We went "camping" at Twin Harbors State Park in Westport, Washington. Karen and I left on Sunday morning (10/4) and drove northwest to the Pacific Coast at Westport. We drove up Interstate 5 to Chelais.
The drive on Interstate 5 from Vancouver, WA to Olympia WA is 105 miles. It is relatively flat, relatively straight, and from two to three lanes in one direction. From Olympia to Longview, the scenery is rather monotonous: heavy forests of evergreens and deciduous trees on either side of the I5 Freeway. A tunnel of trees. There is heavy truck and auto traffic on this excellent and well-maintained thoroughfare from San Diego to Bellingham. We take cutt-offs West from I5 at WA Road 6 at Chelais, and WA Road 12 at Grand Round.
Road 6 West from Chelais to Raymond on Wallapa Harbor is very beautiful. Ranching, logging, valley farms, and services are scattered throughout this heavily forested area. Stop at the market in Pe Ell for an ice cream cone or coffee. The scenery is quite lovely and the October traffic low. Raymond offers basic services for road trippers and campers. Then, head northwest from Raymond to Tokeland, Grayland, and Westport. The views of Wallapa Bay at low or high tide are striking along the jetty roadway north of Tokeland. The City of Westport is a small fishing and tourist town at the south entrance to Gray's Harbor.
I camped here at Twin Harbors in a tent in August 2020. The campground was filled to overflowing capacity in August, and only 20% occupied in October.
An easy long walk to the beach from camp. Many twisted shore pines in this campground, and trails leading out to the sand dunes covered in grasses. The surf was low when we were there at the beach, but you heard its roar outside the cabin. We drove on the wide beaches from Grayland State Park to the South Jetty, Chelais Point, entrance to Gray's Harbor.
The afternoon skies were clear blue to infinity. You could see the Olympic Mountain peaks from the Westport Tower viewpoint. From gray morning fog to afternoon blue, very exhilarating.
We stayed in a small wood cabin C5 at Twin Harbors on 10/4, 10/5 and 10/6. [The cabins are a little larger with a larger table, but otherwise similar in interior design as a typical State Park campground round yurt.]
Michael and April, and their two dogs, came on Monday and Tuesday and stayed in another C4 cabin/yurt. We all packed up and returned home on Wednesday, 10/7; for us, about a 3.5 hour drive from Westport to Aberdeen, Olympia, I5 to Centralia, Longview, Vancouver, WA.
Karen and I had planned to stay at the Quinault Resort in Ocean Shores, at the north entrance to Gray's Harbor, in September. However, heavy rain, wildfires, and home improvement projects kept us at home all September in Vancouver. This autumn, we will stay two nights at the Quinault Resort on another low rain day there, visit the North Jetty, Point Brown, Ocean Shores, WA.
We have travelled extensively in Washington and Oregon. British Columbia is closed in 2020 due to the flu pandemic.
The weather was cloudy with a little rain at Gray's Harbor. Mornings were foggy, damp, and cold. Temperatures generally pleasant: from 55F to 65F. You can stay warm and dry in a small cabin, have heat and light, sleep somewhat comfortably, and have some privacy. Outdoor cooking, table, and firepit are all on a concrete slabs outside these Twin Harbor wood cabins. A well-maintained campground restroom/showers was nearby. I saw only one tent and 10 trailers in the entire West Twin Harbors Campground. All the cabins and yurts were occupied; folks up here are prepared for rain. Two cabins were occupied by six college aged women, some went surfing, and they talked. like us, outdoors around meals and campfires and indoors as well.
Westport Marina and Stores, Westport, WA
Michael with his dog, Freya. April with her dog, Waldo.
Light surf at Twin Harbors State Park beach - wide sandy beaches.
Cool and windy.
Trails leading from grassland to shore pines forest.
We found many mushrooms in the forest.
Miles of sand dunes covered in grasses.
South Side Jetty Entrance to Gray's Harbor
Point Chehalis Jetty
Popular surfing area at Westport Light State Park south of Jetty.
Westport Light State Park Surfers
South Jetty
Lingcod Fishermen on South Jetty
Winter Storms hit the South Jetty
Viewing Tower in Westport Marina Area
Another fine walking trail along the Columbia River
in Vancouver, and Mike Garofalo a walker.
======================
I've been reading a number of books by or about Pragmatism, American Philosophy, Values, Sociological-Technological-Economical-Cultural-Historical circumstances of you own era.
For completion by November, my reading list includes two books about our Native American history, cultures, and worldviews.
Wisdom of the Elders: Sacred Native Stories of Nature. By David Suzuki. Contributions by Peter Knudtson. Bantam Books, 1993, 274 pages. VSCL.
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. By Robin Wall Kimmerer. Milkweed Editions, 2013, 390 pages. VSCL.
=====================
