Cloudy Sunday

Well, the clouds have moved in again. The forecast says showers around 2 p.m. so we decided to make another trip over to the refuge. We were treated to a Northern Harrier doing his/her hunting bit for quite a while. While at the refuge, we had a nice conversation with a local gentleman. We learned a few things about the area and the refuge itself.

The wind was really picking up so we decided it was time to head home. We are planning on moving tomorrow so I better get some laundry done. The rest of the evening was spent settled in watching TV.

Westport, WA

We woke up to a glorious sunny day so we decided to take the drive over to the coastal city of Westport. We were told that there were a couple of nice wineries on the way but wine tasting didn't appeal to us.

Westport has a marina where fishing boats moor and bring in their catch. The marina also moors some fabulous boats/yachts. There is a yacht maker at the end of the marina whose claim to fame is building Johnny Carson's yacht.

Westport is also trying to lure tourism with new hotels and condos like the one below.

We saw hundreds of pelicans. Some flying alone like the one below or in formations of four or more.

From the nice viewing platform at the marina, you can see the truly tourist community of Ocean Shores across the bay from Westport.
We really liked this shot of the pelican. Look at that wingspan!
Westport also had a lovely lighthouse.

We found some lovely beaches. The tide was in so beach combing wasn't good but then again, I really don't need any more sand dollars.

After our nice visit to Westport, we thought we would stop by the Wildlife Refuge as high tide was mid-afternoon and we hoped we would see some more wildlife. This is a shot of the nice boardwalk that leads you out to the viewing platforms.

We didn't see any wildlife from one viewing area so we headed to another area. John was ahead of me and was looking off to his right and didn't see the deer off to his left. As John had the camera, I had to say to him to look to his left. He was surprised to see her standing there and got this nice picture.

I guess she didn't like what she was looking at.
See ya later! It was nice to see her at the refuge.
What a nice day.

Another gray day

This is what the start of the day looked like. The only thing you can't see is the drizzle/rain.

By 2 p.m. we were getting a bit stir crazy so we decided to drive over the the wildlife refuge to see if the weather was any better there. It was . . . well, at least it wasn't drizzling and not as foggy. We were treated to hawk flying up in to the tree near where we where standing. His appearance caused the crows that were hanging around to quickly disappear.

While we were hanging out at the refuge, we saw this ship leaving the port as it was heading down the channel toward the sea. The fog had rolled in as we were out there.

Below is a picture of a Common Tern. We find watching Terns very entertaining as they hover above the water several feet up and then dive to catch a fish.
Below are sea gulls and Canadian geese just hanging out on a wet, foggy day.
We were treated to another encounter with a Northern Harrier.
While we enjoyed watching, it just cruised the area.

We were able to observe the reaction of a bunch of ducks in the marshes when the Northern Harrier flew over and around them. The ducks started quacking and quickly fly away.

The Northern Harrier didn't seem to be to intent on a meal but rather seemed to like stirring up the ducks.

There was one duck that got isolated from the others, he survived the clutches of this bird of prey. Proof that if the Northern Harrier had wanted a meal, he could have gotten it easy enough.

Soon we had to leave as the rain had settled in and we were getting quite wet. It was a nice break to an otherwise dreary day.

Another rainy, foggy day

What can be said other than we just hung out at home as it was too wet and foggy to get out and about. We are hoping that tomorrow will bring a drier day.

Rainy day; playing catch up

It rained during the night and it was suppose to rain intermittently throughout the day. We decided to just lay low for the day. I took the opportunity to bring our blog back up-to-date. It was a pretty quiet day. Hopefully, tomorrow we will be able to get out and go back to the refuge (hopefully, at high tide) and maybe to Westport. We've been told that there isn't much to do around here by a couple of locals. I guess we will be finding out.

Wildlife Refuge & Ocean Shores

It was a beautiful day so we decided to go to the Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is a maintained boardwalk that allows for good shore bird viewing preferably at high tide. You have to walk past a small plane airport which was rather interesting. We got to see a couple of take-offs and landings.

When we got to the boardwalk, it was low tide. Still, we were able to see some shorebirds. Apparently, the best viewing time is April/May when birds are migrating.

We got to see various species of swallows, terns, sea gulls, and waterfowl including Canadian Geese.

One of our best viewings was of the bird below. John and I enlarged the photo and compared the bird to different birds in our bird books and we feel confident that our bird is a Northern Harrier. It was spectacular as I was viewing it through binoculars and John was able to get this shot. Remember, you can click on the picture to enlarge it.

We were walking out of the refuge, when a bald eagle flew over. Of course, we weren't able to get a picture. If it had flown over 10 minutes earlier, we would have been sitting at one of the viewing stations and could have had a great picture. Darn.

We had packed a lunch so since there wasn't a good place to stop and enjoy the scenery, we decided to head toward Ocean Shores. We actually went further than that and ended up on a wide expanse of beach that was hard packed. We were actually able to drive out on the sand and enjoy the beach and have lunch. The beach wasn't particularly pretty so we didn't take any pictures. While there, John checked his cell phone reception and he had full bars so John placed a call to Bonnie and we had the opportunity to get caught up.

We then drove to Ocean Shores which is a sort of resort community. We almost got ourselves caught in some loose sand on one of the beaches. John said he was a bit concerned we were going to get stuff but kept applying the fuel pedal and got us out. Dodged that bullet.

While in Ocean Shores we found an ice cream shop that made their own ice cream. John got a large, of course, and I got a small. It was a rather nice treat.

Got home and settled in for the evening.

Hoquiam

The rain stopped overnight so we were able to make the move without having to deal with wet slides and hooking up in the rain. Thank goodness.

We got to the Hoquiam River RV Park and got sent to a long pull-thru. The park is ok but not quite as nice as their brochure/website implies in our opinion. The good news is that our satellite works!!!!! It has been about six weeks since we have been able to use the satellite due to all the trees in Washington state. The park also has cable and WIFI so we would have had communication if the satellite couldn't have been used.

After getting set up, we headed for the grocery store.

After putting groceries away, we sat out in the sunshine and gave Melissa a call. We don't have cell reception in the rig but outside if you stand/sit in the right spot, your phone will work. Crazy. There is a cell tower within our sight so why we don't have good reception, we don't understand. It sure was nice hearing Melissa's voice and getting caught up.

Rain again

We are having heavy rain again today. What is interesting is that every day that we've had rain, we have had no wind. The rain just comes straight down. John did have to venture outside and got totally drenched. Guess it will be a good day to stay inside and get laundry and other domestics done.

As I had some ripe peaches, I baked a cobbler. It sure put some good smells in the rig and John gave it a thumbs up.

We are both looking forward to moving on to Hoquiam tomorrow.

Rialto Beach - Hole in the wall

Ah, another lovely day so we decided to go back to Rialto Beach and take the 1.5 mile hike to the Hole in the Wall. Our destination is out there at the point.

We sat out on our hike with the thoughts of seeing bald eagles, seals, and such on the way to the Hole in the Wall just as all the brochures said we would. Not one creature was seen as the seas were getting choppy because, yes, another storm was headed for us.

The hike was pleasant enough but at points, it was challenging to walk with all the varying sized rocks. Sometimes you would take a step forward, sink, and slide backwards. We tried walking as close to the surf as possible figuring the sand/rocks would be well packed. It only worked sometimes. Yes, we got hit by two sneaker waves that almost knocked us down and got me wet.

The scenery was beautiful and very photogenic.
Soon we were able to see Hole in the Wall in the not to far distance.

Here is another one of those uncomfortable experiences where I have to step on and over rocks so that I can see the Hole in the Wall. Well, I'm happy to report that I made it without incident which is always a blessing because I can be such a klutz.

John went through the hole to the other side.

John said it was a little spooky because you wouldn't want to be caught with the tide coming in because there is really no place to go other than up on the hillside. We were safe as the tide was still going out. Again, notice all the logs?Another beautiful view of the ocean.

On our way home, we actually got a view of Mt. Olympus. Usually, the peak is in the clouds so it seems like a special treat. Better enjoy it now as it will be raining later tonight. Oh joy!

La Push - Beach 2

Another glorious sunny day so we are off for another day at the beach. This time we headed to La Push to check out their beaches. We decided on Beach 2. There was a .7 mile hike through rain forest and something like 77 steps down to the ocean. Some of the steps were rather steep for short legs but with the help of my hiking poles, we got to the beach. When we got to the end of the trail, this was greeted us.

OK, we can turn around and go back up to the truck and try another beach or we can climb over the logs like the others on the beach did. Now, this quandary wasn't John's but was mine. I have a real fear of falling and injuring myself. It was such a beautiful beach that my stubbornness kicked in. I had John lead the way as we stepped on logs to get to the beach. A couple of logs were so large that I had to sit on them to get over them. I was doing well until I saw a snake on a log. OK, I freaked and although he appeared dead, I had John come over to knock him off the log so I could get by. John told me that if the snake moved, he was going to be gone! I'm glad it was dead or I might have been stranded in the middle of the logs. It was with great satisfaction and relief when I finally made it to the beach.

The beach was well worth the effort as it was beautiful. About two miles of shoreline with just a handful of people with gorgeous views of sea stacks (former headlands were erosion has worked its magic) and tide pools.

With the tide out, we were able to find many tide pools to see if we could find any sea life.
We were able to find several brightly colored starfish clinging to a rock just waiting for the tide to come back in.
Look at the beautiful lime green sea anemone.

After our tide pool experience, we decided it was time to eat the lunch we had brought in hopes of enjoying on the beach. We found a nice log to settle down upon, when all of a sudden John goes "we're out of here!" I looked down and saw a snake in the sand. Boy, I can pick them up and put them down pretty darn fast when I want. John followed carrying his hiking poles and mine. Oh yeah, I forgot all about them. We soon found another log and made sure there were no slithering things around and settled down for a nice lunch in the sun at the beach. Ah, this is living.

When it was time to head back, we had to go back the way we came. We found an easier (shorter) path over the logs back to the trail. It was with another sigh of relief when we made it back to the trail and there were no injuries. We ran in to another beach goer who was not so lucky. She had slipped on the sand and gave herself quite the knuckle-size lump on her forehead when she hit one of the logs. She said she should have brought her hiking poles. I told her that I wouldn't have tried going over the logs without them as they helped me balance quite well. I told her that we have learned to pretty much take them with us on any hike because you just don't know when they will come in handy. She said she had learned her lesson.

The trip up the 77 steps went quicker and easier than we thought it would have. From Beach 2 we decided to drive over to Rialto Beach.

Rialto Beach

After Beach 2, we headed over to Rialto Beach to check it out. The beach had easy access but was very rocky; from small pea size rocks to large flat rocks. Due to the easy access, this beach was more crowded than Beach 2.

This log near the beach entrance must have been almost 200 feet long and roughly 4 feet in diameter. Can you imagine the forces that it took to put this log up on the beach?

View of rocky shoreline.
Look at all the logs on the rocky beach.
Large sea stacks with a forest growing on the top.

The amount of logs that have been pushed upon the shore over the years is just amazing. It makes you wonder where all these logs are coming from. There are warnings at all the beaches warning that logs in the surf are dangerous. No kidding.

We were on our way home around 6:30 p.m. when I noticed that someone appeared to be in the middle of the Hoh River as we were going around bends in the road. Then there were two people in the river. At first I thought they might be fishing but it was John who said no, they are NAKED! Yep, some guy and gal were in the middle of the river yelling, hollering, and laughing. They could have chosen a spot that wasn't so readily seen from the road but I guess it was all about the risk of being seen. Their car, however, was discretely parked near some bushes. John wondered if they had stripped at the car or at the river's edge. No telling. We've had our hands in the river so we know how darn cold it is as it is glacial runoff. I don't know why they were in the water naked but I know they were very cold. No pictures were taken!

Ruby Beach

Yeah! We woke up to sunshine with light fog. We decided to make hay and headed out up the coast. We decided to stop at Ruby Beach as our first stop. The beach was so named due to the ruby colored rocks that can be found on the shore. This picture was taken at a viewpoint on the hike down to the beach.

No sandy beach here as it is made up of varying size rocks. As you can tell, the sun was trying to break through the fog.
Also along the shoreline, you can find large logs that have been washed up on the shore. The storm force it took to wash some of these large logs up must have been something to see.

As we left Ruby Beach, the sun had finally burned off the fog. We took this shot from a turn-out along Highway 101 as we headed to Kalaloch.

Kalaloch

Kalaloch (pronounced Clay-lock) is a part of the Olympic National Park system. Kalaloch has a lodge, general store, campground and cottages that you can rent out on the headlands. You can see some of the cottages off to the left of the picture as well as the small stream/river that flows into the sea.

We ate lunch at the Lodge and found it to be good but a bit pricey as one would expect. The server complained that the sun was hurting his eyes as he seated us. I told him that he had been in Washington way too long. He laughed and agreed with me. As for us, we just soaked up the sunshine and enjoyed the afternoon. Nothing like a little sun to lift up one's spirits.

As we headed home, we were again on the lookout for the Roosevelt Elk. No sight of them again today. When we got back to Hard Rain, we found that our neighbors from Elwha Dam RV Park, Gilbert and Kathleen, had pulled in and were setting up. Gilbert asked us if we saw the elk and we said no. Both he and Kathleen laughed and said they were just down the road from us on the left. So we got back in the truck and starting driving from hence we came. John pulled over at a driveway to let the traffic get by was when I saw the elk standing in the driveway.

As the road didn't say Private Road, John slowly drove down the road until we got a bit closer. Slowly, the large herd of about 40 crossed in front of us that included calves, cows, and bulls. We were surprised to see that the bulls were with the herd as we have been told that the bulls don't hang with the cows until rutting season which doesn't begin until some time in September.

We also noticed that some of the young bucks still had their horns in velvet.
We finally had our Roosevelt Elk sighting.

When we got back, Gilbert invited us to join him and Kathleen around their fire after we had dinner. We took our chairs over and joined them around their fire. Gilbert and Kathleen are avid hikers, started full timing in April 2007, and are based out of Tennessee. They plan their travel routes out a year or two in advance. We discussed the Black Hills in South Dakota and they are hoping to make it there in 2009 and 2010. It seems very foreign to us to plan out in detail where you are going a year or two in advance. We are enjoying this "no plan" plan as it is working well for us. Gilbert and Kathleen are by far the most structured of fulltimers that we have met so far. Just goes to how you that there are many paths to happiness.

Soon it was after 10 p.m. and the fire was dying out, so we said our good nights. They were good company.