AirstreamTour: May 2014

Well they’re not kidding folks, Washington is GREEN. There is definitely plenty of moisture to keep tons of cedar, fir, and pine trees, as well as the countless perennials bright, colorful, and green. It’s been two weeks since we hit the state line and we’ve had a great mix of clouds, rain, and brilliant sunshine with temperatures between low-40s to mid-80s.

Looking toward the Olympic Mountain Range.

The flowers are simply amazing. Everywhere you look something is in bloom. Trees, shrubs, wildflowers, flowerbeds, potted plants on balconies and porches, large blooms to teensy ones, bright brilliant colors to shy pastels.

Hanging at the RV Park office in Sequim.

Kwanzan Cherry blossoms

Snowing in pink...

Siberian Spring Beauties – they’re everywhere from roadsides to forest floors.

Salmonberry bloom - the berries are a favorite with bears and elk.

Purple Dead Nettle – a bad name for a beautiful plant with small delicate flowers.

Delicate Fragrant Fringecups.

Pacific Fairy Slipper - Somewhat rare, but beautiful. I lucked out and stumbled across this one along a Dungeness Wildlife Refuge hiking trail.

Small-flowered Forget-me-not – you have to look close

for the tiny, teensy, itty-bitty thing.

Scotch Broom blooms – these are everywhere in the Pacific Northwest.

It’s beautiful lining the highways in large patches, but…

An escapee from home gardens, it’s considered a noxious weed. It displaces native and beneficial plants, causing loss of grassland and open forests and is toxic to livestock and horses, costing agriculture and the timber industry over $40 million annually in Washington alone.

We spent a few days dry camping in the Olympic National Park at the Kalaloch Campground. It was a beautiful area tucked into the forest at the edge of the beach.

It’s hard to complain about life when this is the view out your window.

Sunset from the rig’s living room window.

Relaxing, hiking, and tide pooling took up our time while in the park. Coast, forest, and mountain ecosystems combine to create the Olympic National Park, dedicated in 1938. Today the park is internationally recognized as a Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site. The park protects the largest old-growth forest in the Pacific Northwest. Much of its character comes from trees that took root 200 to 1,000 years ago. Differences in moisture (from 40 to 240 inches per year) and changes in elevation (sea level to 7,980 feet) create a mosaic of forests in the park.

The Hoh Rainforest called us and off we went to do a bit of easy hiking. There are four rainforests located in the Olympic National Park, Quinault, Queets, Hoh, and Bogachiel. These forests once stretched from southern Oregon to southeast Alaska, but little remains outside the national park due to logging over the past century. A combination of lots of rain (12-14 feet annually), moderate temperatures (rarely below freezing or above 80), mosses, ancient trees up to 250 feet tall and 60 feet in diameter, dead wood providing habitat for multiple creatures, and nurse logs (described later) all create a lush and exotic atmosphere.

Lichen, mosses, and club moss cover the trees everywhere you look.

A spooky spot waiting for a movie crew to arrive.

Lichen, wildflowers and ferns making themselves at home.

When a big tree falls it provides a stage for new life – these logs are called Nurse Logs. Hemlock and spruce seedlings, unable to survive on the tangled forest floor, absorb minerals, moisture and warmth from the decaying trunk. After their roots reach soil, young trees seem to stand on stilts as the nurse log continues to decay.

Heinz “taking root” on a Nurse Log.

Hiking along the Spruce Nature Trail in the Hoh Rainforest.

Wanting to check out the beach area we hiked down through the woods, down the hill, down the beach, and over the rocks to do some tide pooling.

Starfish, more properly called sea stars, are purely marine creatures, even using seawater to move nutrients through their system instead of blood. 69

Sea stars were everywhere at this site.

Anemones were plentiful as well.

Anemone close-up.

Sea stars are generalist predators, eating microalgae, sponges, bivalves, snails, and other small animals.

Leaving the tide pools, we decided to stick with the marine theme and headed off to the Makah National Fish Hatchery on the Makah Indian Reservation in Neah Bay. Just a mile from the Pacific coast, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service raises and releases 3.3 million fall Chinook, 300,000 coho and 200,000 steelhead annually

into the Sooes and Waatch rivers.

Fall Chinook salmon fry. 303

The Makah Indian Reservation is located on the most northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula and is the westernmost Indian reservation in the lower 48 states. The Makah inhabited Cape Flattery for centuries before European and American explorers encountered them in the 1790s. The people made full use of the natural resources of both the forest and the sea. One resource of the sea that they used when possible was the whale. The Makah went whaling in 6 and 8 seat canoes using harpoons made of deer antlers. Amazing! The tribe members are still actively involved in commercial fishing. Their second largest income comes from tourism.

If you ever get there, be sure to check out the tribal museum. It’s small but very interesting. Most of the artifacts on display are from the village of Odette. The village of Odette was accidently uncovered in 1970 when weather and erosion exposed parts of buildings and Indian artifacts. The village had been buried by a catastrophic mudslide over 250 years earlier. Over 55,000 artifacts were recovered during archeological excavations. The artifacts related to all aspects of ancient tribal life, including tools, clothing, art, caches of family heirlooms, and ancestral remains. Many are on display in the tribal museum.

Doors to the Makah Tribal Museum. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed inside the museum.

Totem in the center of Neah Bay.

The tribe developed a nice hiking trail on the tip of Cape Flattery that allows you to walk out to the most northwesterly point on the lower 48 states. The trail is short, only ¾ of a mile, but there are 4 lookout points from which there are spectacular views of the rugged coastline and the Pacific Ocean.

Boardwalk along part of the trail.

Lush forest surrounds you as you hike the trail.

Look closely for the deer along the trail.

Sea cave at the end of the world…or at least of the lower 48.

Tatootsh Island off Cape Flattery.

No trip of ours is complete without Heinz trying out something new. This time it was clamming on Long Beach (Washington my dears, not California…not a celebrity in sight). We were up well before dawn and heading for the beach. Low tide was at 0745 and we had an hour drive ahead of us. Everyone we talked to said to be sure and get there as the tide starts going out and follow it towards the ocean to get the best clams. So, there we were, on the beach, me yawning, mumbling things like “Feed me Seymour” and “A cup of tea would restore my normality”, and Heinz heading out to dig us up dinner. It’s easier to show than to explain, so here’s my photographic rendition of clamming for Razor Clams (a local delicacy).

Up before dawn and headed for the clams.

Dawn finally arrives.

What’s this? We got competition!

Actually there were quite a few people out digging in the sand that morning.

Clam signature, a small depression in the sand surrounded by a very shallow wall of sand.

Pushing in a clam tube. This works much like a straw. You push it down into the sand, plug a hole in the handle (sealing a vacuum), and pull up. The sand and water inside it will come out with the tube. To release, just unplug the hole and shake out the sand, water, and hopefully, a razor clam.

Pulling up the tube.

Dumping the contents on the beach and hoping for a clam.

I think I see one!

Yep, there it is.

Nice sized razor clam. The tip sticking up is the clam’s “foot”. This is used to dig in the sand to create their holes. These clams have been known to dig and disappear within 15 seconds of sensing danger.

A successful morning of clamming and it’s barely sun-up.

Heading for the car, his duty done, dinner will be provided.

The morning’s haul.

Average size, 5-6 inches.

Out of their shells and ready for cleaning.

Ready for cooking. We started with fried clams and clam chowder. Next up - pasta with clam sauce maybe.

We continued drifting our way to Tacoma and Seattle by stopping for a few days in Sequim (pronounced Skwim). This small town has been on our radar for a while as a possible retirement location since it’s listed almost constantly on the Best Places to Retire sites. Sequim is known for a mild and sunny climate. The area is in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains and gets only about 17 inches of rain each year – compared to 14 feet in the rain forest. The first European settlers arrived in the Dungeness Valley in the 1850s, but the Klallam Indians had lived in the region long before that. In 1874, when Native American tribes were being pressured to move to reservations, the Klallam tribe raised enough money to purchase land north of Sequim, the beginning of what would become the Jamestown S’Klallam community (a nearby small town).

While the lands along Dungeness River became fertile farmlands, the remainder of the area remained an arid prairie. Irrigation canals brought water to the prairie in the 1890s, allowing for the expansion of farmlands. This innovation is celebrated each May with the Sequim Irrigation Festival - the oldest continuing festival in Washington. We went to the festival, and as usual… heavy sigh… it was nice, but nothing like the Louisiana festivals we are used to. I think Louisiana could make a bunch of money sending out festival planners to communities far and wide – trust me, we would all benefit!

Sequim a nice small town, with lots of retirees walking around, but ultimately not for us – it was scratched off the list. The general consensus is that there’s really not much to do around the area unless you are totally outdoors oriented. It’s also not very close to any large city for other entertainment.

Along with Sequim we checked out Port Townsend and Port Angeles, both within easy driving distance for Sequim.

Main Street, Port Townsend, lined with century old buildings.

The Rose Theater, built in 1907 as a vaudeville house. It is now used for films, ballet, opera, and plays.

Harbor pier at Port Angeles.

Now, that’s loving a sport, when your kayak is almost twice the length of your car!

Oil tanker in the Port Angeles harbor.

Then it was off to Tacoma and Seattle. We’re currently staying on Joint Base Lewis McChord, formerly Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base. The RV park is tucked back in a wonderful patch of woods with huge trees and lots of green undergrowth and wildflowers. While here we’ve alternated days of out-and-about (busily seeing the area), with days of kicking back and relaxing. It’s worked out well and we’re not feeling pushed to see everything in two weeks.

Seattle was our first outing. The weather was a bit drizzly, but that “liquid sunshine” didn’t stop us. Familiar with the REI store? Ever wonder where that marvel of a sports store came from? Well it’s here in Seattle. We stopped in at the “mothership” and what a place it is. The main entrance is hidden upstairs on the second floor behind a small urban jungle with a waterfall, hiking trail for trying out boots and a biking trail for testing bikes. Wow, now that’s thinking of your customers. The place is huge – we spent hours looking through all the gear.

REI’s urban park with waterfall.

The main entrance features a series of clocks displaying the current time on the top ten mountains to climb worldwide.

After spending some time looking around and thinking about all the calories you could work off doing all the fun things REI can prep you for, we decided we were hungry. So it was off to find a noodle shop. Heinz pulled out his trusty cell phone and found Mike’s Noodle House in the International District.

Mike’s is a small place, the atmosphere is very friendly, and the tables appear to never be empty. The dining room has a large window that lets you see the kitchen and what’s happening in preparing your lunch. I got the beef brisket with wontons noodle soup. I get hungry just thinking of that soup…melt in your mouth tender beef, shrimp and pork wontons, and noodles, all swimming in a rich, earthy beef broth. Heinz opted for the wonton soup, the same wontons in a lovely chicken broth.

The International District features dragons climbing the

light poles on the street corners.

Inside Mike’s Noodle House.

Beef brisket and wonton soup…and that’s the small bowl!

Next, we stopped in at the Seattle Asian Art Museum to see a special exhibit on Japanese Art Deco 1920-1945. Showing 200 works, the exhibit revealed the impact of the Art Deco movement on Japanese culture. Covering sculpture, painting, prints, ceramics, jewelry, furniture and even items as small as a series of matchbook covers, the exhibition is an introduction to the sophisticated designs of Japanese artists of the period.

Silver cigarette box with a flowing fountain design.

A mantle decorative piece of pomegranates.

Heinz is contemplating a new hobby, so we stopped in at the Center for Wooden Boats on Lake Union. The Center is a “museum” dedicated to preserving and documenting the maritime history of the Pacific Northwest. I put museum in quotes because this is not the typical museum. Here you have an opportunity to learn to steambend an oak frame, cast an oarlock, caulk a seam, or wander around marveling at the boats or watch someone hollow out a canoe. If you go on a Sunday (we didn’t) the Center offers free rides on one of their boats.