Leaving our ocean shore house in Yachats, we continue up along the Oregon coastline, stopping in Cannon Beach to check out the Haystack Rock and more of those darn compelling sea stacks.
Cannon Beach is also home to excellent coffee (at The Sleepy Monk), and a great little store called Found, which features the work of local artists created with found objects, It's also home to the Cannon Beach Hardware store — the greatest hardware I've ever seen! It's not just a hardware store, it also pours draft beer, serves hot dogs and popcorn, has tables and three flatscreen TV's showing wall to wall sports. It's a real man den and a pretty neat idea. Guys go in for some rope and nails and end up staying for the Mariner's game. I wanted to hang out, have a beer and watch Sportscentre, but it was a little early being only 10:00 in the morning...
From there we head to Astoria, the most northern city in Oregon, cross the mouth of the Columbia river like Lewis and Clark, and enter the state of Washington.
After a visit to Cape Disappointment (not so much disappointing as ho hum) we head for the beach town of Ocean Shores in hope of finding somewhere to bunk down. Washington, so far, is, how shall we say it... not as 'visually or culturally exciting' as the past two states. It's a little lackluster. Culturally deprived, we might say. Ocean Shores consists mainly of two one-way streets and another very, very long strip of flat sand beach that stretches for miles. Everyone drives their cars on it — even us. It makes taking a stroll on the beach kinda tricky.
From there, it's due north for the final stretch along the west coast. This takes us through Copalis Beach, Moclips, a diversion around the Quinault First Nations Reservation and into the Washington northern peninsula and Olympic National Park. The coastline here continues to be pure, flat sandy beach, but rock outcroppings begin to show up as we push on The forest on the other side is lush, green and thick. We also encounter barren patches where it has been clear cut. The lumber industry thrives in Washington.
Ruby Beach is our final look at the west coast. And the sea stacks are back!
Just off shore is Destruction Island, the coolest name for an island I know.
This is as far as we can go along Highway 101 before it turns inland and heads up to Port Angeles and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We say goodbye to the coast, our constant companion since we left Los Angeles. Mission accomplished. The west coast has been driven!
We go east into Olympic National Park and veer right off of 101 to check out the Hoh Rain Forest. Lots of moss. Lots of greenery. We spend a couple of hours walking about, looking for elks and bears. Elks we see. No bears. It's a pleasant diversion.
It's a maple tree....seriously...
Then it's on to the town of Forks. Nothing special here. Some lumberjacks. Some teen vampires.
Forks, in case you don't know, is the setting for the Twilight book/movie series — Edward, Bella, Jacob and their gang of wolves and bloodsuckers. The town doesn't quite seem to know what hit it — Twilight movie franchise on one side, traditional lumber industry on the other. It's a surreal mix. Here, Jenn gets a lift on Bella's truck from the movie.
Okay, enough of that stuff. Onto Port Angeles. Hey! From Los Angeles to Port Angeles, we've gone all the way!.
Oh damn, there's more Twilight stuff here — the movie theatre, the restaurant for Edward and Bella's first date. Help, we're trapped in 'The Twilight Zone!'
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