Explore friends, family, friends & family, or entire neighborhood.
