I think it was my cousin, Drew, who said that fall comes quickly to
WA, in fact very soon after the Equinox. Well it is raining and has been going
on 3 days now. We had a choice leaving La Push to either head back the way we
came putting us in the “rain shadow” near Pt. Townsend and Seguim but we
decided to continue the loop south around the Olympic National Park into the
rain forest area. What did we expect!
We got a great campsite in the Kalalock
Campground right on a bluff with a direct view out to the Pacific. This also
meant a direct hit from 50+ knots of wind and rain for the two days we were
there. Please don’t feel bad for us though. We were surrounded by the NW Dutch
Oven Society’s annual gathering. We were invited to the most amazing meal with
pots full of chicken, spaghetti, stew with biscuits, vegetable dishes, peach cobbler,
angel food upside down cake with pineapple and if that doesn’t sound like
enough, the morning brought McMuffins, a sausage/egg dish and blueberry crepes
cooked on the lid of the pot. These folks were great inviting us into their
lives and passing their knowledge on. So many thanks! There will be a new pot
in my future!
When we were in La Push, I noticed 4 dead Common Murres and
one that was dying. Once we got to Kalaloch, we were able to get one beach walk
in before the rain and saw several more. I mentioned this to the ranger and
although she wasn’t aware of anything happening said that when two different
types of algae bloom together they create a soapy foam that washes the oils off
the birds. The birds get cold, swim to shore where there’s no food and die. I
told her I saw some foam that had fluorescent blue-green bubbles so she is
going to check it out but fears it is happening again. Sad!
Photos
