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Saturday, January 29, 2011

DAY 16 - OCEAN SHORES - HOQUIAM-ABERDEEN, WASHINGTON

NORTH JETTY POUNDED BY WAVES. This is the only thing keeping massive Pacific Ocean Waves from coming onto Ocean Shore Sand Spit and it hundreds of multi-million dollar homes.


HOMES SUCH AS THIS ONE SITTING ONLY 50 METERS FROM THE OPEN OCEAN AND ABOUT 15 FEET ABOVE MEAN HIGH TIDE


MASSIVE BOULDERS FORMING THE NORTH JETTY



MULTI UNIT CONDO BUILDINGS LINE THE BEACH FOR 5 MILES...THE JETTY DOES NOT REACH THIS FAR NORTH...THESE STRUCTURES ARE ONLY 50 METERS INLAND AND ABOUT 15 FEET ABOVE THE PACIFIC OCEAN BEACHES.




HOMES / CONDOS DIRECTLY BEHIND THE JETTY...KINDA FRIGHTENING TO ME



ONE SAND DUNE SITS BETWEEN THIS STRUCTURE AND THE OPEN PACIFIC OCEAN


EVEN SEAGULLS DON'T FLY IN THIS WEATHER...RAINING LIKE CRAZY


SPIA IS 100 FEET BEHIND THE JETTY...NICE HOMES...BUT ! ! !


THIS IS THE BEACH NOT 300 FEET FROM THE PIC WITH SPIA ABOVE.



BRIDGE ON WA HWY 109 FROM OCEAN SHORES TO HOQUIAM, WASHINGTON


RIVER LOG JAM...


A VERY LARGE TREE ... CUT DOWN...AND LEFT...IT IS AN OLD CUT...PROBABLY A NUMBER OF YEARS THAT TREE HAS LAIN THERE. IT IS ON INDIAN RESERVATION LAND

MANY TOO MANY OF THESE MEMORIALS LINE OUR HIGHWAYS...MOSTLY YOUNG AND MOSTLY GIRLS


A RIVER ESTUARY...NEXT TO LYTLE'S OYSTER ...THAT IS THEIR OYSTER BARGE TIED UP TO THE DOCK



LYTLE OYSTER SHACK...ABOUT 8 MILES NORTH OF HOQUIAM, WASHINGTON ON HWY 109


LYTLE OYSTER SHACK SALES AREA...SUPER CLEAN AND YUMMY CRAB, STURGEON, SALMON, CLAMS, OYSTERS, AND A FEW OTHER TASTY CRITTERS...Thankyou for the Smoked Oyster Samples...WOW, what a flavor


HOQUIAM, WASHINGTON...A BEAUTIFUL, CLEAN, AND WELL PLANNED COMMUNITY ON THE EAST SHORE OF GRAYS HARBOR.


CHURCH IN HOQUIAM, WASHINGTON


SUPER CLEAN HOMES AND STREETS IN HOQUIAM, WASHINGTON


HOQUIAM RIVER...LOOKING NORTH WEST (UPSTREAM) INTO TOWN



HOQUIAM RIVER DRAW BRIDGE...BOTH SIDES OF THIS BRIDGE RISE UP ALLOWING TALL BOATS TO SAIL UNDERNEATH THE BRIDGE.


HOQUIAM RIVER RAILROAD BRIDGE...THIS BRIDGE "PIVOTS" (SHOWN OPEN) WHEN TRAINS NEED TO CROSS THE RIVER


SAM AT THE ARTIC RV AND TAVERN, 6 MILES SOUTH OF ABERDEEN, WASHINGTON. DAVID, SON OF THE OWNER, WAS VERY KIND TO ALLOW SPIA A "SPOT" FOR THE NIGHT...Thank you, David


THE "75" MEANS IT IS 75 MILES TO THE BEGINNING OF US 101 IN WASHINGTON STATE...WHICH IS THE COLUMBIA RIVER...ASTORIA, OREGON SITS ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE COLUMBIA...The site of Lewis and Clark arrival (with Sacajawea) at the Pacific Ocean. SPIA, SAM and ME should arrive at Lewis and Clarks Fort in three or four days.
Last Summer, SAM & ME walked a good part of the Lewis and Clark route along the Snake River in Oregon and Idaho on our way to Oklahoma City.

Woke at 4:00 am.

Poked my head outside my room # 101 at the SANDS...raining and very foggy...but not cold. Went back to sleep until 5:30 am. Went out to SPIA to make oatmeal and tea...then see who was peeking at my Facebook Blog...

Lots of "lookers", but no comments. Each one of these Blogs take about 4 hours to upload all the pics and narrate the activities of the day...the Mini has battery for about 40 minutes...If no outside power, must run SPIA's motor to generate electricity from the Cigarette Lighter...takes about 2 gallons of gas for one Blog session...I'm a slow thinker and try to be logical, truthful, and entertaining. Make at least 3 drafts before I upload the narrative.

Have at least 50 pics each day...takes quite a session to choose the 10 or 15 pics to upload with each Blog...

Not complaining mind you...I am having an absolute ball and look forward to every evening when this Blog is created

About 6:30 am, walked to a local early-morning Pub and chit chatted for a bit...then ordered one egg - scrambled - one flapjack - one sausage - one coffee @ $3.75 plus $1.50 for the coffee (a rip off). By then, it was light enough to take some photographs - even though it was quite foggy and raining hard.

Drove the 5 miles or so to the North Jetty of Gray's Harbor, which is the South end of the Ocean Shores Sand Bank...that is exactly what it is...a 2-miles wide by 5 mile long sand spit forming the NorthEast corner o Gray's Harbor. A gigantic rock jetty has been constructed on both the North Shore (Ocean Shores) and the South Shore (Westport) to control the massive waves coming in from the open Pacific Ocean...

I'm sure that everyone knows it is 10,000 miles from the Washington Coast before another large land mass is encountred - Japan - China - Philipinnes - (Islands do not count), so there is plenty of space for quite large waves to be generated by the prevailing SouthWest winds.

These waves crash into the rock jetties protecting the multi-million dollar Condos and elegant private homes lining the Ocean Shores Sand Dunes...no more than 50 meters from the breaking waves upon a very flat beach.

In all honesty, it makes me nervous to think to live along this sandy shore - which sits maximum 20 feet above sea level.

Verizon connection is acting up...may lose my narrative...OK...there, I have saved it...and now to continue...

Took a number of pics of homes, hotels, condos, and the jetty - which I walked out on to the water trying to get pics of the waves crashing into the jetty below my feet.

Then drove SPIA out US 109 seven miles from Ocean Shores and parked. Walked BACK to Ocean Shores and returned 3 miles toward SPIA when the nice folks Dennis and Laura (of Hoquiam, Washington) stopped to give me a ride...they drove me back to SPIA and five miles beyond within 1 mile of the city limits of HOQUIAM, WASHINGTON.

I walked back to SPIA, stopping along the way at LYTLE SEAFOODS OYSTER SHACK. I bought a pack of Smoked Salmon @ $6.00 and accepted a sampling of Smoked Oysters in a Zip-Lock Bag. Chomped one Smoked Oyster walking back to SPIA..when I arrived at SPIA, 3 miles later, the fantastic flavor of that Oyster still lingered in my mouth...WOW...excellent. Have three more which I am saving in the fridge for tomorrow and a couple tomorrows after that.

Then drove SPIA into Hoquiam and parked. Walked BACK 2 miles and return into town. Hoquiam and ABERDEEN, WASHINGTON are effectively Twin Cities, separated by a Bridge over the Chehalis River - which is full of BIG Sturgeon...I know because my Brother In Law, Jim, of ELMA, WASHINGTON, fished the Chehalis River for them Sturgeon...Yum.

I then pulled SPIA into a Oil and Lube (Pennsylvania Oil) place to get her serviced, filled the gas tank, stopped at Safeway to buy some canned goods and brown sugar.

Then drove SPIA South on US 101 to a Pub and RV place about 5 miles out. Took a RV spot for the night ($8.00). In the morning, will walk BACK to Aberdeen - must descent and reclimb a 3-mile long hill -. then will walk another 5 miles South on US 101 and return to SPIA, before driving South to RAYMOND, WASHINGTON.

Forecast is for possible SNOW. Temperatures will plunge to the low 30's and high 20's.
DAILY UPDATE: walked 17 miles today
SEE YOUR IMPACT: Credit 17 miles @ $0.02 = $0.34 for the day.
RECAP: THROUGH TODAY, HAVE WALKED FROM THE PEACE ARCH TO HOQUIAM, WASHINGTON A TOTAL OF: 302 MILES.
This is only the miles walked that can be counted.
TOTAL miles walked, including "double" walking is: 442 miles. No wonder I got some sore muscles...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Bruce-You are always in our thoughts, prayers and hearts. Stay safe.
Barbee and Larry.