October 1997

We started the month of October under skies as heavy as a cow's utter awaiting its afternoon milking. We left the western section of Kanisku National Forest in Idaho from its most northern concentration of civilization, a town named Nordman (population 6 if the dog is included) early in the morning and followed US Route 2 into Spokane, Washington. As we drove through miles and miles of forest-lined roadway, Suzi mentioned talking with a woman in Nordman. She make this 64-miles, one way, trip once each month - just for groceries!

We drove that first day to Vantage, Washington. The town is located on bluff above the mighty Columbia River. If you have never experienced the Columbia River, think of the Mississippi River, as an adolescent. The area is full of canyons carved over millions of years by the River. Various shades of red and yellow stripped canyon walls looking like the worn pages of some giant history (earth science, of course) book. On a hillside, above the river and town, you see a small herd of wild horses running, silhouetted across the horizon. The sight of the herd, frozen in flight, so beautiful. It seem natural to have iron sculpted horses running free against the wild scenery.

From this untamed portion of Washington, we dropped into civilization - the city of Seattle. During our time there we had the opportunity to visit with a friend of the family and her family, and an old friend from HUD and his family. We got to experience some of Seattle's nightlife, some cool jazz, and learned district of Fremont "is a state of mind." Conclusion: the Seattle metropolitan area is rather unusual. Where else can one enjoy warm sunshine while stand in a sudden rain-storm, watch harbor seals playing tag with a ferry boat, find a gnome living under a Highway bridge, sit under a statue of Lenin, and observe young people with crayon-colored hair. One other observation, the weather person is wrong error only when rain is not predicted.

After this pleasant interlude and the purchase of water-proof Gor-Tex jackets, we headed for the Olympic National Forest. Our first stop was in Hoodsport. While there, we got haircuts, our teeth cleaned (two of the most terrifying events we know) and discovered the local Hoodsport winery's Rhubarb wine - delicious. We also found a tiny cafe in town on Hood Canal, the largest fjord in the continental U.S. This cafe, about the size of a double-wide mobile trailer, served a salmon dish with a wild mushroom sauce that was outstanding!

From Hoodsport, on the "dry" eastern side (they get only 100 or so inches of rain a year), we moved onto the "wet" western side of the Olympic Peninsula. Here and down the Pacific Coast of Coos Bay, Oregon, we enjoyed some of the sunniest days in months and such amazing sights: Mirror-surfaced lakes reflecting the magnificent beauty of the hillsides; Rialto Beach with its millions of perfectly shaped skipping-stone pebbles and piles of driftwood; and sometimes, after the fog departed, the sun shining through the droplets of dew on the mosses and lichens like millions of tiny, brilliant diamonds.

The Northwest Coast is famous for its ruggedness and beauty. We have all heard and seen images but until it is experienced, you just can't appreciate the uniqueness of this area. This is another one of those things we would like you to add to your "must do" list. We want you to experience the sounds of the surf. The gentle click-click-click as ocean's wave roll across a pebble beach, thunderous pounding against ancient sandstone cliffs, or whisper of the water as it laps a sandy beach's gentle slope. Come and listen to birds of the rain forest, of the field, of the sea and the mountains. Taste the salt on you lips after a long stroll on a beach. Watch the sea lions bask in the fading sun, the purple-tinted fog roll out to sea in the morning, and jewel-colored dahlias nodding in the afternoon breeze.

Not all the sights, sounds, and tastes of the Northwest are pleasant. We have seen not acres but miles upon miles of clear-cut lands. Although the land is privately owned, it is still painful to see. What do you see? Stumps upon stumps upon stumps of cut trees. Some of these stumps are the size of a family's kitchen table. Often the discarded limbs or undesired species of tree of left to be beached white by the sun. The hillsides call to mind images of elephant cemetery - piles of clean, white-bones scattered as far as the eye can see. The truck traffic along US 101, their down-shifting and air brakes offend the quiet of nature, is heavy and constant. Paper mills and an occasional diary farm emit an offensive odor that stays in your noise until you can get back to the forest or beach. Perhaps these sights, sounds, and tastes seen so offensive to us because they contrast to all we enjoyed.

But the whole month wasn't all fun. We did work, some. We managed to complete the Olympic and Siuslaw National Forests, sometimes in heavy rain and cool temperatures. We now head for California and those National Forests and campgrounds we can reach without fear of ice and snow. We are looking forward to seeing and spending time with our mothers during Thanksgiving and Christmas. We will be thinking of you all preparing for your Thanksgiving dinners and seating down with your loved ones to enjoy that Holiday. We extend our best wishes to one and all.

Suzi and Fred