The plan on Monday had been Rainer, but by the end of the week we had a quickly thrown together maps, food, sleeping bags and a vague idea for a trip around the Olympic Peninsula. The weather reports were calling for the high 90's in the mountains so the coast would be a welcome reprieve from the heat.
"outed!"
After a quick stop at his parents house for chairs and sleeping bags we were off to the ferry for our adventure. We had originally planned to camp at Shi Shi beach, which was a two mile hike in so we stopped at the forest station in Port Angeles to grab a camping pass and a bear canister. It was a quaint little town with festivals and lots of tourists. I'd like to take a drive back over to check out Hurricane Ridge, but that's for another time.
"you taste like the ocean"
We made it to the Makah Indian Reservation in very good time. The roads were not very well signed so after going through Neah Bay we were just hoping the vague map we did have was correct. We figured out that when camping at Shi Shi you have to park at a residence and have the locals drive you over to the trailhead. I wasn't feeling like going through all of that and I noticed a few cars and tents off the side of the road about a mile before the trailhead. Isabelle Ides was the name of the beach, and the sign said to pay to stay at the yellow and blue house. After meeting some fellow campers and asking for change I dropped the $10 through the slot and we went to scope out our campsite.
"look what I made"
The tall one took on the task of hunter / gatherer and I went to unpack the car and set up camp. The fog was very thick so there was no chance of long exposures of the sunset but it made for cool weather and nice surf, which was being enjoyed by a few surfers that kindly said hello as they made their way past our tent. After lugging huge pieces of driftwood to the fire pit someone had dug out previously, the tall one preceded to make an excellent fire that lasted well into the morning. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and stared into the fire until we became too tired to keep our eyes open.
Sleeping on sand was an interesting experience...
"contemplating the ocean"
The tall one woke up before me and went to tend the fire. We enjoyed a breakfast of fresh blueberries, granola and yogurt before packing up and heading to the trailhead. Shi Shi beach is approximately 4 miles round trip and relatively flat except for the end where you drop a good 300 feet down to the beach. The tides were high and the fog was still lingering so again no long exposures, but the tide pools were exposed so we went searching for some sea life.
"starfishy"
There were quite a few anemones and starfish to gaze at and huge fields of muscles that sat amazingly untouched by seagulls. After wandering around for a bit we hiked it back up to the car to take a baby wipe shower and change for the drive to La Push via Forks.
My friend Marwa is nuts...and I mean nuts...for Twilight. I told her I'd drive through the town for her and take a few pictures, but the further we drove inland the hotter it got. By the time we were in Forks the temperature had risen dramatically and I was hot. I took a few pictures and we did a little shopping and gawking at all the Twilight crap in the area. This was the first time we had cell service so the text messages came flooding in. The tall one's friends decided to head to the coast as well so instead of heading to Third Beach for another night of camping we headed down to Ocean Shores to meet up with them.
"as wide as the sea"
I had some trepidations about camping at a state park, my original plans were to rough it and see the ocean, but an air mattress plus peach cobbler made in a dutch oven over the fire swayed me. Plus the company was excellent and did I mention the air mattress?
After a decent night sleep and blueberry pancakes made by Dodi's grandma (YUM!) we headed out to the beach to splash around in the water. Michael and tall one played rock 'em sock 'em and I ran to grab my camera to capture the fun and got back just in time for Michael to attack! We left to get some ice cream and then headed for home after quick stop at Cabela's to price out the stuff we are going to need next time we go on an adventure (mattress pads..please please).
I had so, so, soo much fun with the tall one. He was such a great traveling companion and I can't wait to head out on another adventure! Thank you for keeping me smiling, for kisses, for fun, for pretty, for friends, and for you :)
"outed!"
After a quick stop at his parents house for chairs and sleeping bags we were off to the ferry for our adventure. We had originally planned to camp at Shi Shi beach, which was a two mile hike in so we stopped at the forest station in Port Angeles to grab a camping pass and a bear canister. It was a quaint little town with festivals and lots of tourists. I'd like to take a drive back over to check out Hurricane Ridge, but that's for another time.
"you taste like the ocean"
We made it to the Makah Indian Reservation in very good time. The roads were not very well signed so after going through Neah Bay we were just hoping the vague map we did have was correct. We figured out that when camping at Shi Shi you have to park at a residence and have the locals drive you over to the trailhead. I wasn't feeling like going through all of that and I noticed a few cars and tents off the side of the road about a mile before the trailhead. Isabelle Ides was the name of the beach, and the sign said to pay to stay at the yellow and blue house. After meeting some fellow campers and asking for change I dropped the $10 through the slot and we went to scope out our campsite.
"look what I made"
The tall one took on the task of hunter / gatherer and I went to unpack the car and set up camp. The fog was very thick so there was no chance of long exposures of the sunset but it made for cool weather and nice surf, which was being enjoyed by a few surfers that kindly said hello as they made their way past our tent. After lugging huge pieces of driftwood to the fire pit someone had dug out previously, the tall one preceded to make an excellent fire that lasted well into the morning. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and stared into the fire until we became too tired to keep our eyes open.
Sleeping on sand was an interesting experience...
"contemplating the ocean"
The tall one woke up before me and went to tend the fire. We enjoyed a breakfast of fresh blueberries, granola and yogurt before packing up and heading to the trailhead. Shi Shi beach is approximately 4 miles round trip and relatively flat except for the end where you drop a good 300 feet down to the beach. The tides were high and the fog was still lingering so again no long exposures, but the tide pools were exposed so we went searching for some sea life.
"starfishy"
There were quite a few anemones and starfish to gaze at and huge fields of muscles that sat amazingly untouched by seagulls. After wandering around for a bit we hiked it back up to the car to take a baby wipe shower and change for the drive to La Push via Forks.
My friend Marwa is nuts...and I mean nuts...for Twilight. I told her I'd drive through the town for her and take a few pictures, but the further we drove inland the hotter it got. By the time we were in Forks the temperature had risen dramatically and I was hot. I took a few pictures and we did a little shopping and gawking at all the Twilight crap in the area. This was the first time we had cell service so the text messages came flooding in. The tall one's friends decided to head to the coast as well so instead of heading to Third Beach for another night of camping we headed down to Ocean Shores to meet up with them.
"as wide as the sea"
I had some trepidations about camping at a state park, my original plans were to rough it and see the ocean, but an air mattress plus peach cobbler made in a dutch oven over the fire swayed me. Plus the company was excellent and did I mention the air mattress?
After a decent night sleep and blueberry pancakes made by Dodi's grandma (YUM!) we headed out to the beach to splash around in the water. Michael and tall one played rock 'em sock 'em and I ran to grab my camera to capture the fun and got back just in time for Michael to attack! We left to get some ice cream and then headed for home after quick stop at Cabela's to price out the stuff we are going to need next time we go on an adventure (mattress pads..please please).
I had so, so, soo much fun with the tall one. He was such a great traveling companion and I can't wait to head out on another adventure! Thank you for keeping me smiling, for kisses, for fun, for pretty, for friends, and for you :)
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