Cape Flattery Hum-Dinger

August 11, 2013

SOMEWHERE IN NORTH FORKS WA. right off of hwy. 113 is what you would call a somewhat “native” looking rest stop. With a gravel strip, a boat launch, two picnic tables and a fire-pit, this is far better than most primitive sites. What I conclude to be “native” is the extremely un-maintained look of everything, and waste everywhere.
This I thought was an excellent place to spend the night, right on a lake, with rain-forest like ferns and mossy trees hanging out beside us. You can even fit a tent or two here, and I doubt anyone would bother you.

IT SEEMS we have gotten far too used to this endless beauty filled with mountain-top experiences. Yesterday in Port Angeles we decided to take Hurricane Ridge rd. up Angeles mountain to view Mt. Olympus. Just shy of 8,000 ft., we both agreed we should have skipped our sub-alpine meadow lunch and headed straight for the Pacific. Hoards of black-tailed deer entertained our little detour, and an American Kestral with some lovely colour searched fora bite with the Olympic mountains in the background.

CAPE FLATTERY was rugged as can be,with ocean mist cooling the forest that we hiked to gain a look at the Pacific. Huge rocks greeted us, with gulls and cormorants filling their cloudy spaces. This would mark the North-Western most point of the Continental States, and be the first place Rachel would see the true point of the Pacific. There was a moment when an old native man started playing a drum right at the tip of Cape Flattery that kind of made me have one of those thought-provoking moments, much like a scene in the movie “one week”. What an experience it is to seethe rugged beauty of the Pacific for the first time!
Later on through the Makah Native Reserve we stumbled upon a large beach, very reminiscent of Tofino. I love Tofino, with its rugged beaches and long perfect waves, the rocks ominously sitting in ocean fog, just far enough away so that they cast a presence. This was another Tofino, only not nearly as populated, and most certainly not anyone to cram rules down your throat. Natives aren't very good with signage, or rules it appears.

On the way into Callum Bay we see a herd of Elk, a kind which I don't think we have seen thus far. Nearly 40 of them right by the road. We didn't even take a picture, because we're so used to majestic wildlife popping out from every corner!

THE END of the day sees us driving through a very small town towards Portland called Hoquim, just outside of another bigger smaller town called Aberdeen. Hoquiam is special because of the Hum-Dinger. This my dear friends, is the place to eat if you ever find yourself in the Pacific Northwest. Very similar to Burlington's own Charcoal Pit; founded in 1978 the Hum-Dinger has been serving up greasy burgery and fishy goodness at a price far less than you will find in Burlington, or even Mcdonald's for that matter. 
Now to get through the aftermath of the Hum-Dinger, which oddly enough, is not un-like that of the Burlington Charcoal Pit.


-Previs








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