The Perfect End to a Perfect Day

You have no idea how rare it is to get this kind of clear weather on the Washington coast at any time of year, much less in March. What a treat!





Boats in the distance.








I'll be back.

Ruby Beach

This is a place where I will return. Ruby Beach is amazing. I felt all the stress melt away as I meandered along the shoreline, hunting for pretty stones and breathing in the sweet sea air, ever mindful of the boiling ocean. I miss being near the coast. It's hard for someone raised within 2 miles of the water to live this far inland. Next time I go, I will make sure to pack a towel so that I can wade across the stream that cuts the beach in half. It was only about calf-deep at it's deepest, but I wasn't willing to soak my hiking boots and jeans. I could have taken off my boots and socks, but in the end I decided not to. Not because the water was cold b/c that doesn't bother me, but w/o a towel, I'd never get the sand off my feet and it would be uncomfortable back inside the boots. Next time I will be more prepared, now that I know what the beach is like. There are far less beach logs than at Kalaloch, but more sea stacks. It's called Ruby Beach because there are ground up bits of garnet in the sand. I couldn't really tell in the strong afternoon light, but it does seem to glow red in sunset pics I've seen. The trail to the beach is much easier than Kalaloch too.

I found a perfect nature-made log bench on the beach where I sat for quite awhile, watching the waves. That was the most relaxed I've been in ages and ages. Probably since I went to Victoria in 2007. The breeze was delicious. After a bit, I was getting too hot in the sun, so I walked back to the stream and followed it back a few yards to the shade, and hung out on a beach log there for awhile, staring into the woods. I saw something large and dark in a clearing, and was hoping it was Sasquatch, but a closer look w/ my zoom lens revealed a tree trunk. Oh well.

After I left, I stopped at a great scenic view turn out on the road to shoot some more pics of the coast, and then I stopped at Beach 4 and went to the overlook for more photo ops. I thought about hiking down but it was getting late and I was thirsty and out of Gatorade! Gives me a reason to go back.

Totally Worth It

Full tank of Gas....$30.00

Breakfast at the Rusty Tractor.....$10.00
One night at Kalaloch Lodge....$160
Spending a beautiful day beachcombing on the Washington Coast.....Priceless.
More pics to follow.....

So, How's the Weather?

Well it's clear enough here to see the ever-elusive, snow capped, craggy peaks of the Olympic Mountains to the west! (click to make bigger)

These pics were taken from the side of Highway 410 in Bonney Lake, from the Arco gas station parking lot. The Olympics are pretty far away from where I live, and usually obscured by clouds, haze or bad air. I also must point out the water tower, on the bottom right of this photo. This tower went up a few years ago and it was a blight on the landscape. It was built on the line between Bonney Lake and Sumner, and both cities were pointing fingers at each other for it. A compromise was reached when they decided to paint it a very pale shade of blue, with dark and light green evergreen trees, to try and blend it into the sky and trees as you reach that part of the highway.

Stupid power line ruining my shot of Mt. Olympus.

I drove up into a neighborhood with really nice homes, and managed to find one spot between 2 homes where I could get a shot of this part of the range. Tacoma is on the left, about 3/4 of the way down. Tacoma's about 18 miles west of where I live. I will be on the extreme western edge of the Olympics, where they finally fade into the sea, when I go to Kalaloch next month.

Gotta, Gotta, Get Away!

"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dream. Wandering by lone sea breakers, and sitting by desolate streams. World losers and world forsakers, for whom the pale moon gleams. Yet we are movers and the shakers of the world forever it seems." Arthur O'Shaunessy

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I have been jonesing to go to the coast for quite some time now. It's hard for me to be so far inland, having grown up just a couple of miles from Cape Cod Bay. I remember being able to hear the crashing surf all the way at my parents house, after Nor'easters or blizzards. The Atlantic Ocean was just a short drive east, as was Nantucket Sound.

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Even when we lived in California we weren't that far from the water. I've always said that I could never live in a land-locked state. One of my only reservations about moving to Washington was when I saw how far away from the coast we would be living. I resisted moving here at first, but then finally caved when Brian dangled the "But-we'll-be-so-close-to-Canada" carrot in front of me.

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Bonney Lake isn't far from Puget Sound, but it's not the same as being near the ocean. There are not that many decent beaches on the Sound, and I've been woefully disappointed in the few that I have visited. We don't have the money to take any extended weekend trips to Long Beach (SE Washington) or Cannon Beach/Seaside (Oregon).

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I haven't been anywhere in well over a year; coming up on two years this spring. Not being able to travel is killing me. Not being able to beachcomb is killing me even more.

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Since I desperately need to get away, by myself, but don't have much money, I'm going to do a marathon drive for an overnighter to Kalaloch Lodge, on the Washington Coast. Kalaloch is pronounced "Claylock". It's spendy, because it's one of only 2 places to stay on that part of the Olympic Peninsula; the other being Lake Quinault Lodge. It's about a 4 hour trip out there from my house. My plan is to leave at the crack o'dawn on Friday, March 19. That should put me on the coast by mid to late morning. I plan to spend the day hanging out, beachcombing and will probably go check out the teeny, tiny town of Queets. Check-in time isn't till 4 pm so I'll have a lot of time to kill!

Here's a picture of the Lodge that I found on line. I'm staying in their cheapest room, meaning, no ocean view, no TV, nothing. Which is fine w/ me because all I need when I travel is a bed and bathroom.
"Blue, green, grey, white, or black; smooth, ruffled, or mountainous; that ocean is not silent." H. P. Lovecraft
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This is the beach at Kalaloch. I'm so incredibly anally retentive that I actually looked up the tide tables for the month of March, in order to ensure that I would be there for low tide.

Saturday, March 20, is going to be my marathon day. My actual goal of this trip is to see & beachcomb at Ruby Beach, which is another 10 or more miles north of Kalaloch. If you go back and look at the map above, Ruby Beach is located where the Highway bends back inland, north of the red arrow which marks Kalaloch.

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Low tide that morning is at 10:30, so after I spend some time at Ruby Beach, I will start the unbelievably long haul back to Bonney Lake. I figure I'll get home around 4:00 pm, if I'm lucky.



Isn't it beautiful and mystical? Back in 2002, we drove past it on our way to see another very cool beach that's much farther north, but we didn't stop here. The beaches are littered with many logs that wash up during storms. You have to be really mindful of the surf because you never know when another log is going to be tossed on shore.

We're in an El Nino weather pattern this winter, which means it's been warmer and drier than normal years. Going to the coast in March can be a real crap shoot. But weather be damned. I don't care if it's howling and and the surf is crashing. I have got to get away. Storm watching is a big past time here in Washington, and I'm not going to let a little wind and rain deter me from my photography and beachcombing.....as long as I don't get my leg or foot pinned in the log jam, I should be fine on my own.
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"But more wonderful than the lore of old men and the lore of books is the secret lore of ocean." H. P. Lovecraft

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I cannot wait.