Heading for Home

August 27 - August 30th - the final leg home. (Unfortunately, I apologize since I have been tardy updating the last segment of the trip on the blog - simply because of higher priorities - young children to care for and the holidays.)

Beach art - Bullards Beach

Colorful fish in Bandon - just south of Bullards Beach

On the final days of our trip, we headed home following the Oregon and Northern California coast, then cut over to Hwy 5 through the redwoods. Quite a few local fires made the sky hazy and we passed numerous signs expressing sincere thanks to the fire crews who were fighting so hard to save homes and farms. Fires continue to be a common occurrence in Northern California during August.

From Quinault Lodge, we drove along the coast through Raymond, ate lunch at a small county park, then passed through Astoria and we camped that night at a private RV campground - Circle Creek just outside of town. The area along the coast is quite popular during August and it was quite crowded with tourists - a big change from our experience, years ago, when the area was still relatively undiscovered.

County Park  lunch spot with a view

On Friday 8/25, we drove south from there toward Bullards Beach - the draw being Ancestry research. This land was once a ranch owned by family members and the small cemetery there remains. As we drove the coast, we saw a number of cute little beach towns - all very popular and busy. Early Spring or late Fall next year might be a better time to visit here. Bullards Beach state park was very nice, with showers and 17 hosts to keep the place trimmed and spotless. Even the sites were raked! These are very nice parks!

The hike out to the beach

A gorgeous, deserted beach!

The cemetery where we looked for relatives

Our private little campsite. Note that Ernie's gone Alaskan native!

Channel lighthouse - Bullards Beach

Prairie Creek campsite - nicely located in the shade

 

Waiting patiently for the elk to arrive

Our next stop was Prairie Creek, where we stayed the night hoping to spot the Elk, who frequent the area. This is an older state park and it is showing its age a bit. The grassy meadow is a favorite grazing spot for the local Elk herds.

A smokey haze obscured the coastal view

 

Tannery Gulch Campsite - no one around, 100 degree heat!

Trinity Lake - end of season

Final night of camping

Our final night was spent in the Trinity Alps at the Tannery Gulch Campground on Trinity Lake. It was quite hot and smokey from the Trinity Alps fire nearby and hardly anyone was camping at the park - very likely due to the extreme heat and the smoke. Here again, a better time to visit would be in  the Spring, when the lake is full and the vegetation is lush and green.

From Trinity, we drove back home to Dutch Flat - and arrived mid-day. It was good to be home (with our spacious, lovely home) and we were glad to see the family and the children! 11,000 miles and what a trip!  Another bucket list trip completed!

Retreat Heaven

Sunday August 13th -  Wednesday August 23rd

Did you ever dream of having the perfect campsite - right on the beach - away from other campers, with just your family and plenty of bears and eagles to observe all day - complemented by the night's black sky and a brilliant milky way?  Well we had that perfect campsite at Mussel Beach, on the west coast of Vancouver Island (a far cry from the famous Muscle Beach of Southern California). To get there, we had to drive for 30 minutes over a challenging dirt road, but once we arrived, we were assigned the perfect campsite - private and completely removed on our very own patch of sandy wilderness.

We stayed there six days and hardly moved. How did we spend our time?  Reading, observing the tides, watching a pair of bald eagles hunt and feed their two fledglings, and observing the daily morning and evening ritual of a black bear mother and her cub hunting for food by digging beneath rocks and seaweed for crabs. All were observed with binoculars from our campsite. Camping couldn't get any better! This is the Vancouver Island experience we had longed for!

Another day in paradise!

Looking south and watching the bald eagles swoop down to catch fish

Watching the tides roll in and out

Our observation point!

Sunset creeps in quietly

One day, we decided to drive over to Tofino (highly recommended by Sunset for its perfect surf-friendly beaches) and Ucluelet (you-clue-let; not less) located on the spit across from us. There, we were caught in three traffic jams (the 30-minute delay variety), could not find a place to park our truck, (because of the crowds and our truck size - Tofino), could not turn off the road to walk the beaches (many of the trails and parking lots were marked "full" - Tofino), and had to wait 45 minutes in line for a place to sit for lunch (Ucluelet).  It was packed with tourists. We did have a very nice lunch at the Blue Room Cafe there and hiked a beautiful section of the Wild Pacific Trail near the lighthouse. The scenery was dramatic and packed with visitors from around the world. How did they all know about this place? The lodgings in this area are typically high-end and charming and the beaches are spectacular, but we'll typically pick the quieter option to avoid the crowds!

The day we left the coast, signs saying "accommodations full" were plastered everywhere! We were so glad we had selected quiet, unassuming little Mussel Beach! And we chuckled when we heard several tourists at the Visitor's Center asking which guide service to use to see the bears and bald eagles (we had been so lucky to chose the campground we did)! Vancouver Island as a very busy place to visit in high-season summer!

Lighthouse at tip of Uclulet spit

Views from the Wild Pacific Trail

They served a generous lunch at the Blue Room Cafe in Ucluelet

Back in Mussel Beach - Our bear's hunting ground

Walking the plank

Low tide color

Hmmm - how did those rocks get there?

Driftwood creations

Checking out the buffet

Mama bear turning over rocks in her search for crabs

Dusk

We were sad to leave this lovely place

On Saturday, August 19th, we drove south to Victoria where we stayed one night at the Fort Victoria RV Park - a huge but very well managed park.  We took a quick drive through Victoria that evening (it was absolutely packed with visitors celebrating a summer in style), so we quickly escaped to enjoy a modest dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. The ferry building was ideally located across from the Empress Hotel and next to Parliament. We rode the ferry (on Sunday) across to Port Angeles, Washington and then drove into the Olympic National Park where we found a lovely campsite at the Crescent Lake- Fairholme Campground. We camped there for two relaxing days.

Our cute campsite overlooking the lake

Strange shadow patterns of ferns on pavement during the solar eclipse

Lake Crescent - clear and clean!

 Our special treat this week was a two-night stay at the lovely, historic 1929 Lake Quinault Lodge. We slept in the old lodge and thoroughly enjoyed its charms (the creaky floors, the lopsided old staircase, the Quinault Native American storyteller, the original black and white photos, the beautiful sloping lawns down to the lake, and the solid 1940's style furniture).  What a delight and a perfect respite/contrast to camping for 3 1/2 months! We toasted our wonderful vacation and reminisced on our favorite places.

Historic Lake Quinault Lodge - Olde-tyme luxury

A perfect place to relax and read!

"Rust in Peace"

The independent perspective

Awaiting a new day

Totem rain-gauge

From here, over the next five days, we will head down toward Astoria, along the Oregon Coast, then back to California and home.

What a trip this has been!