So, our whole rationale for coming to the Pacific Northwest for summer was to avoid the heat. And we have checked that box in a serious way, to be sure. We kind of forgot that the thing most associated with this area is rain. Even when we set our sights on seeing things like rain forests, for some reason, it comes as a surprise to us that it could be raining while we’re there. What I’m saying is we’d already gotten a sufficient level of cold and overcast days by the time we arrived at the coast. And of course, it was cold and overcast. And we were surprised when we should not have been.
Still, the upside to a rainy area is obviously the abundance of green. Lush hillsides, dense and varied forests, wildflowers all along the sides of the roads as though someone planted them. We can’t and don’t deny that Oregon and Washington can boast some of the most lovely natural landscapes anywhere in the world. We just feel that they’d look nicer if the sun came out more, that’s all.
From Seaquest, we slowly made our way up highway 101 until we found a Walmart. That’s always a fun way to get in some urban hiking and restock groceries. We then headed toward the coast, taking a Google recommended short cut along a rural road until we rejoined 101 at the coast.
Arriving at Kalaloch, we saw Linda’s Alto set up in the site across from ours, but she was out. We went down to the beach after a nice Blue Apron recreated dinner, looking hopefully at a tiny break in the clouds. I remained optimistic that it would be just enough for a sneaky sunset. I waited patiently until I could just barely seen the hint of something round slowly emerging from the clouds. It could have been the moon, but was in fact the sun getting in one last shot before disappearing for the day. I got some cool shots as the concentration of light made it look like the horizon was on fire.
As it turns out, while we were snapping photos on the beach, Linda was up above in the campground, shaking her fist at the couple of jerks who wouldn’t get out of the way of her sunset pictures. Then she realized it was us and took some really nice photos. She even thought to get a reflection picture of Dory. She’s awesome that way.
The next day, Richard wanted to ride the road that went to the Hoh Rain Forest. I got to drive it and take pictures, which is always a treat. At the end, we hiked a couple of nature trail loops to see what they dub the “Hall of Mosses.” That’s a truly beautiful hike and very easy at less than a mile. The other loop is just over one mile and provides a nice little meet up with the Hoh River about half way through. We didn’t see much wildlife but we sure did see lots of pretty plants and flowers. Nice way to spend a day.
In the morning, we got a surprise. Thank god Richard thought to look at the reservation tag on our site. He noticed it said that our departure date was listed as that day. Somehow, I messed up and only reserved two nights when I thought I had reserved three. Had he not seen that, I really would never have known until someone kicked us out of our site, and by then we’d be out of luck. As it was, we were able to jump on a newly open site and just move over one loop. Kind of a close call and now we’re double checking all remaining reservations well ahead of time. Sheesh.
The rest of the day was forecast as genuinely rainy, so we made it an errand day. We drove out, with Linda, to the town of Forks, a little over thirty miles from the campground. Apparently the town is famous for being the setting for the “Twilight” books, but we’ve never read any of those and were more impressed with their laundromat. We also got propane refilled and did grocery shopping. When you’ve been on the road a while, you’d be surprised how fun errand days can actually be.
On the way back, we stopped at Ruby Beach and caught a glimpse of some tide pool creatures. Linda saw more at Beach 4, but she got up at 7am, so she earned it. We got the lazy person’s view and it was still pretty cool. After dinner, we took a drizzly walk to the Kalaloch Lodge for soft serve ice cream. Perfect day.
We can see why this place is a favorite among Washingtonians. We’d probably be frequent visitors if we lived close enough. The real score would be one of the ocean front sites with a primo view. We did not get those, alas, and there was enough greenery around that there are only a few places where you can see the beach without walking down to it. But it’s a nice getaway close to a nice beach.
Total miles from Seaquest: 161.2, 15.2 mpg, 3 hours 39 min. Site E3, then F9. Lots of shade, though we got good solar in the E loop. No cell service unless you walk down to the beach (where Richard mostly got work done) or go a few miles south. No hookups. Dump and water. Bathrooms fine with flush toilets.
