A couple days ago, we drove over to Neah Bay and then to Cape Flattery.

It's a 25 minute hike from the parking lot to the Cape itself. And it was worth every minute. It rained as is usual here in the Northwest, but when it stopped and the clouds parted a bit, we were rewarded with the most wonderful sight.

We were so close to Vancouver Island that my cell phone sent me a notification welcoming me to Canada and that text and low speed data cost $0. The Makah Tribe don't have any country boundaries - their relatives in Canada are their relatives and not Canadians. The Makah Museum displayed artifacts from the ancient settlement of Ozette, just south of Cape Flattery. Thousands of years ago, the Makah lived in longhouses, hunted whales, raised families, wove baskets, make jewelry, created wood storage boxes from one piece of cedar. One very interesting story is of a Japanese fishing boat in 1863 (or something like that) that got caught in a severe typhoon causing it to lose its rudder and it drifted in the Pacific Ocean for 14 months. The boat shipwrecked near Ozette and the Makah took care of the 3 survivors (aged 14, 15 and 27) until they could be sent to the Hudson Bay company in Vancouver.

In any event, we saw a cruise ship leave Seattle on its way to Alaska. We saw a couple of cargo ships off the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Fishing boats were docked at the port in Neah Bay. We had Indian fry bread at Pat's.

At the Cape, the constant force of the Pacific Ocean carved out deep caves from the rock. A sign said that if you sit quietly, you can feel the rock shake and rumble beneath you. In another few hundred years, that spot will probably not exist anymore.

That plucky bottle managed to avoid getting hit by ships or getting caught inside those caves. I have to admire the forces and the conditions involved to have it land on our little beach.

Since mr vagabond was the one who found it, he gets to decide whether to open it or not. So far, he's shown no inclination to open it. Will keep y'all posted.

 

Your posts in this thread read like a beautiful novel. Your description of the northwest/Canadian coast and the history involving the Makah tribe is fascinating. Can’t wait to read what happens next!

 

Fascinating and even the best written words don't do it justice. The Pacific Northwest is an incredible place.

 

I think the next episode will be Glacier National Park. Don’t want to miss that one!

 

Yes, I’ve seen it featured on the show Aerial America - Montana. Absolutely breathtaking. It’s definitely on my list of places I must visit.

 

Glacier National Park is a beautiful and magical place. The Going to the Sun road was partly closed so we could only go 15 miles from the west entrance, or 17 miles from the St. Mary entrance on the east side. We chose to drive from Whitefish (more on that later) to St. Mary and got as far as Logan Pass before turning back.

The day we were there, it was rainy and misty and cloudy. The mountains were shrouded, but the fog and clouds would part once in a while to reveal the few remaining glaciers. The phrase "climate change" appeared in almost every informational booth and sign at the St. Mary visitor center. When I was still in short pants, there were something like 150 glaciers, but there are only 26 now. Scientists estimate that there will be none by 2030. Yes, 2030, a mere 10 years from now.

If you go to Whitefish, please please and triple please do not go to any restaurant that advertises itself as serving Chinese American cuisine. We went to one and the hot and sour soup was neither hot or sour. Worse of all, it was served with a packet of saltine crackers.

We did not see any bears. No grisly bears. No brown bears. No black bears. I'm glad because I know one thing for sure - any bear would turn me into a light snack long before I turn it into an area rug!