scenic beach is indeed scenic but couldn't they come up with a better name?

Hello everyone!I had a great weekend camping with Gina up in Washington. We left Friday before noon and headed straight up I-5. Somewhere after Olympia traffic came to a grinding halt and we advanced 7 miles in an hour. Ughhhh! There had been an accident with a semi that had taken out at least 100 feet of guardrail. We got off I-5 and crossed the Tacoma Narrows Bridge onto the Kitsap Peninsula. We had a site reserved at Scenic Beach State Park which is right on Hood Canal looking across to the Olympic Peninsula and the Olympic Mountains. Hood Canal is at the southern end of Puget Sound so it is salt water and subject to tides and some serious currents. We pulled up to our site and were pleased to find that it was so private. Rhododendrons and other bushes grew thick beneath the trees provided a great screen between us and other campers. Yeah!

We set up our tent and unloaded our other gear before walking down to the waterfront. It was a rocky beach with a billion zillion oysters on it. Unfortunately oyster season was closed otherwise we could have had some very fresh oysters! It was sunny and warm and the view across the water was stupendous. The Olympic Mountains were blue silhouettes rising through thin ribbons of white clouds. We walked down the beach to the park boundary then walked back up through the campground. We drove a mile or so down the road to buy some wood since they didn’t sell any in the park. The guy selling wood was fantastic. He had kindling in milk cartons and popcorn tubs and other boxes of wood labeled “small bits and pieces”& “large bits and pieces” for cheap. We bought some kindling, bits and pieces (heehee) and a box of logs (16 pieces for $5). As we were leaving he told us about a short hike to a nearby cove on the water. He told us the beach was bigger there and it was a good place to explore. We thanked him for the tips and drove off to our campsite.

At our site we read our books for a while and Gina took a nap in the tent before walking down to the beach to watch the sunset. The sunrays across the mountains was really spectacular and the light on the water was ever-changing. We talked to some Navy boys on the beach who asked, “Are you college girls?” to which I burst into laughter and responded, “I graduated from college 9 years ago.” Hee hee. After the sun was down we walked back up to our site where I started making dinner and Gina started a fire. We cooked some of our food over the fire: corn on the cob & potatoes. We also decided to try out some dehydrated food as we prepare for our backpacking trip (next weekend!). The beef stew in a pouch was very tasty and we were pleased to learn that dehydrated food is not such a bad choice when weight is a main consideration. We talked around the campfire before sleepiness took over and we crawled into the tent.

Saturday morning I read my book and ate blueberries and drank my coffee as the birds made strange sounds high in the trees. Gina got up and I made breakfast for us (eggs and potatoes) and we packed lunches for the day. We drove a few miles up the road and parked at a trailhead for Guillemot Cove, where we hiked in just under a mile to the beach. This was the walk that the wood guy had told us about. On the hike in I slipped on a rock (this part of the trail was actually a gravel road) and stumbled down to the ground. Ouch! My new short pants were ripped and my knee was bleeding and my camera (always what I’m trying to protect) took a blow on the rocks. I was far more worried about the camera than my bloody knee which was sore and stinging but otherwise fine. Amazingly the camera still works but it’s definitely looking a bit beat up.

The tide was out when we arrived so we walked across huge mud flats before getting to rockier areas we could walk on more easily. There were more oysters here than I’ve ever seen in my whole life combined. This area is a nature preserve so no harvesting is allowed. There were also a zillion little crabs on the beach. I’m sure I crushed hundreds of them as we walked across the beach (sorry!). Gina and I found one small sandy spot where I put a towel down and we had some snacks and watched birds fishing in Hood Canal. Mt Olympus was snowy against the blue sky and tall herons walked along the water’s edge. We walked along the beach for awhile, collecting smooth rocks and shells before hiking back up to our car. We drove back to our campsite where we drank cold beers and read our books. Gina went into the tent to take a nap while I kept moving my camp chair into the shade as the blazing sun was way too hot. Later in the afternoon we blew up the raft and took it down to the water. The tide was in and the water was smooth and glassy. It was so fantastic to be out on the water, bobbing around looking at the Olympic Mountains in the not too far distance. It began drizzling which was fine with us until it turned into pelting rain. We rowed to shore and began walking the raft back up to our site; halfway there the rain stopped and the sun came out. The weather is so fickle in this area!

Back at the site we read more and then walked back down to the water in the evening to watch the sun set over the Olympics again. We walked down the length of the beach collecting rocks and beachglass (only one frosty piece, the rest was just glass which I threw back out into the water to soften those sharp edges with time). We saw a seal poke his head out of the water with Mt Olympus right behind him. It was definitely the first time I’ve seen a seal and a snowy mountain together. I doubt anything goes hungry in these waters as the sea life (the oysters alone!) is so abundant. We learned that the largest octopuses (octopi?) in the world live in these waters but we weren’t lucky enough to ever see one. We walked back up to our site and Gina started a fire and I started cooking dinner (spaghetti!). Dinner was very satisfying and we spent the evening talking around the fire.

Sunday morning we read and relaxed around our site for awhile before packing things up. We took the raft down again to the beach. The tide was out and the current was really ripping so we walked as far south down the beach as we could knowing we couldn’t row very effectively against the current. We drifted up along the shore, not wanting to venture out too far given the conditions. We both have a healthy respect for strong currents, the tide and large bodies of water that flow to the ocean. Gina pulled a starfish up from the sandy bottom and soon after we went to shore. We deflated the raft (a hilarious sight I’m sure) in the parking lot and then headed back to Portland. There were no traffic problems this time and we were home in about 3 hours. I went home and showered and unpacked before driving out to Pier Park. I met up with Elaine, Kyle and Gina. Elaine and Kyle had both played in the Rose City Open, a disc golf tournament. The pro and advanced groups were finishing their last rounds. We watched Dave Feldberg, the best disc golfer in the world, play a few holes then we walked over to see Aaron (a golfer who I’d been on a date with the previous week) play a few holes. After the tournament (Feldberg won by 9 strokes!) we hung out and watched people throwing for distance. At the end there was also a huge putting circle. Everyone putts at once and whoever gets it in gets to putt it in. The last person to make it in wins the prize. It was fun but I was beat after the long weekend so I went home where I read my book and went to bed.

So that was my weekend. Please let me know how you are and what you’ve been up to!

xoxo,
carolyn