Northwest Washington Coast

One of the things I enjoyed most about my career with the FAA was the travel. It allowed me to visit much of the 7 western states. I got to see places that most folks don't even know exist. One such place is the Makah Indian Reservation on the northwest tip of Washington State and the continental United States. Some of the best beaches in the world are there. And the Makah's have this wonderful museum filled with artifacts from the past. It's a bit of a trip to get there but the museum, not to mention the beaches, are worth the effort.

This is the view looking north from my campsite. There's an equally spectacular view looking south. I posted this view because the FAA has a radar site on that mountain where I did a lot of work. The FAA also has another facility on the mountain behind me that I also had a hand in designing and building.

On the other side of the mountain above there is a trail to a point that overlooks Tatoosh Island and the entrance to the Strait of Jan DeFuca. When I worked in the area, the road to the trailhead was 7 miles of dirt and potholes, and, the viewpoint was standing on the edge of cliffs like those on Tatoosh Island. Not now! The road is paved with a paved parking lot and there are platforms at the viewpoints so you don't have to risk you life to see things.

To the south of the Makah Reservation is the Olympic National Park. The Makahs have build a nice trail to the Park's Shi Shi Beach. I decided to hike there for my birthday. I just love the ocean. The trail to the beach is only about 2 miles long.

There are several camping spots in the woods next to the beach where folks can backpack into. In the past I've done just that to the Park's beaches to the south, but never Shi Shi. I'll have to correct that sometime in the future.

At the south end of Shi Shi Beach is Point of Arches. It's about a 2.5 mile hike along the beach to the point so I hiked around 10 miles.

So, for all this beauty, why isn't the area more popular? Simply put, RAIN. There are very few days when the weather is this nice. Most of the times I've worked in the area, you couldn't see a thing and you got very wet. It rains sideways here!

But if the weather is clear....

OMG!!