Oysters and Crabs

 

I left Long Beach, WA on Wednesday enroute to Ocean City, WA. Passed through a town called South Bend which bills itself as the Oyster Capital of the World.

These are what oyster boats look like in case you did not know.

One method of harvesting oysters is to put the spat (or seed) into racks, bags, or cages (or they may be glued in threes to vertical ropes) which are held above the bottom. Oysters cultivated in this manner may be harvested by lifting the bags or racks to the surface and removing mature oysters, or simply retrieving the larger oysters when the enclosure is exposed at low tide. Sometimes the bags contain surprises.

Looks like they caught a head in that haul.

Then they oysters go up a conveyor belt for processing. Or maybe they come down. I do not know.

Many people think that the bravest person in the world was the first one to eat an oyster. Imagine, after finally getting one open, looking inside at all that goop, and then deciding to eat it. If you too would like to harvest oysters, I found an excellent deal on a boat. They say it just needs a little bit of work.

My first stop was at Grayland Beach State Park.

Grayland Beach State Park is a 412-acre, year-round, marine camping park with 7,449 feet of spectacular ocean frontage, just south of the town of Grayland. The park attracts kite flyers, kite-flying observers and those who just like a pleasant day at the beach.

Next up was Twin Harbors State Park.

Twin Harbors Beach State Park is a 172-acre camping park on the Pacific coast, four miles south of Westhaven. The area allows opportunities for nature study and seaside activity along the ocean shore, and the chance to lie in the sand and soak up the sun (if it ever actually shows up) in one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

Then Pacific Beach State Park.

That odd blue color in the sky brought momentary hope for sunshine…but no, it didn’t happen.

Pacific Beach State Park is a 10-acre camping park with 2,300 feet of ocean shoreline. The beach provides a variety of wonders, from dramatic surf to beachcombing.

Finally, I stopped at Ocean City State Park.

Ocean City State Park is a year-round, 170-acre camping park, featuring ocean beach, dunes and dense thickets of shore pine. Migratory birds may be viewed at the park, and beachcombing is a popular activity.

I visited the first two parks on Wednesday and the latter two on Thursday. Friday was a beautiful sunny day! The first one in a week or so. I set my lounge chair out in the sun, grabbed my ereader, and enjoyed the balmy weather. It sprinkled again over the weekend, but as I write this on Memorial Day, there are periods of sunshine.

Anyway, here is my setup in Ocean City, WA. I have been putting up the screen house at every stop for a while now.

I walked down to the beach on Saturday.

There was no one there, just an abandoned pile of clothes. Reminded me of the movie Jaws.

Just kidding, there were some people playing with dogs and kites.

I noticed something interesting on the walk back.

Strangest looking tree I have ever seen. Here are some things I saw on the way back from the beach.

Caterpillars. In the second photo you can see one of them falling…

Some flower and tree pictures.

I mentioned razor clams a while ago. This is what their shells look like.

Speaking of shells, here are some crab pieces.

I have never eaten crab, but then again, I have never eaten cockroaches either. This is where the God of Irony laughs. My camping neighbors offered up some food, asking if I was hungry. Yep, my first shot at crab.

It tastes like chicken I was told. Well, why not just buy chicken?

I ate a couple of small pieces. Meanwhile, the girls were having fun with their home made pie things.

Aren’t campers just the coolest people?

I leave Ocean City on Tuesday for almost two weeks of camping in Olympic National Park. I enter as a man and exit as…an older man? During my stay in that rainforest I will turn 50. June 8 specifically. Yikes!

To mark this auspicious event and to help me purchase a new pair of hiking sandals, you are welcome to make a gift of a buck or two into my PayPal account. It’s wgwood@gmail.com. Thank you and good night.

Regards,

Greg

In the Footsteps of Bill and Meri

 

They were REAL campers. You might know them better as Lewis and Clark.

A few weeks before I embarked on this journey, I watched Ken Burn’s documentary on Lewis and Clark. It was simply fascinating to listen to what they endured on their 1 1/2 year camping trip.

“Ocian in view! O! the joy.”

When Capt. William Clark wrote these words in his journal on November 7, 1805, he was not standing at the Pacific Ocean but the Columbia River estuary.  It would be another couple of weeks before he and Capt. Meriwether Lewis would stand at what they had “been so long anxious to see.”  By then they had traveled more than 4,000 miles across the North American continent with a contingent of 31 explorers, mostly U.S. Army enlisted men, known as the Corps of Discovery.

Within 10 days of arriving on the coast, Lewis and Clark decided to leave their storm-bound camp on the north shore and cross the river, where elk were reported to be plentiful. Lewis, with a small party, scouted ahead and found a "most eligible" site for winter quarters. On December 10, 1805, the men began to build a fort about two miles up the Netul River (now Lewis and Clark River). By Christmas Day they were under shelter. They named the fort for the friendly local Indian tribe, the Clatsop. It would be their home for the next three months.

Step into the Fort Clatsop replica, at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, and you'll get a real sense of what the Corps of Discovery experienced more than 200 years ago. It looks, smells, and feels pretty much the same. In peak visitor season, rangers in buckskins, offer demonstrations such as muzzle loading and shooting, hide tanning and candle making.

Here is a peek inside some of the rooms.

I walked down a trail to the historic canoe landing area. It felt awesome to be hiking the same path Lewis and Clark did over 200 years ago.

You know me, I cannot resist weird looking furry plant thingys.

After reluctantly leaving Fort Clatsop, I headed across the Columbia River to Cape Disappointment State Park.

NOTE:

If finding yourself stuck in your car on a bridge high above a river while they are doing construction gives you anxiety, do not look at the picture below.

Lewis and Clark National Historical Park is a joint venture between the National Park Service and the states of Oregon and Washington. The park rings the mouth of the Columbia River and stretches some 40 miles along the rugged Pacific Coast.

After missing the entrance to what was later named the Columbia River, English explorer John Meares dubbed the massive headland jutting out into the Pacific Ocean “Cape Disappointment.” That was in 1788. Almost 20 years later, Capt. William Clark and members of the Corps of Discovery explored the headland in their final push to the Pacific Ocean.

Cape Disappointment State Park offers breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and Columbia River, with old-growth forest, lakes, freshwater and saltwater marshes, as well as streams and tidelands along the ocean. There are also two lighthouses, numerous hiking trails, and 231 campsites. And deer.

You can almost see the raindrops in the puddles. I drove out to the North Jetty to check out the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse.

It was barely visible in the storm perched way up on the cliff. I get the chills just looking at that picture. Brrr…

Anyway, I headed off to my campground with a brief stop at the North Head Lighthouse.

Fully deployed and dry. I walked down a path to the beach. It was too wet and windy to take photos, but on the walk back I found some rude trees.

I call them “Bird Trees” because they look like they are flipping me the bird.

Here are a few more photos from the trail area.

OK, I may moan a little bit about the rain but then I think about what Lewis and Clark had to deal with on their journey. I can always go jump in my car and turn on the heater if I have to. They did not have that option. Watch the Ken Burns documentary if you get a chance. Fascinating.

Oh, one last thing about the rain. Everything is so GREEN!

Regards,

Greg