Bandits! and a Murder.

Trail-run to Sol Duc Falls was great, as was the soak in the hot pools afterwards. We were the slimmest people there - yay America!

Stopped in Forks to use the net. Strange town, full of Twilight stores and not much else. Apparently the primary local industry nowdays is catering to the teenagers who come to see where the Twilight series was filmed*.

Camped at Kalaloch, which is perched atop a cliff next to the ocean. Prime spots with ocean views were already taken, so we set up camp and walked where we could watch the sun set from a perch in a tree growing out from the cliff wall. Odd to be watching the sun set into the Pacific, which has always been the ocean of sunrises.

Back at the campsite, we were subjected to a bandit raid; a couple of raccoons sauntered through our camp then climbed a tree next to the van and sat watching us. After a while they ventured down for another ground-level investigation, and one of them came a little closer to see what he could see. Then a little closer. And a little closer. Eventually he made a lunge for the camera, which set off a chain reaction of freakouts by all involved parties. The raccoons set off to the campsite next door in search of less highly-strung food sources, and we went to bed.

Woke this morning to find the murder of crows which had vanished at dusk had reappeared with a vengeance. Nene demonstrated her connection with nature when one of them perched in the tree above where she was sat, drinking her coffee and observing my dishwashing activities - she swore at the bird and shifted her seat 2 feet to her right BEFORE it pooped where she'd been sitting.

We've been on the road for a couple of hours now. Passed a burned-out bookbus in Neilton, lost (and recovered) a hubcap while crossing the Humptulips River, and have stopped at a supermarket to acquire gas (me) and delicious jalapeno-enabled foodstuffs (Nene). Turns out they have free wi-fi in their parking lot, which kind of rules. Heading for Beacon Rock, which has camping, rock-climbing, and mountain-biking, and is proximate to Portland. Looking forward to some warmer weather (and some foods!).






* = or maybe set - I don't know which. If you know, please don't tell me, as not only do I not want to know, but I also don't want to know that you know