First Workamping Vacation

Phew, we are exhausted from all the working--we need a vacation. A roadtrip to Ocean Shores on the coast will be perfect! We'll make a big loop around the Olympic Nat'l Park--Ocean Shores up to Cape Flattery, east to Port Angeles and south to Olympia. We're looking forward to eating some fresh salmon.

The mountain pass had fresh snow, but it was a clear day and we could see Mt. Rainier perfectly!

The north Pacific Coast is WILD and CRAZY! The tides are drastic and the beaches are pounded so hard the state of Washington considers them state highways. Vehicle traffic on the beach is normal. Ok, that was odd. The biking was fun and easy--even in the gale winds. The tide brings in many, many sand dollars. We had much fun hunting for the best ones.

Ruby Beach is not ruby-looking at all, but cool nonetheless. This certainly is not a swimming beach, but the huge sea stacks provide nice wind breaks. This part of the coast is rugged, remote and devoid of development save a few run down little towns.

Next stop, the Rain Forest to see the largest spruce tree. Of course, we didn't park in the parking lot ADJACENT to the largest spruce tree, so we donned our finest rain protection gear and hiked THROUGH THE RAIN FOREST TO THE LARGEST SPRUCE TREE! The Timber Museum sign in Forks lured us inside for an enjoyable tour of western logging practices. (A Forester can hardly ever pass by a Timber Museum without stopping.)

It was a long, long ride up to Cape Flattery, the northwestern most point of the contiguous U.S. The area is actually a Makah Indian Reservation. Although, in my humble opinion, it is worthy of National Park status, all one gets is a half-mile boardwalk out to the point...and that is it--no fanfare, no buying of commemorative souvenirs, no "congested" areas. Otherwise, it reminded us a lot of the Maine coast, particularly, Acadia Nat'l Park.

We returned to Prosser laden with smoked salmon--cajun, garlic and lemon flavored. All yummy!! On the way home, we stopped at Hoodsport Winery to taste, and we found Bob and Jenny Cope's house right across the street. It looked a fitting place for Bob to have spent his retirement time fishing off the back porch with a winery only a few steps away!

It's time to get back to work at the RV Park.