The Savage Traveler: Out West Adventure: Part 2--Traveling to the Olympic Peninsula

Thu. June 13: It rained more during the night and was drizzling when we got up but it soon stopped and was just dripping. Still, we decided there was no reason to drive to nearby Mount Rainier National Park, if we weren’t going to be able to see anything. Instead we headed up I5 until we exited on US 12, where we stopped at a McDonalds and looked for camping on the Olympic Peninsula. We followed US12, which starts in downtown Detroit, to its end in Aberdeen. Then we got back on US 101, the same coastal scenic drive we had traveled in Oregon and followed it up to Forks, where, after eating lunch at “The In Place”, we found a camping spot at the Forks Hwy. 101 RV Park. It’s right in town but is surprisingly quiet and from here we can do the east side of the Olympic Peninsula. After setting up we got back in the truck and drove to Mora Rialto Beach to walk along the rocky shore amidst the giant logs of driftwood while waves crashed. We decided the wild Pacific shoreline would be a good place for an impromptu dinner so drove back to a resort/restaurant/campground/store where we bought Wheat Thins and a 6-pack of cold Fish Tale Amber Ale from Olympic Brewery. The woman who served us had a “no vampires” shirt on and I asked what the deal was with all the vampire and werewolf references we were seeing. That’s when we learned that the Twilight Series of books and movies were set in this area of Forks and the nearby Quileute/Quillayute Indian village of La Push, and that the wedding in the movie was filmed right at the campground here.

Washington Coast

Beach strewn with giant driftwood

Marv on a tree larger in diameter than he is tall

Cobbled Beach

We drove to La Push, where there has been a Quileute Indian Fishing and Whaling village for thousands of years, and bought local smoked salmon from one of the houses in the village housing area. Then we drove partway up a hill and parked the truck. We took our cooler bag and hiked up, up, up what would be a dune along Lake Michigan, through a lush and primeval forest and then down, down, down, down 156 steps to the shoreline where there was a sandy beach. We sat on a big log and ate our fish and crackers and drank a beer while the quieter waves rolled in to the protected cove and eventually had the whole beach to ourselves. The sky had clouded over so we didn’t stay for sunset. The hike back was a bit easier since we now knew what to expect and at the parking area we read the sign that told us that it was a ¾ mile trail to the beach. As we drove the road back to the RV Park a critter trotted across the road in front of us. We both got a good look at it and can only think that it was a mountain lion that somehow lost most of its tail, giving its hind quarters the look of a bobcat. But it had the snub nose, tawny, sleek coat, and long legs of a mountain lion. Back at the camper we struggled with the shaky internet but got a few things done before bed.