Category: Parks

Innocent clouds

We spent the last day of summer at Ocean City State Park. The sky became a welcoming blue with gorgeous banks of clouds in the distance.

Not long after dark the clouds decided they’d played nice long enough. It began to rain. With few breaks it rained all night. And all the next day. We decided to pass on exploring our third intended five star campground and head for the warm, dry roof at home. And our very own hot shower. Compared to tent camping our little new-to-us trailer is a four star resort. Compared to our trailer our home is nirvana. And there’s nothing like a few days away to make the comparison ever more vivid.

Between land and ocean

Between the campground and the ocean at Ocean City State Park the trail follows the edge of a beautiful marsh. I can’t remember if marsh plants go through seasonal color changes but this sure looks like an autumn scene to me. This was taken on the last day of summer.

Here’s a backward glance at the Pacific Ocean late in the afternoon.

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Weekly Top Shot #102

The forest in a mirror

The entrance road into Ocean City State Park splits a jewel of a lagoon. Last Saturday morning it was mirror smooth, one of those “stop the car!” moments where the world in microcosm shimmered on top of the water.

In some parts of Washington the vegetation is so lush it’s impenetrable and can be a little claustrophobic. But the same conditions that promote that kind of growth can also yield the kind of lichen shown here that seems to brighten things up and almost create a fairy world.

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A day at the beach

After we left Kalaloch Campground at Olympic National Park last week we headed south. Like Kalaloch, Ocean City State Park in southern Washington had the highest rating in our Camping Washington guide. And, since they were recommended, we’d even made reservations and selected a large site surrounded with lush trees and shrubs. The beach was a 5-10 minute walk.

We arrived in the pouring rain and aside from the variety of “downpour” versus “lighter showers,” it stayed wet. We hadn’t really needed reservations. But the following day dawned dry and improved until it was actually sunny. And the local population came out and enjoyed the beach with us.

There is a highway in Ocean City that literally terminates at the beach. Throughout the entire afternoon we were there, a steady stream of cars and trucks drove up and down the beach near the waves. Most drove sensibly. A few, like this one, were in pretend car commercials. One drove in a donut, spraying sand everywhere. This was when we decided to lie further back, in the dunes.

I’m not used to sharing beaches with traffic. In addition to horses and cars, we also saw mopeds and bicycles. Is the old fashioned beach walk becoming a thing of the past?

On the road again

We planned a trip on admittedly short notice. While still on the injured list, the vet reduced our dog’s “no walks!” orders, allowing us to take off camping in our last open window of time anywhere close to summer. And the day we planned the trip was sunny, warm, and flawless. A trip along Washington’s Pacific Coast? Perfect!

This was sunset on our first night out, at Kalaloch Campground in Olympic National Park, about three hours drive west and south of Sequim. Kalaloch (pronounced CLAY-lock) is one of the few dog-friendly units in Olympic Park, meaning our pooch could legally walk with us to the beach, down a short trail from the campground. It’s a beautiful, seemingly endless expanse of sand punctuated with driftwood logs. At night campers drift off to sleep with the sound of waves dashed endlessly on shore. Sweet!

The lighthouse?

The maps of Fort Flagler State Park showed a little icon of a lighthouse and I was pleased to discover that a beach road would take us fairly close. The New Dungeness Light Station in Sequim, after all, is a 5 mile beach walk each way.

The area around the light station is fenced, but a walk on the beach comes close to it. That’s it, on the larger building to the left. I think the smaller building, to the right, is where it used to be in a larger incarnation. I can’t say it fits that dreamy, somewhat romantic lighthouse image. But I guess it does the job.