Spring Egg Hunt -- NW Style

Our Northwest Easter Egg Hunt

Many folks on this Easter weekend participate in an egg hunt either for the hard-boiled variety or the plastic ones filled with treats. Not us. We decided to hunt for Japanese glass fishing floats on one of Tim's favorite beach haunts!

Your first clue is the muddy boots. Everyone of our kids have waded through the mud out to this beach, even Katie, although she was young and may not remember it very well.

The Priest age boys planned the trip. They were hoping to build a raft and have some fun. That is why they have paddles. Not to discourage their enthusiasm, Tim let them have the experience of packing paddles and 5 gallon buckets for raccoon proof food.

At pretty much the last minute, the other adult was unable to take two days off from his work so Peggy got to go along as the second adult! I love the beach, so I was game!

Any guesses yet as to which beach we are heading to? There is one of many sea stacks in the background of this photo of Tim a short ways before we were about to drop down onto the beach. We hiked about 2 miles in the mud, dropped almost straight down the face of a cliff and then hiked another mile down the beach.

Yup... it is Point of the Arches and Shi Shi Beach. Tim informed us that Shi Shi in the Makah language means surf beach. The long rolling waves were every bit as cool as the ones you would find in the warmer parts of the Pacific Ocean. You just have to carry your board through the mud and then find a way to lower it onto the beach without taking a nose dive yourself! Oh yeah, don't forget the wet suit...

The weather was threatening and to be more comfortable, the guys put up a tarp to cut the wind and rain. The camp was tucked back into the trees so the wind wasn't bad. We were right next to a creek that we had to cross by balancing on logs, heavy packs and all. I have terrible balance, but I made it without getting wet! I probably looked silly clinging to each log as I crossed on all fours. Oh well.

Everything was soaking wet, but the boys managed to get a really hot fire going. It was nice to dry out our wet boats after all of that mud! This picture doesn't really do the fire justice. It was fabulous! At about 8 p.m. the rain came with a fury. It rained all night. Hurrah for a good tent!

Next morning Tim and I got up and hiked down the beach at low tide. That's Tim standing by one of the many arches on the beach. We hiked as far as we could go without having to climb over one of the heads, looking for the treasured glass floats.

I found some sea anenomes in one of the plentiful tide pools. Some of the rocks were very slippery with that black growth that looks like skin on the rocks. I biffed it once on the way back -- totally turtled hard. Ouch.

Here's a shot looking at the weather moving in. Beautiful but wild. To get to this area, we had to ford another swollen creek. No logs were available to make the crossing with dry feet, so I took off my boots and waded across. BRRRRR. On the way back, I didn't care as much and just got wet.

This is what our camp looked like after a night of rain. The boys were wet and cold and the trees where really dancing. The guys decided the dangerous conditions warranted an early exit. It was a good decision. The creek had risen over 2 feet during the night and we still had to cross back over it. We did fine and hiked along with the wet sand blowing down the beach ahead of us. When finally reached the end of the beach and climbed to the top of the bluff. Back on the trail, in the mud among the trees, the now gale-force winds were slamming into the cliff below and blowing straight up over the edge of the bluff and into the ancient trees surrounding us. The tree trunks cracking from the force of the wind and branches lying on the trail reminded us of the danger surrounding us. The roar of the wind sounded like a freight train passing a few feet away. It certainly kept the blood flowing and the feet moving!

Here's a video of Point of the Arches at low tide. We had several eagle sightings, but none on camera!

And another just to torture the homesick, of a waterfall that could be in any tropical rain forest. Notice how Tim is dressed, this is a temperate rain forest!

We love you and hope that you will leave a comment so we will know when you have visited!

XOXOX love,

Mom and Dad