"Home again, home again"
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Daily Post (Josh) 2010-08-12
We were close enough and we had so much fun yesterday at La Poel, Eden talked me into heading back for another dip to start the morning. It turned out to be a good idea, because it put her in a phenomenal mood all morning! Even when a deer decided she didn't want to live any more and practically dove into our car, missing it by perhaps inches, it didn't shake the elation that she'd found.
Today's scheduled exploration was the Hoh forest. We didn't get a chance to stop last year, but this year the pass we'd already bought for camping covered the entrance fees, so we couldn't skip what was supposed to be an amazing sight. I do have to say, the trees were very impressive, but the whole experience did feel a bit cheap and commercial. Even with the entrance fee, it was crowded as heck, and just not as fun as we'd hoped. I guess we tend to get spoiled in the Northwest, expecting our national parks to be relatively deserted so that we can enjoy them in peace. This felt a bit more like Disneyland without the rides, I'm afraid.
We passed through Forks in the afternoon, and I'm pleased to report that the Twilight sensation that seemed to dominate the town to the point of drowning seems to have died down considerably. Instead of every corner being dominated by sparkly vampire kitch, only two or three "twilight" businesses remained. I'm afraid that "twilight firewood" was one of them. Really, people. Really?
Our evening camping at Kalaloch was a bit different than expected, as well. The campsite that had enthralled us last year with it's remarkable isolation and thoroughly impressive driftwood beaches was completely gone. And I mean that literally. The driftwood was a solid layer at least 20 to 30 feet across last year as far as the eye could see. This year, that driftwood is very nearly completely gone, save for shards of a few inches and huge logs that would take an entire family to move (and were being moved by families, as I watched). The campsite itself was swarming with people, hundreds of them. And unfortunately, the wonderfully clear skies we were looking forward to for the meteor shower never showed. Instead we had a tremendously deep fog bank swallowing the sky for miles around.
Ah well, despite missing the meteor shower entirely, it was a good night, if a bit chilly. We had visitors at the campsite, in the form of a very brave and pregnant squirrel, and a small flock of scrub jays, both of whom gave me a number of great shots. I'll admit, I did bribe the models a bit with some peanuts I'd brought for a snack, but I have the feeling that's going to end up being a more common habit for me in the photography world anyway, in the coming years.
Today's scheduled exploration was the Hoh forest. We didn't get a chance to stop last year, but this year the pass we'd already bought for camping covered the entrance fees, so we couldn't skip what was supposed to be an amazing sight. I do have to say, the trees were very impressive, but the whole experience did feel a bit cheap and commercial. Even with the entrance fee, it was crowded as heck, and just not as fun as we'd hoped. I guess we tend to get spoiled in the Northwest, expecting our national parks to be relatively deserted so that we can enjoy them in peace. This felt a bit more like Disneyland without the rides, I'm afraid.
We passed through Forks in the afternoon, and I'm pleased to report that the Twilight sensation that seemed to dominate the town to the point of drowning seems to have died down considerably. Instead of every corner being dominated by sparkly vampire kitch, only two or three "twilight" businesses remained. I'm afraid that "twilight firewood" was one of them. Really, people. Really?
Our evening camping at Kalaloch was a bit different than expected, as well. The campsite that had enthralled us last year with it's remarkable isolation and thoroughly impressive driftwood beaches was completely gone. And I mean that literally. The driftwood was a solid layer at least 20 to 30 feet across last year as far as the eye could see. This year, that driftwood is very nearly completely gone, save for shards of a few inches and huge logs that would take an entire family to move (and were being moved by families, as I watched). The campsite itself was swarming with people, hundreds of them. And unfortunately, the wonderfully clear skies we were looking forward to for the meteor shower never showed. Instead we had a tremendously deep fog bank swallowing the sky for miles around.
Ah well, despite missing the meteor shower entirely, it was a good night, if a bit chilly. We had visitors at the campsite, in the form of a very brave and pregnant squirrel, and a small flock of scrub jays, both of whom gave me a number of great shots. I'll admit, I did bribe the models a bit with some peanuts I'd brought for a snack, but I have the feeling that's going to end up being a more common habit for me in the photography world anyway, in the coming years.
Daily Post (Josh) 2010-08-11
Seems as though the migraine cycle I've been working on for the last little while was just trying to finish with a bang. I'm beyond thrilled to be able to report that I was completely without head pain today!
On top of that, we had a great day today! We started out taking a bit of a look around the Staircase area. Seems as though there was some severe flooding that expanded the local river rather dramatically not so long ago, leaving a huge portion of the landscape just a few meters below crystal clear water. Pretty cool to see.
We then moved on to Ellewa Dam, which is actually due to be destroyed shortly, in an effort to return some breeding territory to wild salmon, as I understand it. It was worth seeing, before things change dramatically. I can't wait to see what things look like next year, as the drop off from the dam has to be at least a hundred feet or so; I have no idea what losing that is going to do to the local water levels.
In the afternoon we stopped by La Poel campground, which has turned into a day use only area in the last year or so due to erosion and such. That's ok though, as it's still beautiful, and somewhat more isolated this year. So much so, in fact, that we decided to take advantage of the chilly, clear waters to clean up a bit, since none of our stops this year offers shower facilities. It was rather amazing to see and hear just how much fun Eden was having in the water.
The evening's campsite was Klahowya, which pretty much defined exactly what we love about camping. Semi-private sites, right along the river, wonderful scenery, and neighbors that actually keep fairly quiet after dark. Beyond all that, and perhaps this is a shallow measure, their bathroom facilities, even the drop toilets, damn near sparkled. There's a lot to be said for that kind of effort.
On top of that, we had a great day today! We started out taking a bit of a look around the Staircase area. Seems as though there was some severe flooding that expanded the local river rather dramatically not so long ago, leaving a huge portion of the landscape just a few meters below crystal clear water. Pretty cool to see.
We then moved on to Ellewa Dam, which is actually due to be destroyed shortly, in an effort to return some breeding territory to wild salmon, as I understand it. It was worth seeing, before things change dramatically. I can't wait to see what things look like next year, as the drop off from the dam has to be at least a hundred feet or so; I have no idea what losing that is going to do to the local water levels.
In the afternoon we stopped by La Poel campground, which has turned into a day use only area in the last year or so due to erosion and such. That's ok though, as it's still beautiful, and somewhat more isolated this year. So much so, in fact, that we decided to take advantage of the chilly, clear waters to clean up a bit, since none of our stops this year offers shower facilities. It was rather amazing to see and hear just how much fun Eden was having in the water.
The evening's campsite was Klahowya, which pretty much defined exactly what we love about camping. Semi-private sites, right along the river, wonderful scenery, and neighbors that actually keep fairly quiet after dark. Beyond all that, and perhaps this is a shallow measure, their bathroom facilities, even the drop toilets, damn near sparkled. There's a lot to be said for that kind of effort.
Daily Post (Josh) 2010-08-10
Today we left for this year's camping trip in the Olympic Pennisula, an occasion which looks to be heading towards a welcome annual tradition. The end goal is to make it to Kalaloch this Thursday for the Persied Meteor shower. Last year was remarkably clear there, and we've been looking forward to it for a months now.
The trip up was a bit of a pain, I'm afraid. Not one, not two, but three separate migraine attacks throughout the day, leaving me nearly gasping with horrible dizziness and nausea. Eden was a real trooper, putting up with my discomfort and relative lack of communication on the way. Honestly, arriving at Staircase Falls, our destination for the evening, was almost the worst part. Absolutely stellar views, magically blue waters, and waterfalls along the road called out to me like crazy over the last 15 twisty miles or so, just begging to be photographed, and all I could manage to think was that I couldn't wait for the car to stop moving.
All that aside, once we did get to the campsite, we had an absolutely fabulous time. Dinner turned out to be a bit different than expected, as the flounder we picked up turned into paste once it was over the fire. Neither of us had ever had flounder before - I guess it's just not our cup of tea. The Hillshire farms dogs we're quite excellent, though, as were the Limeade and Gin mixers that Eden whipped up. Eden's aunt Pat gave us a phenomenal bottle of Gin for my birthday, and just a little goes a long way. All in all, not a bad day, for having a poor beginning.
The trip up was a bit of a pain, I'm afraid. Not one, not two, but three separate migraine attacks throughout the day, leaving me nearly gasping with horrible dizziness and nausea. Eden was a real trooper, putting up with my discomfort and relative lack of communication on the way. Honestly, arriving at Staircase Falls, our destination for the evening, was almost the worst part. Absolutely stellar views, magically blue waters, and waterfalls along the road called out to me like crazy over the last 15 twisty miles or so, just begging to be photographed, and all I could manage to think was that I couldn't wait for the car to stop moving.
All that aside, once we did get to the campsite, we had an absolutely fabulous time. Dinner turned out to be a bit different than expected, as the flounder we picked up turned into paste once it was over the fire. Neither of us had ever had flounder before - I guess it's just not our cup of tea. The Hillshire farms dogs we're quite excellent, though, as were the Limeade and Gin mixers that Eden whipped up. Eden's aunt Pat gave us a phenomenal bottle of Gin for my birthday, and just a little goes a long way. All in all, not a bad day, for having a poor beginning.
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