Tour the Ocean Shores Duck Lake and Grand Canal by Electric Boat

My kids had a blast in our electric-powered, rental boat from the Ocean Shores Electric Boat Company. We toured the extensive network of canals and lakes that run the length of the Ocean Shores peninsula. The route to Duck Lake and back was very beautiful with tree-lined narrow canals, expensive vacation homes, and unspoilt islands turned over to the wildlife. We saw seagulls and herons. Four year old James claims to have spotted an alligator. Thirteen year old Austin enjoyed steering the boat through 360s in the middle of the lake.

Proprietors Tom and Nancy Kimzey have life figured out: living full time on the water and renting boats to tourists in their semi-retirement. We had the nicest chat with them as we prepared for our trip. Their clean, modern boats seat up to 10 people. The boats include a CD player, radio, and picnic table. You can take them out in any weather. A canopy overhead screens you from the sun and plastic panels can be zipped closed on chilly days, but they still afford an excellent view.

See the Ocean Shores Electric Boat Company website at:

http://www.oselectricboat.com

...and pictures of our trip at:

http://www.BobsPacificBeachHouse.com/pictures.html

Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge and Migrating Shorebirds

We visited this wildlife refuge near Hoquiam, WA during the Shorebird Festival. Thousands of birds migrating between Mexico and Alaska stop by Grays Harbor to feed on its extensive mudflats. A mile long boardwalk - the Sandpiper Trail - brings you through a pretty forest and out to a wonderful view of the harbor, distant forested bluff, and the shorebirds. The peak viewing period is high tide during late April and early May. The trail is still a pleasant walk at other times of year. An organized Shorebird Festival brings out a crowd of birdwatchers during the first weekend of May. See:

http://www.fws.gov/graysharbor

http://www.shorebirdfestival.com/

More pictures at:

http://www.BobsPacificBeachHouse.com/pictures.html

Point Grenville: The most beautiful place you never heard of

Point Grenville on the Quinault Indian reservation shelters two spectacular beaches and a collection of offshore seastack rocks that rival anything on the Oregon coast or north up in the Olympic National Park. The Quinault tribe keeps this treasure to themselves, doing little to promote tourism. However, you may visit by purchasing a beach pass. The beach entrance lies just seven miles north of Pacific Beach, WA.

The interesting thing about this landscape is the way it unfolds over a 2 1/2 mile walk from the beach entrance out to the point. (Note: You may also drive on this beach to shorten up the walk, keeping to the high part of the beach to avoid the clam beds.) At the entrance, you step out onto a wide, sandy beach with forested cliffs behind that are typical of the area. In the distance you can see a large promontory, marking the point, and two, large seastack rocks to its left. But these are as yet indistinct.

A little further along the beach you will reach two isolated, 50-foot high rocks high up on the beach crowned with trees and vegetation. One of these slopes down on the north side for an easy climb. At the top you can enjoy a bit better view south towards Moclips and Pacific Beach, out to the ocean, and north to the point. Someone has installed a rope to climb the steeper, second rock.
Continuing north, you begin to approach the point and the seastack rocks more closely and their details become visible. The two largest seastacks are topped with green vegetation. A flock of seagulls wheels around and settles on these rocks. Smaller rocks at their base kick up the sea spray as the waves crash into them. Then a surprise emerges: far out to sea beyond the point and hidden by these two large seastacks is a large rock with an arch in the middle of it.
As you reach the point, you pass some smaller rock formations, piles of driftwood (missing further south), and some rocks covered in barnacles and mussels. The shore forms a tight, half-circular bay here and the waves swirl around in interesting patterns.

Ahead of you is the point, a large volanic hill perhaps 200 feet high. This tapers down to a barrier about six feet high, and then the land rises again to meet the 100 foot high cliffs. The obvious thing to do is see what is over that short barrier. The anticipation builds as you approach it. It's an easy climb over the barrier, and then you hop down into one of the most stunning sights of the whole Washington coast.

You are standing in a narrow, semi-circular bay. An amphitheater, you might call it. On the other side of the barrier you were walking on sandy beach. Here you stand on volcanic gravel. Towering, 200-foot rocks mark the north and south boundary of the little bay. The rock to the north has an arch in it. Out to sea you get a closer view of the offshore rock with an arch mentioned earlier. All around you in this bay are small, offshore rocks between a few feet and 20-30 feet high. The water churns and boils in fantastic ways among these dozens of rocks and the volcanic cliffs echo the sound. I was here near sunset, which lit all the rocks up beautifully. I climbed a slippery, 20 foot rock to get the best view around the two points. I was trembling from the unsure footing, the vibrant crashing sounds all around me, and the sheer beauty of the scene.
On the long walk back to the car, I kept looking back at the sunset, which was prettier every time. I took a sequence of six or seven sunset pictures.

I can't recommend this visit highly enough. It's not to be missed.

You must buy a beach pass to visit the beaches of the Quinault Indian Nation. A day pass costs $5 per person or $15 per family. Weekend, weekly, and monthly passes are available too. I bought my pass at the tribal administration complex - building B - in Taholah, WA. Taholah lies at the end of highway 109. Look for the administrative buildings on your right - a collection of modern-looking buildings - after passing the church on your left at the town entrance. Passes are available on weekends at the police department. Ask for the map - a multiple page brochure on the area beaches.

Taholah itself has a marvellous beach, which I might have featured if I hadn't visited Point Grenville later in the day. You can park right by the river and beach entrance just beyond the mercantile (groceries and cafe).

It reminded me a bit of Ruby Beach north of Kalaloch. This is a rocky beach varying from large flat stones down to pea gravel. The Quinault River flows into the ocean on this beach. Across the river to the north you see two large rocks forming Cape Elizabeth. To the south you'll see massive piles of driftwood. These would have been spruce trees that floated down the river. Spruce trees grow up to 300 feet tall in this area. In the distance to the south you can see the north end of Point Grenville. I would have walked on several miles towards the point, but I had my little boy with me.

Your beach pass permits you to venture north of Taholah to Elephant Rock - a fantastic formation of multiple arches on the beach. However, this beach is reached by an eight mile dirt road and a two mile rough trail with bear and bobcats active in the area. The brochure says that the animals will "probably" run away from you. An Indian guide is available to accompany you to this area.

See more pictures at:

http://www.BobsPacificBeachHouse.com/pictures.html

(Vacation rental beach house built in 2007: great ocean view, short walk to beach, 3 king beds)

Hoh Rain Forest and Kalaloch Beach 2

I wanted to see what the furthest practical day trip from our beach house would be, so we headed this day for the Hoh Rain Forest. I had a four-year-old boy with me, so we had to make lots of stops to keep his interest up.

We headed north on First Street, north on highway 109, and then northeast on the Moclips Highway. The Moclips Highway is almost deserted, but after 15 miles you reach the Quinault Fish Hatchery. My little boy had never seen a fish hatchery, so I decided to stop. It was a big hit. He was interested in the little hatchlings, the water tanks, big pipes - everything about the place. It made a good bathroom stop too. The hatchery is open to visitors only until 3:00pm.

Shortly after the hatchery, you join highway 101, which you want to follow north in the direction of Forks. We stopped near the Quinault Lodge for gasoline - the most expensive I've ever paid for - and snacks. Both of these would have been cheaper if I had waited to reach Queets.

After Queets the highway follows the coastline and gives you beautiful peaks of the ocean. I had already been to Ruby Beach, the most spectacular beach along this route, so this time I wanted to see a different beach. The other beaches are named South Beach, Beach 1, Beach 2, Beach 3, and Beach 4. Somewhere I had read about "Second Beach", so I decided to stop at Beach 2; although, I now think that Second Beach is another area further north.

Anyway, if you had never been to any other beach, Beach 2 would delight you. A short walk through a pretty forest brings you to the driftwood pile. After clambering over the logs you come out on the wonderful, wide sandy beach. This sand runs almost unbroken down to Ocean Shores 60 miles to the south and perhaps as far to the north. My son enjoyed playing in a little stream that issued out from the base of the driftwood pile onto the beach. After that, we climbed on the largest driftwood log I've ever seen: it was probably a Spruce that I learned later in the Hoh Rain Forest grow up to 300 feet tall in this area. A bald eagle flew overhead. I was too slow with the camera to capture it.

After prying my little boy away from this beach, where he might have played all day, if left to himself, we continued on to the Hoh Rain Forest. It's an 18 mile drive from the highway to the visitor center. Up to this point you have been able to drive at highway speeds, but on this road you slow down to 30 to 40 mph. It's a very pretty drive between a range of hills on the north and the Hoh River to your south. Admission to the park costs $15 per passenger vehicle.

We walked the 3/4 mile Hall of Mosses trail. First, you cross a very pretty brook with crystal clear water. The ranger said we might see some silver fish there, but we didn't spot any. Up in the forest the main attractions are weirdly moss-covered trees - a grove of maples were particularly heavily draped - and enormous Spruce trees that grow up between 200 and 300 feet from the constant rain. The trail follows one fallen Spruce log for 190 feet, which the plaque says was not all of its original height. My little boy enjoyed the short hike a lot.

On the way home we stopped briefly at Ruby Beach for the view, and then we reached home in time for the sunset. The distance from our house to the Hoh Rain Forest visitor center was almost exactly 100 miles. Driving time without stops in each direction was about 2 1/4 hours.

This is the furthest northerly day trip you would want to make from our house. Another 20 miles north you reach the town of Forks, but there's nothing to see in Forks. Another 45 minutes beyond Forks brings you to some further beaches and sights. You might plan to circle up that way after departing our house and finding a place to stay between Port Angeles and Port Townsend.

See more pictures at:
http://www.BobsPacificBeachHouse.com/pictures.html
(Vacation rental beach house built in 2007: great ocean view, short walk to beach, 3 king beds)

Copalis Rock and Copalis State Airport

Saturday, March 1, 2008: This was a magical day at the beach. I drove onto the beach at Roosevelt Beach Road - 4 miles south of Pacific Beach. Another two miles driving south on the beach brings you to a stream issuing out of the Iron Springs Resort. I chickened out and crossed the stream on foot, but just after I saw another car cross easily.


Copalis Rock lies a further one mile south of Iron Springs. It is an entirely isolated seastack rock. The next one of its size is found 20 miles north on the Quinault Nation reservation at Point Grenville. To the south, I don't know where the next such rock might be - maybe not until Oregon.


The weather had turned out unexpectedly pleasant - mostly sunny with just enough clouds to make the sky interesting. This picture shows dozens of seagulls flying around the rock. There seems to be a colony nesting there.


I continued south to see some further small rocks scattered about the beach, and then I noticed a windsock in the distance. I had read about the Copalis beach airport, so I continued on to check it out.


The airport consists of a windsock, two signs explaining that this is indeed an airport ("elevation 1 foot"), and a container labeled "Guest Book". The guest book was missing. There were no airplanes to be seen this day. However, online I read that up to 75 planes may visit on a sunny, summer day.


I continued a bit further south to the Copalis River. This marks the boundary of Griffiths-Priday State Park, which I had visited the previous August and enjoyed wading in the river. This walk answered the question I had in my mind of whether there was another access point back to the road in this area. There is not, the river cuts off the last possibility.


So it was a two mile slog back to the car into the wind, which had now picked up and turned chilly. Did I mention that I was barefoot? I didn't want to ruin my shoes in crossing the stream. My feet felt like icy bricks at times, but it wasn't so bad as long as I kept moving. The sun was setting at this time and I snapped several more pictures of the rock, sky, ocean, and setting sun.


See more pictures at:
http://www.BobsPacificBeachHouse.com/pictures.html
(Vacation rental beach house built in 2007: great ocean view, short walk to beach, 3 king beds)

A January Weekend at the Beach

Last weekend I took four-year-old James and his cousin out to the beach house. We experienced all sorts of weather: snow, hail, rain, and sun. You hardly ever see an all rainy day at the beach. The weather sweeps through quickly and something new is just over the horizon.

We had a very pleasant, kid-focused day on Sunday. First, we met Grandmother and Granddad at the Shilo Inn's restaurant for a breakfast buffet. The restaurant has a great view of the beach, and - this being January - we got our pick of the best tables. The grandparents had driven out from Lacey - just an hour away.

Then we all drove down together to the Ocean Shores North Jetty - this is at the southern end of the Ocean Shores peninsula and bounds the north side of the entrance to the harbor. Behind the jetty is a wide, sandy beach. The sun came out just then for the next couple hours - it almost felt warm. Raquel played in the surf, running from the waves and ruining her canvas shoes. James preferred to dig in the sand bank at the back of the beach. The beach also has a sand dune the kids liked to climb. Its slight elevation also improves the view.

Next stop was the YMCA in Hoquiam for its indoor waterpark. There was a nice spot for the grandparents to sit and watch. The rest of us dove into the water attractions. We went first to the waterslide. James is an old hand at going down that alone. I almost had Raquel convinced to go on the slide - she has never learned to swim, but she backed out in the end. Raquel and James mostly played in the water-jet powered circular river and under the buckets that dump water on your head. James was tall enough on this visit to play in the river on his own.

I should mention the Humdinger. It's a 30 year old hamburger joint in Hoquiam on highway 101. The kids made me stop there each time we passed - they have wonderful, thick milkshakes or "polars" - what Dairy Queen calls "blizzards".

Excursion to Kalaloch and Ruby Beach

Last Sunday we drove up to the Kalaloch Lodge and Ruby Beach. It's an hour and a half drive from our house. Google Maps makes you think you can drive straight through the Quinault reservation to that area, but it's not true. Either there is no road or the road is not open to non-tribal members. The shortest route from our house is to head north on 1st Street, north on Highway 109 through Moclips, and then turn right on the Moclips Highway. The Moclips Highway runs through the reservation and is almost deserted. You pass a few houses at its entrance, there's a fish hatchery, and that's it. You don't see any other sign of habitation. After 20 miles you reach Highway 101 - turn left in the direction of Forks and it will take you all the way to Kalaloch.

You are mostly in beautiful forest throughout this entire drive. Sections of the forest are very tall and grand where the National Park has protected it from logging. There's a memorable section leading into Lake Quinault where it looks like you are driving through a green canyon. I think the trees must be 200 feet tall on either side of you. On the other hand, the clearcuts give you a view of the wider area. At the east end of Lake Quinault there's a stunning view of the lake and the snowcapped mountains behind. In 10 years that view will be gone as the trees grow up. Near the entrance to Queets campground there's another clearcut that affords a wide view of the Olympic range.

After Queets the highway runs for 12 miles along the shore. This is one of the special places on the Earth. You drive through a windswept forest with frequent peaks of the ocean and beach. There are many offshore island and rocks, including Destruction Island with a lighthouse on it.

The Kalaloch Lodge sits on a very lovely site. It is perched on the edge of a cliff, overlooking a sweeping creek that has cut a canyon through to the ocean. Beyond the creek you see the beach and ocean. We were here in January. Most of the cliffside cabins were vacant and the restaurant was almost empty. We enjoyed a table next to one of the view windows - the best view from any restaurant you're like to see.

Nine years ago when our twins were four years old, we stayed in the cabins and played on the beach in August. At low tide the beach had lots of warm, shallow pools to play in. It was a perfect, safe environment for kids.

Seven miles north of the lodge is the fabulous Ruby Beach - pictured above. It has lots of interesting features: a creek, logs piled on the beach (including some very pretty red cedar logs), the windswept forest, seastack rocks offshore, lots of big rocks scattered in the surf, large flat polished rocks for skipping, and some sandy areas to play in.

See more pictures at:
http://www.BobsPacificBeachHouse.com/pictures.html
(Vacation rental beach house built in 2007: great ocean view, short walk to beach, 3 king beds)