Weather Reports

Sunday, June 16 - We left early so we could get a good parking place close to Powell's Bookstore.  The bookstore is HUGH!  It takes up a whole block and has four floors.  They have new and used books titles.  I got a credit for a couple of books and we each bought two books which showed great restraint on our part.  The "Gay Pride Parade" was getting ready.  We walked around for a little while, but the parade didn't start until later that day. The most interesting were the cross-dressers - they were really decked out. The weirdest dressed were not with the parade, just strange looking people walking around dressed outlandishly.  

Monday, June 17 - Our goal was to get to the Olympic National Park.  It's one we haven't been to yet. The weather forecast called for 60% chance of rain Monday and Tuesday and 80% Wednesday.  Ft. Stevens SP was the place we picked to hole up during the rainy weather.  Thursday's forecast called for sunny skies. We had been to Ft. Stevens before for a LD Get-Together three years ago. This is a very nice park, probably one of Oregon's best.  It has 257 sites.  Ft. Stevens was built in 1864 to defend the US against the Confederates - like that was going to happen!  It was active until after WWII. We went to the beach which has dark grey sand - I like the Gulf Coast beaches a lot better.  During Happy Hour a light rain started.  

Tuesday, June 18 - Since we were waiting for the 60% chance of rain,  we headed to the town of Seaside. Not a very impressive town, but Don did get another pair of croc's.  He bought a pair there three years ago. We then returned to Astoria to find a fish & chips place that was recommended.  It was closed so we chose another place - Captain D's would have been much better. In the afternoon Don went for a long trike ride. When he returned, I went for a ride. Apparently I was gone a long time, because as I was returning he was in the car to find me.  Still waiting for the rain - it's sunny here.

We toured Ft. Clapsop, the terminal point of Lewis and Clark's grand expedition.

Wednesday, June 19 - Since we were waiting for the 80% chance of rain, we decided to do laundry. We went to the Mini-Mart Laundry.  Without a doubt it is the best laundromat we have ever used. An attendant was cleaning washers and dryers after every use, inside and out. And Wednesday was free dry day.  The Mini-Mart serves several kinds of coffees and has a very active lunch business.  It is a booming business. This was the best day - sunny and warm.  We each took another trike ride. Where's the 80% chance of rain.

Olympic National Park

I have debated with myself for years about coming here. It has a low attraction factor for me. You see I lived on the east side of the park in 1965. I rode my dirt bike on the logging roads and tooled around the paved roads in an AH Sprite. What could be so different on the other side of the hill? Well actually not all that much. Washington is OK, but for our money Oregon beats it every day from Sunday.

Thursday, June 20 - This was the day forecast for sunshine.  Can't get an accurate weather report here - it changes hourly!  We were on the road at 7:45 to get to the Olympic National Park. Where is the sunshine???  We drove in the mist from Aberdeen north to Kalaloch. We hoped to camp at Kalaloch, but we didn't have reservations.  Some days you just get lucky.  When we reached the CG, the ranger told us that a few sites were open for one night, but could be reserved the next day and we would have to move. We drove through the CG and only a few sites had an ocean view and all were small. The rest were in a dark forest.  The ranger suggested that we try South Beach because they don't accept reservations.  This is a great place.  We are parked on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  It's gorgeous and only $5 per night with our old-age passport!  We drove to Ruby Beach. It's the one that is photographed to show off this area. When the sun comes out, we will go back. 

Friday, June 21 - The sun came out mid-morning while we were walking through firs and ferns. Because of the 120 inches of rain this side of the mountains gets, trees grow taller and faster here than anywhere else. That said, they seemed no more spectacular than firs and ferns at numerable other places. We beat feet back down the Hoi River to Ruby Beach. It was about time we got sun and scenery. Just goes to show, we like rocks and water more than firs and ferns.

Everyone takes this picture at Ruby Beach

South Beach $5 a night. Even better than Kirk Creek in Big Sur

We have been carrying around fire wood since we left Moab a month back. Finally last night we burned it in a fire pit near the chairs in the picture above. We invited the couples on both sides of us over and we chatted until 11pm. Sunset started about 8:30 and the western sky still had trace of light at 11.

South Beach at sunset

Food

Dorothy has cooked some of the best meals of her life on this trip. We have been eating really good. No weight gain either. We bought the Reader's Digest diet books and are getting into their meals. Tasty. Chicken piccata last night, herb encrusted salmon tonight, shrimp scampi tomorrow and smoked salmon is in the forecast at Neah Bay.

Photoshop

I never found much use for Photoshop. Way to complicated. Layers? I have used a feature in Picasa that enhances scenes by accentuating shadows, Thanks Jim for that tip. My favorite utility for managing pictures, viewing, renaming, moving from folder to folder, etc. went with death of my PC. The Mac is not very friendly for photo management, everything requires multiple steps using impossible key combinations and using different programs. I bought a program that helps, but it's not very fast. It has lots of ways to PhotoShop a picture on a level I can understand. The sunset above has been slightly altered. The red was made more red. Now I can make pictures of things I never saw and I can join 21st century photography. Well to my limits. No purple sunlight. Dorothy read an article about a man that has spent years taking pictures of The Palouse and he admits they are photoshopped. Google 'images:ruby beach' and you will see pictures that have been altered to other world colors. I wonder if such alteration is akin to painting on black velvet? It is beyond air brushing Playmates.

Saturday, June 22 - A lazy day, spent sunning in the sun like lizards while watching the surf. Clouds moved in at sunset and by midnight it was misting.

Sunday, June 23 - We headed north on US101 through Forks to the park service CG at Mora. There is a trail to several offshore rocks that I would like to photograph if the weather clears. Forks is a lumber town, now supplemented by all sorts of tours and items for sale related to the TV show Twilight about vampires. We got lost going back into Forks and would up in the Indian village of La Push. There is a most attractive RV park there so we asked the price. $40! Yippee Ki Yay. Groceries in Forks are priced higher than at Whole Foods.

We heard on NPR that sea levels will rise three feet by 2035. This will mean the displacement of liberals from the coast. Horrors! I wonder when the value of coastal property will start falling?

Monday, June 24 - Rain is in the forecast until Saturday. What to do? The fourth is approaching. We are stuck between rain and a holiday.