6 Field Notes: Trip 5 North from Tillamook to Grays Harbor
Years ago before my children and I began a road trip across the United States, we stopped at a
friend’s who snapped this photo. In it, each of us represents a
different aspect of our family that shaped travel in unanticipated
ways. The little bit of my daughter’s face that you can see is in
such a deep frown, that her eyebrows have melded into one unit.
My son looks unsure and a little skeptical. I kept saying, “This
will be so much fun.”
Those characteristics, my son’s
caution, my daughter’s raw
emotion whether it by the wideopen laughter we usually caught
on film or this more worried
face, and my “can do” optimism could annoy the heck out of
each of us, and not just on trips. The worst thing, for
example, to say to an unhappy daughter is “This is going to be
the best thing you’ve done.” For me to hear from Dylan that
he worried about the plans I made because “..it isn’t easy
raising a single mom, and you usually forget something,”
didn’t exactly boost my confidence. Happiness, suspicion and
raw emotion can be the things that grate to the point where
everyone wants to flee the small confines of a car not to
mention each other!
But oh how I missed them on this trip remembering past
journeys. They are the ones who taught me to stop
everywhere, to try everything and that love was made up of so
much more than good behavior – mine or theirs. On this trip,
I raised my glass every night to them, to busting assumptions
and to enjoying what the day brought. If the day fell apart, I
toasted anyway, knowing that another morning would follow
a good night’s sleep.
Scratch a fingernail on a map of the coast of Oregon, and
you’ll find a pentimento of me from youth to senior status,
living and working in many of the small towns along the
coast. Finding places I’ve never been was a serious challenge.
I look at this map and can bring any of the roads clearly into
view. Highway 53? Curvy - carry a bucket for the carsick children. Hwy 6, scenic - always a
preferred route to Portland along the Wilson River. Hwy 18? Icy near Otis when no other roads
are - check road reports.
In the 50’s and 60’s when I called on drugstores with my salesman dad, we hit small towns along
the Washington coast as well. Aberdeen, check, Ilwaco, check…
Still, this trip challenged any assumption I had that I “knew” this area. Like
any revision, there is always something to uncover if you spend enough time
looking. While it may be more difficult to find the unfamiliar in familiar
places, this trip allowed me to see what I think I know through a new lens. I
took more detours and spontaneous routes on this trip than any other. I also hit
the goal of 65 places, but more on that later.
The side roads are often the best parts of a trip – taking the roads-not-planned.
I learned this every time I traveled with my children when they were small. A wrong turn or a
campground we hadn’t planned on visiting sent them exploring in the way of a new adventure,
instead of the “Oh no, we’re lost.” They had this sense of always being where they wanted to be,
at least during travel. When I flagged, it was my children who reminded me that “This is going
to be so much fun.” They gave me hope. And hope, Emily Dickinson tells us “…never stops – at
all..”
“Hope is the thing with feathers – (314)
- Emily Dickinson
“Hope” is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul And sings the tune without the words And never stops - at all And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard And sore must be the storm That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm I’ve heard it in the chillest land And on the strangest Sea Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.
Between Warrenton and Astoria I detoured to two places I’ve been curious about for the 40 years
I’ve headed periodically north to Astoria, Cullaby Lake and Carnahan
County Park. No overnight camping in either park, but a boat launch and
nice picnic areas for a day on the water.
http://www.co.clatsop.or.us/parks/page/carnahan-county-park
Mostly staying ahead of dense fog and rain, I headed north to Ilwaco,
WA. This area is a birder’s paradise. (Best times are during spring and
fall migrations) I decided to go both to Leadbetter Point and Cape
Disappointment which are in opposite directions on the Long Beach
Peninsula. From Ilwaco, I followed SR 100, a 4.68-mile-long state road
that runs through Cape Disappointment State Park. The drive loops
around green forest trails and campgrounds and unparalleled views. At
nearly 2000 acres, there is plenty of room to find solitude and/or
company.
http://www.parks.wa.gov/486/Cape-Disappointment
Here is an Audubon bird guide for the southwest area of Washington that includes the park (as
well as Bush Pioneer County Park in Bay Center):
http://wa.audubon.org/sites/default/files/documents/southwest_booklet_8_7_2012_1.pdf
A good project would be to get to every spot on this map. It’s in my “to do” file!
Back in Ilwaco, I head north this time along the Long
Beach Peninsula to Leadbetter State Park. By this time, I
was hungry. Crazy I know, but opening a box of soup and
eating it cold was not appealing. Instead I stop at Bailey’s
Bakery and Café in Nahcotta. In a review from Best Places
NW, the reviewer describes owner Jayne Bailey’s breakfast
baked goods as “well worth the journey you’ll make to her
cheery roadside café at the northernmost end of the Long
Beach Peninsula.” I went right to the savory for lunch homemade broccoli and cheese soup. The difference
between the boxed soup and my lunch? Well, just
imagine.
Leadbetter State Park is the “real” northernmost attraction. Managed by US Fish and Wildlife,
Leadbetter is a wildlife preserve where sand dunes shift, recede and grow. On the way to the
park, I visited the Martha Jordan Birding Trail, named for the longtime activist whose
conservation work mapped the way for tundra swans to return to their historic habitat on the
peninsula in 2003.
There are 3 species of swans in Oregon, tundra,
trumpeter and mute. Here are trumpeter and
tundras swimming at a wildlife refuge near Summer
Lake Oregon.
http://www.trumpeterswansociety.org/swanidentification.html
The sky cleared to a brilliant blue as I ate lunch and added “Leadbetter” to the ever-expanding
list of “Places to Return.” Here is a link to one of the hikes taking off from the park:
http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/leadbetter-point-state-park-dune-forest-loop
On State Road 105, Grayland Beach State Park is a much-loved camping area near Westport,
Washington. The camp was full in mid-May.
(clamming season) Typically, the state parks don’t
give the hiker/biker campsites to campers with cars.
But, a friendly park ranger put me into a walk-in site
where I built bonfires after sunset walks on the beach.
On my trip home, I
stopped in Raymond
to cycle and visit the
pier. Lots of places to
picnic, rest, or just “be” by the Willapa River.
http://www.mapmyride.com/us/raymond-wa/
http://www.cityofraymond.com/Parks.htm
On this trip, I followed any sign to any river or creek or campground
that was unfamiliar. I enjoyed scenic roads, crossed the Naselle River
and ended up stopping for a short hike at the offices of the
Willapa Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
Spawning creek salmon disappeared years ago at the refuge
creek. Metal-sculpted salmon were installed on trees in the
surrounding woods making it seem as if the fish swim through
air. The park is peaceful. Still I’m gripped by the sadness that
comes from acknowledging, repeatedly, the diminished
populations of salmon. I always will be.
Along the trail, prolific bird song is a background to a set
of sculpted feathers and quotes.
In addition to remembering my children, this trip was also marked with memories of travel with
my late-husband in the early years of our relationship and even with my father nearly sixty years
ago. Turning off to brand-new places, locations whose signs I’d passed many, many times, lifted
the weight of an inevitable melancholy, making it bearable. “Hope is the thing….”
Nowhere was this feeling of discovery as strong as the swerve I took off of Highway 101 about
th
40 miles north of Astoria to my 65 new place – Bay Center, Washington! The fog and
wet trailed me all during this trip, but this day the wind kicked in as well. The two-mile dike
road into town is narrow and at times nearly level with the bay. It was one of those drives that
both exhilarate and terrify. I took advantage of the 2 pullouts enroute, surprised and pleased to
see Inukshuks at both sites. “You are on the right path,” is the message
behind these sculptures. Read more about inukshuks at:
http://melissamadenski.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2-Field-NotesSouthern-Oregon-Coast.pdf
In a 2010 census there were 148 males and 128 females in Bay Center,
many employed in the seafood industries. Follow this link to a profile of
Bay Center for detailed historical and census information.
http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/research/divisions/cb/ecosystem/humandim/communityprofiles/Was
hington/BayCenter_WA.pdf
Bush County Pioneer park allows campers spring through fall but advises travelers to call first to
see if inclement weather has closed the park:
http://www.freeguidetonwcamping.com/Oregon_Washington_Main/Washington/Southwest_WA
/Bush_Pioneer_County_Park.htm
The park is one of those beautiful surprises found by navigating curving side roads on a blustery
day.
When I drove back onto my own gravel road, everything in my car was damp – me, my
equipment, my tent and sleeping bag. My clothesline has never had a heavier load! While this
trip may have been the least comfortable and the wettest, I learned about the importance of reseeing, of pulling apart assumptions, of being humbled about what I think I know and how much
there is to discover and learn even within the small square of territory we call home.