Just East of Eden : SUNDAY~FUNDAY #22/Olympic Peninsula Loop Drive

Monday, May 31, 2021

SUNDAY~FUNDAY #22/Olympic Peninsula Loop Drive

Sunday morning, I woke up thinking I’d like to make the Olympic Peninsula Loop Drive: so, I did 😊

Olympic Loop Drive; mini version in mind – I planned to drive a shorter ‘solo lobo’ route than Bob and I normally enjoyed. I made the revisions on purpose: I wanted no tears to fall today.

Bob and I had made this loop drive several times since we first did it in 1988, with Alex and Stacey.

This solo lobo trip, I would be shaving Neah Bay & Sequim off: I did not want to dissolve into ‘memory tears’ at any point along the route.

We did the Loop several times with Alyna …. All the way to the tip of Neah Bay to visit the Makah Museum when we drove that way – and for the last time together with our little grandson Azariah, in June of 2108; before all of our lives were forever changed by Heron Pointe morons, in August 2018.

Punching GPS recognized destination points into the GPS, and leaving Heron Pointe behind to eat my dust; I saw the paddle wheeler cruising slowly up the Columbia, around Oak Point – and as usual, when it comes this way, there is no where to pull over and snag a picture of it. At least, not when I happen to be driving that stretch of highway.

It really is quite an eye-catcher when it slowly makes it way up river.

American Empress Paddle-wheeler: (https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/travel/cruises/2014/04/03/riverboat-tours-american-queen-steamboat-companys-american-empress/7254425/)

I had 3/4^th’s tank of gas, and I held off topping the tank until I reached Cosmopolis.

Forks, WA from Heron Pointe; via WA-4 W & US-101 N - 4 hr.17 min.

Left Aberdeen & Hoquiam ... the rest of the road will be new to me, solo lobo.

There wasn’t much to see driving through Hoquiam, Axford, or Humptulips – this stretch of the road is pretty much just cutting through forest, with marshy places both sides of the highway.

It was peaceful, though: traffic was sparce 😊

I tired not to think about the congestion of Port Angeles, when I reached that mile marker – I determined not to overthink what lay ahead; I brought my thoughts to heel, and shifted into ‘this is your day: own it’ frame of mind.

A peaceful, easy feeling; Port Angeles may be a little heartburn. LOL

At Neilton, I was entering inland Quinault Reservation Land (Reservation Land begins at Moclips, along the coastal route; Bob & I went clam digging there). From Neilton to Forks, little communities with gas stations and casinos, dotted the landscape.

But traffic was still light.

And I still had plenty of gas.

But I sopped in Quinault to wash the bug guts off the windshield.

Quinault is open-graze land, so I kept my eyes peeled for wandering animals. I never did see any.

At Kalaloch – in the rain forest region of the Olympic National Park (there was no rainfall; not even a misting), I nipped in at the Ranger Station, to stretch my legs and ask about the Hoh Rain Forest. It had been decades since I visited the rainforest, and since I was up that way, I thought I’d go through it again.

It was a ‘no-go’.

The Hoh Rainforest: (https://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/visiting-the-hoh.htm)

Kalaloch Ranger Station in the Olympic National Park.

The Hoh Rainforest was a 'no-go' this trip.

A little further up 101, is Ruby Beach.

My youngest sister, Carla, talks about Ruby Beach all the time: and she goes there a lot.

So, I thought I’d check it out while I was in that neck of the woods.

I don’t think I will be visiting it: ever.

The parking lot is a little tiny ‘pocket’ parking lot … and the beach access is straight down cliffsides and a steep mile hike to reach the beach: NO. No, no, no.

I did a straight-down-the cliff hike to the Graysriver Falls (up Fossil Creek, in Graysriver) one year with Bob; Alyna was with us (she was about 9 years old, then). I was 17 years younger than I am today – and that hike was very difficult to get back up; with my weak lungs, I wasn’t sure I would make it back to the car. And Bob, Alyna, and my wolf Precious, were struggling uphill, too.

2005; Fossil Creek Graysriver Falls – Bean & Precious.

I feel no need to repeat that harrowing experience, at 64; at Ruby Beach – I am quite content to view the ocean from my lofty 101 pullover viewpoint 😉

Ruby Beach, in the Olympic National Park.

Just a bit up the road, I nipped into the Hoh Oxbow Campground for a quick pit stop, and my eyes were regaled with the beautiful hued color of the Hoh River.

I was never here with Bob – this is a new experience.

Beautiful emerald-hued water of the Hoh River; Hoh Oxbow Campground.

The sparkling emerald colored water reminded me of the waters in Skagit Valley, just out of Seattle; that Bob and I enjoyed on our way to the colorful Bavarian town of Leavenworth, WA in the Cascade Range.

Forks is a small-town-city … kinda like Chehalis.

I was really enjoying myself 😊

101 was easy to drive, and the “cities” so far, were easy to navigate 😉

US Highway 101: (https://wsdot.wa.gov/environment/protecting/history-archaeology-culture/historic-highway-us-101)

The weather … except for the brief drizzle leaving Hoquiam … was a perfect ‘summer kickoff day’: not too warm, not too chilly – just right.

Since I pulled out of the carport, back home, I have been anticipating Supper at the Hungry Bear Café.

MAP Hungry Bear Cafe in Sappho, WA from Forks, WA; via US-101 N - 16 mins.

I like it here.

Bob and I, with Alex and Stacey, had stopped here in 1988 on our first loop trip … and then Bob and I, with both Alyna and Azariah, too, in the following decades: the food is good, the ambiance is comfy, and the staff is friendly. It’s an enjoyable stop along the route.

At this point, GPS gutted out; so, I had to rely on the smart phone’s google maps app. It did fine – for a while.

I do have paper maps; and I do know how to read them, but paper maps do not say, “turn left ahead … turn right in about half a mile: these verbal directions are important to know with a road virgin in the driver’s seat 😉

nug Harbor from Hungry Bear Cafe, Sappho; via US-101 E - 35 mins.

Between The Hungry Bear and Snug Harbor, Lake Crescent lies. It is very pretty, and runs quite a distance along the highway.

Crescent Lake.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Crescent)

Nearing Port Angeles, my heart squeezed when I passed a road sign that said ‘Mora and La Push’ with an arrow pointing to the left. I also noticed a road sign stating that the Makah Cultural and Research Center Museum, in Neah Bay, was closed. I like the Museum, and I like to take the grandkids to the Game Farm to see the exotic animals: we always included both, in the trips we made this way.

Makah Museum: (https://makahmuseum.com/about/ozette-archaeological-site/)

Whale skeleton in the Makah Museum.

Giant 'sea stack' sentinels in the waters of La Push.

Olympic Game farm in Sequim: (https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/olympic-game-farm)

Memory of Us with Aza at the Olympic Game Farm.

The last time Bob and I had driven this route (June 5^th, 2018) with our grandson, we were driving home from Neah Bay – and had included La Push in that overnight road trip, because Bob had wanted to see it; and we had never made the time to do it. June of 2018 I suggested we make the time: we did, and I am forever thankful Bob finally got his La Push ‘fix’: Bob stepped off Earth, the middle of December 2018.

I felt the hard heart-squeeze, and the mental memory jab … but thankfully, I did not cry.

When I reached Port Angeles, I was surprised at how easy it was for me to get around!

(((THANK YOU, LORD!)))

The Coffee Box, Port Angeles from Snug Harbor; via US-101 E - 19 min.

Longview actually is more densely populated, and a little larger in area than Port Angeles. I had always thought it to be larger, more difficult to drive than it actually was 😊

I found a gas station and topped the tank there; and washed more bug guts off the windshield … noticing that gas price was steeper here, than elsewhere along the route.

Gas prices pretty high in Port Angeles.

None of the gas stations had public restrooms (that were open), so I had to find restrooms in Campgrounds, or stores – like the Walmart in Shelton.

When I came out of Walmart, a break in the cloud cover had highlighted the mountain peaks in a bright white spotlight, gilding them with the brilliance of a fading sun as it began its night slide over the horizon.

But, by the time traffic had slowed down enough to allow me a descent picture frame … the clouds had closed that brief widow, and twilight was descending: the “oh!” moment had passed ☹

And a chill was arriving with the dusky shadows.

Walmart parking lot in Shelton; peaks of the Olympic Mt Range in the background.

Shelton is also a small-town-city: I was really liking this route!

Port Angeles & Shelton were really easy to navigate.

And I was glad I chose this route to leap into a seriously long Daytrip venture. The Olympic Mountain Range is half as tall as the Cascade Mountain Range; but there is still lingering snow among the peaks.

Everything was going smoothy … I was practically whistling with confidence and accomplishment as I blended in with traffic on SR-108.

WA-108 Bypass Highway. Snafu!

SR108 McCleary Junction off US101: (https://wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2018/02/23/CSS306-SR108-SR8JctMcCleary-US101JctKamilche.pdf)

THEN a serious snafu struck.

Driving along the McCleary State Route 108, and following GPS commands – something went suddenly off-course, and I found myself waaaaay off the trail: I didn’t need GPS to tell me that. I could see that things were not as they should be.

I surprised myself by not engaging in panic mode.

The drive suddenly became a messy quagmire.

Both GPS apps (car and phone) took me waaaaaay afield of where I needed to be.

Snafu in Elma with GPS coordinates. What a mess!

And GPS kept me on a hamster wheel for an interesting half hour.

I had intended to drive home via the 101-108 McCleary junction; and on to Artic via 12 through Montesano … but GPS went wonky somewhere around Elma, and led me a merry chase through Littlerock and Old Highway 99 SW by Tenino, leading me over an overpass … quarter past 9 PM.

GPS reroute over an overpass to Old Highway 99 SW. Frustrated, but not panicked.

I refused to be panicked.

I couldn’t afford to be panicked.

Getting home was all on me now – there was no one else. I had to chill out, tough it out, and get out of the endless rounding reroutes the aimless GPS commands were leading me into, before I ran out of gas in Littlerock.

Where the hell was Littlerock, anyway?

Bob would know.

But Bob is no longer here.

I kept my eyes peeled for a familiar town name that I could aim for.

About quarter to 10 PM, I realized I was in Centralia: (((HAPPY))) to finally be in familiar territory!

The wild GPS goose-chase finally stopped. And another concern was being faced.

But, it was still tricky: I haven’t been comfortable with night driving in years: long before the hospital nightmare. I studiously avoided driving nights, for any reason. And, I hadn’t done any night driving at all (and even at that, it was only about a 10-minute zip), since October 2018 – when I decided to camp in Bob’s hospital rooms 24-7; by then, Bob and I both knew I was sitting death watch. I did not want him to leave Earth alone.

So, last night, was another leap forward: in regards to night driving. Even with antireflective tint on my eyeglasses, the glare from freeway headlights play havoc with night vision.

So, I really, really avoid night time driving.

Maybe I’ll talk to Dr. Tack about that …

I have not done night driving in a very long time.

As always, I stuck to the backroads.

Driving the backroads last night; cocooned in the vehicle with darkness all around, the only light being a dim glow from the dashboard area – and a few feet of headlight in front of the vehicle … tapped memories of the early months of marriage with Bob, when we’d go dancing and drive home over the backroads from Stella – ALL those backroads used to come together at some point for a continuous drive home without touching the blacktop except at Ralph Rodahl’s Store, where we’d exit the Spruce Creek logging road behind Ralph’s Skyline Golf Course; those were fun times. When I close my eyes now, and think of those roads, I can clearly see every tree, fern, and turn of the curve: we were on them so much 😊

Now, those past back roads are gated off, and in some cases … no longer utilized at all.

And the present backroads, blessedly, had very little traffic on them.

At 11:30 PM, I washed bug guts off the windshield and topped the gas tank off one last time, at Gee Cee’s Truck Stop in Toledo – it’s a thing that is ingrained in my brain cells: Bob always made sure our vehicles had a full tank of gas and a clean windshield before he parked it for the night. I make sure I carry on with the ritual.

The 10 hour drive had gone into 13 hours totaled.

All in all, the day was a smashing success; even with the SR-104 snafu.

I’ll definitely be doing this loop drive again 😉

I’m glad I woke up Sunday with the desire to do it … and the determination to do it, ‘no matter what’.

I wouldn’t change a thing.